Writing the Pine

Much has happened since the last edition of the Asian Guy Power Rankings – we witnessed the deaths of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Blake Griffin’s career.  Mariano Rivera recorded his 500th career save.  However, it’s been a pathetically slow and uneventful two weeks for the AGPR.  Daisuke Matsuzaka was disqualified from the AGPR in this week’s edition following his placement on the 15-day disabled list.  Kenji Johjima and Kaz Matsui made their returns to their teams’ active rosters and are now eligible for ranking.

Stats to June 28, 2009, last week’s rankings in parentheses:

1. (1) Ichiro Suzuki, OF, SEA. .372 BA, .902 OPS, 6 HR, 18 RBI
It really isn’t fair to compare Ichiro to his fellow Asian brethren.  He leads the majors in batting average and hits.  Had a streak of seven consecutive multi-hit games which was broken two nights ago after a one-hit performance, and went hitless just one game since June 14.  Ichiro has now owned the #1 spot for the third consecutive edition of AGPR.  While this isn’t surprising, it is still very impressive because it shows his consistency.  No other player eligible in the rankings has outplayed him for a two-week stretch this season.

2. (2) Shin-Soo Choo, OF, CLE. .292 BA, .844 OPS, 9 HR, 44 RBI
Shin-Soo Choo has continued his steady play for the Cleveland Indians.  In addition to his continuous improvement in defense at right field, he has continued to get on base and drive in runs while batting fourth behind Victor Martinez.  Choo currently leads his team in games played, walks, stolen bases and on-base percentage.  Not bad for a player who recently recovered from Tommy John Surgery and is getting paid a smidge above the league’s minimum salary.  His arm has also been featured on ESPN’s Web Gems twice this month, including an assist to throw out Jerry Hairston Jr. at the plate on Saturday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

3. (3) Hideki Okajima, RP, BOS. 3-0, 2.43 ERA, 33.1 IP, 36 K, 12 BB, 0.99 WHIP, .179 BAA

Nothing new from Okajima.  Consistent performance: five appearances, one earned run, three holds in 4.1 IP.  Currently second in the league in holds.

4. (-) Kurt Suzuki, OAK. .283 BA, .742 OPS, 5 HR, 30 RBI
Suzuki makes his return to the AGPR after heating up in late June.  His team is one of the worst in the major leagues but he’s one of the few bright spots on the roster.  In the past two weeks he has been 16 for 48 and is 7 for 17 in his last four games.     

5. (-) Kaz Matsui, 2B, HOU. .247 BA, .635 OPS, 2 HR, 17 RBI
Matsui makes his AGPR debut in convincing fashion.  After returning to the Houston Astros’ lineup against the Texas Rangers on June 16, he has 12 hits in 33 at-bats and has a .838 OPS.  Matsui will try to stay healthy (something he hasn’t done his entire career) and attempt to duplicate the success he had the past few seasons.

The Asian Guy Lower Rankings

1. Hideki Matsui, OF, NYY. .248 BA, .811 OPS, 10 HR, 28 RBI
Matsui has been used sparingly in the last two weeks, but he hasn’t made much of his opportunities.  He owns just two hits in his last 15 at-bats, mostly in pinch-hitting appearances.  Making another joke about his creaky old knees is just tiresome at this point.

2. Chien-Ming Wang, SP/RP, NYY. 1-6, 10.06 ERA, 36.2 IP, 28 K, 18 BB, 2.13 WHIP, .370 BAA
Wang went 1-2 in the last two weeks and still isn’t looking like he’s close to returning to his winning form from last year.  He managed to pull out a win last night against the struggling New York Mets in the Yankees’ Subway Series sweep, but his performance was far from dominant.  He lowered his ERA by more than 24 points from April and it’s still over 10 (no, that’s not a typo).

3. Kosuke Fukudome, OF, CHC. .264 BA, .807 OPS, 5 HR, 23 RBI
Unfortunately for Mr. Fukudome, Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona bailed Dice-K out from the embarrassment known as the Asian Guy Lower Rankings by placing him on the disabled list.  Aside from a monstrous 4-5 hitting performance against the lowly Indians, Fukudome’s overall numbers actually fell in the past two weeks.  His strikeout rate has slowed and he’s starting to get more hits but this guy isn’t getting paid $12.5 million annually to bat .260 and drive in 50 runs a season.

Asian Guy Power Rankings:  Every two weeks, the top five and worst three major league baseball players of Asian descent will be ranked in accordance to their most recent performances.  Here are the necessary requirements to qualify for the list: (a) must be an active player on a major league baseball team’s roster; (b) must be of at least three-quarters Asian descent.

*note: Middle Eastern countries qualify as Asian, Russia does not qualify as Asian (they compete in international events as a European country) and India qualifies as an Asian country.