2013 to be Morimichi Takagi's Final Year as Chunichi Manager

It's looking even more official now that this will be Morimichi Takagi's last year with the Dragons.  Yakyubaka's recent post links to some reports as well as listing some of Takagi's potential replacements.  This being Takagi's last year has been rumored since before the season started, and moving onto a new manager for 2014 makes a lot of sense for both sides.  Takagi's had a decent and interesting run so far, but his style is likely wearing on the players by this point and at his age he's probably better off leaving the demands of being a professional manager.

Here's a rundown of who's being discussed for the job:

Ken Macha - Pennsylvania native, former major leaguer and former Dragons clean-up hitter in the early 1980s.  Macha also managed six years in the major leagues including four successful seasons with the Oakland A's and two mediocre seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Kazuhiko Ushijima - Former Dragons closer in the early to mid 1980's and five-time NPB All-Star.  He was part of a trade that sent him to Lotte and Hiromitsu Ochiai to Chunichi.  Was the manager of the Yokohama BayStars in 2005 and 2006.

Kazuyoshi Tatsunami - Mr. Dragon, a Dragons legend and member of the Meikyukai.  Assistant coach of the 2013 Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic.

Kazuki Inoue - Long-time Dragons outfielder and current Chunichi hitting coach. 

Motonobu Tanishige - Current Dragons catcher

I'm rooting for either Tatsunami or Inoue.  I think listing Tanishige as a candidate is a stretch, though I wouldn't be surprised to see him become the manager of an NPB team at some point.

Kosuke Fukudome Still on the Market

Former Dragon Kosuke Fukudome has still yet to sign with any team in the U.S. or Japan.  He has stated that he would like to stay in the Majors and several MLB teams have been rumored to have had interest in him over the offseason.  The most recent team to be linked to him was the New York Mets last week; the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians were rumored previously.  It is not too surprising that Fukudome is still looking for work in the U.S.  He has been about a league-average hitter in the Majors, but in each of his four big league seasons he has started off the season very hot and slumped continously downward as the season progressed.  His trade last year to Cleveland inserted him directly into a pennent race, but again he was unable to contribute much down the stretch and the Indians were unable to keep pace with the Detroit Tigers and missed a chance at the playoffs.  Kosuke batted .249/.300/.371 in 59 games for the Tribe in 2011.

In my opinion it is Fukudome's pattern of late season failure that is keeping teams away this offseason.  His overall MLB numbers are not bad at .260/.361/.399, he really has a knack for drawing walks and getting on base and is a solid defensive player, but it is hard to overlook his late-season slides.  At this point he has done nothing to prove to any MLB team that he can put together a full-season and he missed a golden opportunity to do so last year, in his contract year, and in the spotlight of a pennant race.

I hope he gets one more opportunity in the big leagues, but if he is out of chances here, I do think he could definitely help one of he NPB teams.  The Dragons in particular could really benefit from having him back.  He is unlikely to regain his power stroke with the new NPB ball, but he could provide some of the on-base skills that Chunichi truly lacked last year.
 
I don't know that he would want to return to the Dragons and I'm sure the other NPB teams will be after him as well.  Some have mentioned Yomiuri as a possible destination, but we will see.  Spring Training has already begun in Japan and will be soon in the U.S. and I'm pretty positive that he will be in someone's camp it just may not be in the league that Kosuke is hoping for.

Hell Yeah!!!

According to Chunichi Shimbun, Kenshin Kawakami has reached out to Dragons management and the two sides are discussing a deal.
Update: Looks like a one-year deal for not a lot of money.