Koji Uehara, 2010 Topps 206 Bronze #205

Koji Uehara seems pretty nonplussed, considering that Earth's atmosphere is erupting in flames behind him.

Koji Uehara, 2011 Topps Opening Day #77

Last night as I came to terms with the inevitability of a Cardinals-Red Sox World Series, which was the matchup I least wanted to see at the onset of the postseason, I was at least able to take some solace in the successes of Boston closer Koji Uehara. The ex-Oriole saved the clinching Game Six of the ALCS last night with a scoreless inning of relief, striking out a pair of Tigers and doing it all in just 11 pitches. Moments later, Koji was named the Most Valuable Player of the series. He saved three of Boston's wins, and earned the win in the fourth. His totals: six innings, four hits, no runs, no walks, nine strikeouts. Since I'm not crazy about either the Redbirds or the BoSox, I'll just spend the next week and change rooting for Koji rather than the unappealing laundry that he wears.

Koji Uehara, 2010 Upper Deck #83

While I am sorry that Koji Uehara was the pitcher to give up the walk-off home run to Jose Lobaton in the bottom of the ninth inning last night in St. Petersburg, I certainly was glad to see Boston lose. I hope the Rays have some more late-inning magic left for tonight's game. There have been some thrilling games in the 2013 postseason thus far, and another winner-take-all Game Five would be ideal.

Koji Uehara, 2011 Topps Attax #135

You probably think Koji Uehara is a pretty good reliever, right? Guess again, because he's even better than that. It's a sad fact for Orioles fans that the Red Sox have an inside track on the American League East division title, since they're 7.5 games up on the Rays and 9.5 ahead of the Orioles with three weeks left in the regular season. But Boston could have actually widened that gap if they had tabbed Uehara as their closer sooner. The Sox went through a handful of other options before injuries caused them to begrudingly turn to the guy with the astronomical strikeout-to-walk ratio and the career relief ERA of 1.98. For the season, Koji is 3-0 with 18 saves in 21 tries. His earned run average is a paltry 1.12, his WHIP is 0.59, and his aforementioned K/BB is 9.89. He's struck out 89 batters in 64.1 innings while walking nine (two of those walks were intentional). Now the Japanese righty is making headlines for his "hidden perfect game". On August 17, Uehara gave up a two-out double to Lyle Overbay, but finished out a 6-1 Boston win over the Yankees by inducing a pop-up from Chris Stewart.

That was the last time anyone reached base against Koji.

Since August 17, the Red Sox' closer is six-for-six in save situations and, with a flawless inning of work in Friday's 12-8 win over New York, he has now retired the last 27 batters he's faced, striking out a dozen. It would take him several more games to topple Mark Buehrle's record of 45 consecutive batters put out, but the guy is just rolling.

Koji Uehara is still one of my favorite players in baseball, but I'd rather see him pitch for almost anyone else.

Koji Uehara, 2010 Topps Chrome Purple Refractor #140

I don't have much time to plan out a blog post today, as I'm merely home to change my clothes and feed the animals before driving down to Bowie to meet friends for dinner and a movie. Little yellow padded envelopes to the rescue! Max warned me a few days ago that there would be a small pile of O's cards headed my way, and true to his word, the cards were delivered today. One of them was this grapeity-purple shiny Koji Uehara. I believe this to be my first purple refractor, and it's a lovely cross-promotional item on this, the grand occasion of the Ravens' second preseason exhibition game of 2013. Yeah, let's go with that. See you tomorrow for Vintage Friday!

Koji Uehara, 2011 Bowman #138

The marvelous thing about baseball's offseason is that fans can spend time daydreaming about player moves that might happen, or could happen...or even those that probably won't happen. So far, the Orioles have taken an even more restrained approach to the Hot Stove League than they did last year, adding and subtracting pieces on the margins of the roster. Since Alexi Casilla and Danny Valencia aren't going to get anyone's blood pumping, I started fantasizing about the more prominent names that the O's have been linked to in some recent trade and free agency rumors. I'll plug away at this for the next few days, but let's start with a familiar face...

Koji Uehara: I figure he's the one most likely to actually land in Baltimore. Koji loved playing here back when the team was still lousy, and during his season-plus in Texas he was actually rumored to be a trade target for the Birds once or twice. Now that he's a free agent, the Japanese control specialist has inevitably been linked to the Orioles once again. It might seem like the bullpen is the one facet of the team that doesn't need improvement, but repeat after me: You. Can. Never. Have. Enough. Pitching. What if the Pedro Strop of September rears his ugly head again? What if Luis Ayala has a crummy season, like he did in 2008 and 2009? What happens if (when) somebody gets injured? Koji turns 38 in April, but his 1.75 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, and 14.33 K/BB ratio (!) in 2012 suggest that he's got plenty left in the tank, especially for one inning per game. After making $4 million last year, he's a bit pricier than you'd like for a setup man, but come on...it's Koji!

Koji Uehara, 2011 Topps Heritage #488

I miss Koji Uehara.

Koji Uehara, 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter #43

Here's something I wasn't expecting to discuss this week: a new free-agent acquisition! The ongoing failures of the Orioles have finally given me a jaundiced view of the Hot Stove, one where I assume that any individual free agent worth having (i.e. Prince Fielder) will a) be too expensive and too discerning to sign with the O's and b) wouldn't fix the myriad problems with the team anyhow. It took years to mess up the team this badly, and it will take years of moves both big and small to fix it again. During the winter meetings, I found myself just holding my breath and hoping that the Orioles wouldn't repeat past mistakes, like signing another reliever to a multi-year deal or giving millions of dollars to a musty designated hitter type.

Pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada, recently of Japan's Softbank Hawks, figures to become Baltimore's second-ever Far East player in 2012. He reportedly agreed to a two-year, $8.15 million deal today and should be in line for a spot in the ever-questionable starting rotation in 2012. Even after tamping down the expectations created by his eye-popping NPB stats (16-5, 1.51 ERA, 168/40 K/BB in 2011), I think there's a lot to like. He'll be 31 next year, so he should have plenty left in the tank. The O's didn't overpay greatly in years or dollars, and GM Dan Duquette showed that he intends to be a bit more proactive in the international market than Andy MacPhail. In fact, "Duke" also made an offer to Korean reliever Chong Tae-Hyon, who chose to stay in his home country, and the Birds are going after Taiwanese pitcher Chen Wei-Yin and have shown interest in Cuban outfielder Yoennis Cespedes. While Wada doesn't have the raw velocity to challenge big league hitters, he clearly has impeccable control, and he wouldn't be the first soft-tossing lefty to baffle opponents with a more cerebral approach. (Paging Jamie Moyer.) Heck, Koji Uehara is a righty, and he's done pretty well for himself without throwing in the 90s.

At the very least, look at it this way: with all of the young pitchers that the Orioles stockpiled in the MacPhail era, they gave a combined total of 32 starts last season to the following pitchers: Alfredo Simon, Chris Jakubauskas, Jo-Jo Reyes, Mitch Atkins, and Rick VandenHurk. Ugh. For a few million dollars, they've gotten an important piece of insurance against that happening again in 2012.

There I go again, damning the O's with faint praise.

Koji Uehara, 2010 Topps Chrome #140

Well, the baseball postseason is underway. Who are you rooting for? As usual, I'm in Anyone But the Yankees mode. I'd be okay with the Rays, Rangers, or Brewers because none of those teams has won the World Series. Besides, Koji (*cough and Mike Gonzalez cough*) would look good with a huge gaudy ring with a big 'T' on it. The Tigers haven't won it all since 1984, so their fans have been waiting almost as long we have. Normally, my underdog favoritism would turn me against the Phillies, but I have a lot of friends who are Philly fans and I don't begrudge them their success. The Diamondbacks have stupid uniforms, a swimming pool in the bleachers, and Mark Grace on their telecasts, but they're a good worst-to-first story and if you're so inclined you can cheer for David Hernandez in important late-inning relief appearances. And their coaching staff (Kirk Gibson, Don Baylor, Alan Trammell, Charles Nagy, Eric Young, and Matt Williams) is incredibly badass. My least favorite team in the National League is the Cardinals, because Tony LaRussa is one of the most obnoxious people alive. Mostly I'm just going to enjoy watching as many games as I can, because we've got less than 40 games left to hold us over until 2012.

Koji Uehara, 2010 Topps National Chicle #177

Sheesh. I leave town for 24 hours, and the Orioles go and ship out half the team! Okay, so they only traded Koji Uehara and Derrek Lee, but I need to delude myself into believing that exciting things are happening. It's better than paying any attention to the series of eggs being laid on the field by the boys in orange and black.

I am pretty ambivalent about D. Lee, who spent most of his four months in Baltimore either a) injured or b) performing below his career standards. He seemed like he was starting to heat up at bat, but after playing defense at first base that was pretty stellar (at least to the naked eye) for much of the season, he seemed to start booting balls at the most inopportune of times during the team's recent skid. Seemed like a nice enough guy, but ultimately his Oriole career consists of 85 games with a batting line of .246/.302/.404, 15 doubles, 12 home runs, and 41 RBI. No less, no more.

I'm truly sorry that I won't get to watch the O's first-ever Japanese import do his thing out of the bullpen any more. A dominant setup man is a luxury that is sort of lost on a losing team, so Andy MacPhail did well to get two major league-ready players from the Rangers for Koji. The nagging pessimist that the Birds always seem to bring out in me says that corner infielder Chris Davis is most likely a quadruple-A player, Mark Reynolds with less of a big league pedigree. And Tommy Hunter is no one's idea of a front-line pitcher, but he's got a lot more going for him than many of the stiffs who have taken the mound for this club in 2011.

But I digress. I read about Koji tearing up while he said his goodbyes to players, coaches, and reporters last night, and it touched me. At age 34, he left behind everything he'd known to come play in America for the Orioles, and he really seemed to fit in here better than many other Japanese players before him. He was even photographed at a Ravens game last year wearing a purple Ray Lewis jersey. On the field, he was a force of nature once the O's moved him to the bullpen and freed him from worries about fatigue. Over the past two seasons, he appeared in 86 games with a 2.27 ERA and an 0.82 WHIP. He picked up 13 saves last year, and walked only 13 batters in 91 innings in that span (1.3 BB/9 IP). Most amazingly, he struck out 117 hitters, for a K/9 IP of 11.6 and a K-to-BB ratio of exactly 9. He just pounds the strike zone, and uses his excellent control and movement to keep hitters off-balance.

If there's a silver lining, I am thrilled to have the chance to see Koji doing his thing in the postseason - as a bullpen-mate of Arthur Rhodes, no less! Assuming that Texas can hold off the Angels down the stretch, I might have to become a Rangers fan for October.

Koji Uehara, 2011 Topps #164

Don't worry, I haven't lifted my 2011 Topps Embargo. I picked up some Orioles singles from the hobby shop for team collection purposes. I'm still missing Brian Matusz and Brandon Snyder from Series 1, but all in due time. Meanwhile, this Koji Uehara card is the best of the bunch. It's great to see #19 celebrating (presumably) another set'em up, knock'em down save with a thoroughly American fist pump. I'd give anything to see Koji closing games this season instead of the fundamentally shaky Kevin Gregg. Of course at this point, just seeing the O's with a lead would be an improvement.

Speaking of Uehara, he finally proved human yesterday by issuing a pair of walks. The free passes were his first since July 19, 2010, a streak of 36 appearances in which he struck out 46 batters. It was the third-longest streak since 1954, trailing only Dennis Eckersley (41, 1989-1990) and John Smoltz (38, 2003-2004). Tonight or tomorrow would be a good time to start another streak!

Koji Uehara, 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions #139

I'm very pleased with the moves the Orioles have made in the past 24 hours.

First, they reached an agreement late last night on a new contract for Koji Uehara. I was confused when the O's declined to offer him salary arbitration, but in hindsight they saved money. If he'd accepted arbitration, he likely make at least $6 million in 2011 (his 2010 salary was $5 million). Instead, Koji signed a one-year deal for $3 million guaranteed with another $2 million in incentives and an option for 2012. It's a pretty low-risk deal for someone who was excellent when he finally got healthy.

Around lunchtime today, the Birds finally completed a trade for another talented infielder in his prime, acquiring shortstop J.J. Hardy and utility infielder Brendan Harris from the Twins for minor league relievers Brett Jacobsen and Jim Hoey. Minnesota even threw in $500,000 to offset some of the salary difference. Hardy is 28, has some pop (he hit a total 61 doubles and 50 homers in 2007 and 2008 with the Brewers), and is regarded as a strong defender. At this point in his career, he's just as good as Cesar Izturis with the glove and even if his offense remains at the lower level of his 2009-2010 numbers, he's actually a significant upgrade over Cesar with the bat. Twins fans are howling over the deal, which I'll take as a good sign.

I feel much better about the deals Andy MacPhail has made this week than I did about the retread Band-Aids he slapped on last year's team. It's starting to look like a major league club...of course the less said about the Red $ox and the Yankee$, the better.

Koji Uehara, 2009 Upper Deck #941

Since he last walked a batter on JULY 16, Koji Uehara has a total of 41 strikeouts. His strikeout-to-walk ratio for the season is now 10.4-to-1. That is all.

Koji Uehara, 2009 Upper Deck X Die-Cut #99

I'm way past due in giving the pitchers some love on this blog, and no one is more deserving than Koji Uehara. For the first year and a half of his two-year, $10 million contract, he looked like just another free agent bust for the Orioles. He was as fragile as a Faberge egg, wilting in the heat and humidity and landing on the disabled list multiple times. He missed a chunk of June and all of the second half of the 2009 season, at which point the club decided to minimize their losses and drop him from the rotation. It was a logical move, as he'd spent his last two years in Japan as a closer with some success. His stamina problems would be less of a factor in one-to-two inning bursts, and his excellent control would be a panacea after the heave-and-a-prayer stylings of the Dennis Sarfates and George Sherrills of the world. It was a great idea in theory...but then Uehara tweaked his hamstring once more in spring training and wasn't seen again until May. He pitched effectively in six games, but then went back on the DL with a strained forearm. He returned 40 days later and seemed out of sync, allowing runs in three out of four appearances.

But then something clicked. In his last fourteen games, Koji has given up just one run in 17 innings for an 0.53 ERA. He's allowed 13 hits and only two walks while striking out 19. He has three holds, picked up a win in the wild 11-10 comeback victory against the Rays, and earned his first major league save in Saturday's 8-6 win over Texas. For the season, his ERA has dropped to 1.73 and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is an excellent 5.80-to-1. Oh yeah, and he's rocking an amazing set of sideburns.

It would be great to see Koji back in the Baltimore bullpen in 2011. We just have to make sure he eats his spinach and does his yoga.

Koji Uehara, 2009 Topps 206 #23

He may have only pitched in two games since starting the season on the disabled list, but the early returns on Koji Uehara as a late-inning reliever are encouraging. Protecting leads in both contests, the Japanese hurler has retired six of the seven batters he's faced. He's thrown only 24 pitches, 19 for strikes (as is his M.O.). Now if he can make it through the next five months without his hamstrings exploding, we'll be getting somewhere.

Koji Uehara, 2009 Topps T206 Autographs #FMA-2

One of the neat little perks of being a team collector and blogger is that you don't always have to go out chasing the shiny rare inserts. I haven't opened a single pack of T206 or done an eBay search for it, yet I'm in possession of this excellent framed mini autograph card of Koji Uehara, the first Japanese player in Orioles history. I like his signature. I can make out "Koji", and then it gets ridiculous. I can't imagine what that's supposed to be, because it's not English and I'm reasonably sure it's not Kanji. I hope I got that right.

Earlier this week, Larry (a.k.a. The Sewingmachineguy) emailed me to offer up this fine card for trade. He is a Tigers fan, and by a stroke of luck, one of the few non-Orioles relic cards that I have is of ex-Tigers prospect Cameron Maybin. So I sent Cameron and his little gray jersey swatch off to Michigan and reaped the benefits. Thanks, Larry!