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Royals' Hillman Respects Iwamura

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 27, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - During his five years managing in Japan's Pacific League, Trey Hillman didn't get many chances to watch Akinori Iwamura play for Yakult of the Central League. But the Royals' first-year skipper liked what he saw in limited viewings.

"I saw him enough to appreciate his athleticism," Hillman said Saturday. "At third base, you could see how good he moved his feet, and he had running speed, he had good hands, he had great hands at the plate - same things he's doing here.

"He hasn't lost any of the skills, and I'm really impressed with the transition from third to second. But when I heard they were going to do that, I thought it made perfect sense simply because of the foot speed and the agility I saw from him playing third base on the Astroturf."

Hillman chatted with Iwamura for a few minutes during batting practice Friday. The manager said his Japanese isn't very good, even after spending five years at the helm of the Nippon Ham Fighters, but he was impressed with Iwamura's English.

He said he isn't surprised the impressive power numbers Iwamura recorded in Japan (he averaged 35 homers from 2004-06) haven't translated to the majors. Iwamura didn't have to face nearly as many hard throwers in his home country, and Yakult's stadium was rather cozy - only 296 feet down each foul line. "That was a bandbox," said Hillman. "Not a big ballpark at all."

Still, Hillman called Iwamura an "obnoxious" hitter for opposing pitchers to face because of his ability to work a quality at-bat.

"I'm glad to see him having success," said Hillman. "He does it right. In Japan he was considered a little bit of a free spirit, but even with being a free spirit, he always worked hard. I know because I asked. I had many clubs calling me asking my opinion, and I went straight to a couple of his American teammates and they said this guy works as hard as anybody else - he's just a little more flamboyant."

PLAN C? Saturday's trade that sent Casey Blake from the Indians to the Dodgers took another option off the table for the Rays. Blake's departure, along with the finalization of the deal that sent Xavier Nady from the Pirates to the Yankees, means the two most-rumored right-handed bats of interest to the Rays are gone. But they're still talking.

"Conversations are ongoing," said executive vice president Andrew Friedman. "It is very difficult to handicap the chances of a deal at this point, because as everyone knows, things can change rather quickly. On one hand, we have a lot of confidence in the players we have, but we also have a responsibility to thoroughly examine the market to see if we can add a player or players that will positively impact us down the stretch."

ANOTHER NEWCOMER: DH Cliff Floyd flew home to Florida on Saturday morning for the birth of his third child. Floyd's wife, Maryanne, gave birth to daughter Layla at 12:47 p.m. on Saturday in Clearwater. She checked in at 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

ANOTHER SUSPENSION: OF Jonathan Quinonez of the Rays' Venezuelan affiliate was suspended 50 games after testing positive for "metabolites of Nandrolone" - a steroid. Quinonez, 17, hit .260 with a team-leading nine homers in 58 games.

His ban came five days after Vero Beach RHP Matt Walker was docked 50 games.

REHAB WATCH: Rocco Baldelli started in right field for Montgomery on Saturday. He played five innings and went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, including a two-run homer.

THE REPLACEMENTS: Todd Kalas and Brian Anderson will fill in for Joe Magrane when the Rays TV analyst is away calling Olympic baseball for NBC next month. Magrane will not be traveling to Beijing; he'll head to New York to work from the network's studios.

Marc Lancaster

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