Scandalous Giants

Every generation of former Giants' fans has a scandal that pushed them over the edge, forcing them to seek out a team that isn't so monsterous in the way it treats its members, fans, and the leagues in general. The Egawa Incident was probably the biggest scandal that sent most fans looking for virtue in other teams. The treatment of Ochiai after getting Kiyohara pushed me over the edge. And now, just two weeks into the off-season, the current generation of Giant fan gets a double dose of scandal to contemplate.

Null-san already pointed out here that Daiei gave away their #4 hitting third baseman for no money in return a couple of days ago. Fans and players alike are outraged at this. If Daiei is so hard up for cash that they'd be willing to let go of Kokubo, then why not get cash for him? Especially when dealing him off to the richest team in Japan? It just doesn't make sense.

Now, think about what kind of non-monetary "favor" might Daiei want in return? In particular, what might Daiei want from Watanabe-owner? Well, Nabetsu has been very critical of Daiei's desire to sell the team, recently speaking out against Daiei's move to swap stock in the ball club for "dead equity" stock in Daiei's department store chain. (That's what I understood as going on. Please, someone interested in business and finance correct me if I'm wrong. That isn't a field I well versed in reading in Japanese.)

Now, out of the blue, Daiei turns to this wind-bag and offers him a star player for nothing (other than to take his 2-oku yen salary off their hands). Will Nabetsu lighten up on the possiblity of accepting the team being sold? Possiblity without the steep entrance fee that keeps most prospective buyers out of the bidding? Guess we'll have to wait and see if Watanabe's views change in the next few months.

The second scandal actually happened before the Kokubo Zero Yen Trade. Naturally, it involved Watanabe speaking inappropriately.

The Giants' Watanabe-owner said that he would really like to get Rhodes. In and of itself, not out of character for Watanabe, and I'm sure that several other owners have the same thoughts going through their heads. But the fact that Nabetsu said it does cause problems for others - particularly the Buffaloes.

Consider, the Buffaloes are in negotiations with Rhodes, and Rhodes hears that the Giants' Mr. Moneybags is interested in him, as does the Buffs' front office. Rhodes wants a multi-year deal, but Kintetsu is unwilling to budge in that regard. There's no longer any doubt that he can get what he wants from the Giants. Kintetsu is now in a very hard place to negotiate from. (On the other hand, this statement really helps Rhodes out a lot.)

Kintetsu is charging Watanabe with tampering, and many others are echoing this charge. The answer from the Commissioners' Office regarding these charges is that no investigation will be conducted. Essentially, Watanabe can cause all the trouble he likes and he isn't going to even get a slap on the wrist. (Sounds so much like Bush telling the Department of Justice to let Microsoft off the hook despite being found guilty of anti-competitive practices, not once, but twice, never recieving any kind of penalty whatsoever.)

Kintetsu's Nashida-kantoku, upset about the lack of action by the Commissioners' Office, stated that a Commissioner who's been in the field is needed. Someone like Nagashima or Hoshino, who can stand up to Watanabe. (I'm sure some of you will question Nagashima's mention there, but he was anything but Nabetsu's puppet while he managed the Giants, often doing the exact opposite of Watanabe's wishes.) Currently, the Commissioner is a business leader with strong ties to the owners - someone Watanabe can control. This is a major factor in the ineptness of the NPB Commissioner to get anything constructive done.

For those of you still new to Pro Yakyu, Tsuneo Watanabe (Nabetsu = Watanabe Tsuneo) is the owner of the Giants, Japan's richest team. Think of him as George Steinbrenner with more power and influence than a popular U.S. President.