Spring Training Recap: Kawakami perfect, Uehara hurt

March 12, 1:36 AMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

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Kenshin Kawakmi has been perfect thus far
for the Braves (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Spring training's well underway, and several Japanese players are making their marks.

The biggest news, however, is not good—but it's not too awful, either.

Koji Uehara got knocked around against the Mets, giving up three runs in two innings on four hits and two walks.

A bad spring training outing happens, particularly if a pitcher's trying out new pitches or deliveries.

In Uehara's case, it might have been injury related. After the game, the Orioles revealed that he had a mild left hamstring strain.

Uehara wouldn't say when he hurt himself, so it's possible that the poor start and the injury are unrelated. What is related, however, is the fact that Uehara will miss his next start, though Baltimore is insisting he'll be ready for Opening Day, three weeks away.

Kenshin Kawakami is having quite a different spring: healthy and productive. In two starts for the Atlanta Braves, he has yet to give up a run, and has only given up one hit, three walks, and rung up three strikeouts in five innings.

Here, too, it's too early to get excited, since this is a small sample space—still, hitters are usually ahead of pitchers in the spring, not the other way around.

That might explain Ken Kadokura's performance with the Cubs. The reliever is trying to make the squad, but he's not off to a very good start.

In 4-1/3 innings, he's given up 3 runs on five hits and four walks against three strikeouts. Those are combined over four games, so he's getting lots of work—but that may not translate to the regular season.

His spring training teammate So Taguchi is also getting a lot of work, also in small batches. Taguchi has appeared in twelve spring games and is 4 for 15 in those appearances with a triple and 7 RBI.

Taguchi's upside is minimal, however, since Chicago has Micah Hoffpauir, Reed Johnson, and even Aaron Miles to play in the outfield. Look for him and Kadokura to start tehseason in the minors.

Boston's pack of Japanese pitchers are all doing well (except for Dice-K, who's with Team Japan and has yet to appear for Boston). Junichi Tazawa has made two appearances adding up to just three innings, but in that span, he's struck out 5, walked none, and given up one run on two hits.

Takashi Saito and HIdeki Okajima are potential setup men, and might share the job as a righty and lefty. So far, they're doing well. Okey-doke has come in five times, pitched five innings and given up two runs on three hits (one of them a homer), two walks and two strikeouts.

Takashi Saito, working his way back from elbow problems, has given up just one run in four appearances and four innings, with four strikeouts against three walks and three hits. He has reported no injury pain in his elbow and says he has no restrictions on the pitches he can throw.

Keep reading The Asian-American Sports Examiner for more spring training updates!