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Lim Back For 2010

July 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

lim-in-actionThe Swallows have exercised their third year option on the contract of ace-closer Lim Chang-Yong.

Lim joined the Swallows for the 2008 season on a two-year contract, with the team holding on option for a third year.

After 33 saves in his first season, he is currently boasting a remarkable ERA of 0.00 in his 31 and 2/3 innings of work so far this season. He has given up just 16 hits in his 31 appearences, picking up 19 saves along the way.

He has been a bargain to boot, with him picking up a mere 55 million yen in 2009, a bargain for the current top closer in the NPB.

I’d wager 2010 will be his last year with the Swallows however, due to:

  1. There’s no way we can hope to afford him when we have to pay his true market value in order to re-sign him. Unless of course the organisation have a seismic change in policy/the team is taken over/I become the Japanese prime minister/pigs fly.
  2. Lim is believed to be eying a career switch to the MLB and he is apparently looking for a US based agent. He’s good enough so good luck to him. As long as doesn’t go to them who play in the inflatable stain-dome it’s alright with me.
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About David Watkins

David is a baseball bothering Brummie who spends a fair portion of his life fretting over both the Tokyo Swallows and the WORLD'S GREATEST FOOTBALL TEAM, Aston Villa.

  • http://www.transpacificradio.com/ Garrett DeOrio

    Great news! Yet excitement leads to trepidation at the inevitable, as you point out.

    Purely as a pointless thought experiment, the possible line-up changes using former Swallows who are still active players:

    P- Greisinger and Dicky
    3B – Iwamura (no amount of money would have kept him around, but. . .)
    OF – Rami-chan

    Inaba’s bat would be welcome in the line-up again. Imagine any one or two of those guys being on the current team (even minus a recent acquisition or two to make it fair) and the team would be a dynasty in the making.

    As it stands, we get to sit here with the bittersweet joy of knowing that we’ll keep developing and finding good players only to keep giving them to our rivals. The day will come soon when we’ll need to make Giants jerseys reading “Tokyo OB Club.”

    Not that I don’t enjoy whining and pessimism, mind you.

  • Rob

    And opportunities lost – Nori! I thought TYS was close to signing Nakamura before the Dragons grabbed him on the cheap a few years ago. This year’s numbers with Rakuten are way down, but .274/24/72 in 2008 and .293/20/79 in 2007 were there for the taking, allowing Miyamoto to stay at short and, and, and….

    • http://www.tokyoyakultswallows.wordpress.com.com David Watkins

      If I remember correctly, Furuta wanted to sign him but didn’t receive backing from the front office.