As far as the park-and-fit...

I'm leery of adding a RH hitter who relies on HRs in Japan that he won't get here, and that we can never EVER replace regardless of his performance.

There is no guarantee that Nick Franklin is gonna be the SS we really need him to be, but adding Nakajima makes Franklin instantly the greatest trade bait we are willing to dangle.  His position would be blocked off for the next half-decade with us, at least.

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PROPS:  You can't bring in any right-hand hitter without weighing Safeco moossssssst carefully.  Much less a Japanese shortstop who mirrors Kazuo Matsui.

You can't stop G-Moneyball, you can only hope to contain him...

Dr. Detecto confidently asserts that no person on earth weighs the Safeco-vs-RH factor more heavily than he.  There isn't a single player I'd allow in my lineup without rubber-stamping him A-OK to hit in Safeco.

The more so, since the effect accumulates over years.  And as those years go on, Nakajima will be Nintendo-ossified into the lineup...

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SLOPS:  It's very important that Nakajima plays short.

Bats that I'd never take in Safeco, at any other position, I'd take at SS and C ... just because all your SS's and C's have to hit righthand.

True, Nick Franklin doesn't, but he's a teenager ... he has three filters to pass ... and he might well move off short.

That's why the Safeco factor doesn't play in as much for me here.

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I have a suspicion -- Taro and IceX and co. can correct me if I'm wrong -- that Nakajima's electric bat transcends the usual concerns.

Here's a vid in which he takes a Bret Boone-type cut and takes the ball I dunno... 15 rows up to straightaway RIGHT field.

It's not just the direction and distance.  It's the hip load, the short finish, the strength.  How many Mariners could hit that ball to the off field?    Gutierrez can't.  Lopez certainly can't.  Can Mike Saunders?

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Kenji Johjima was a RH hitter who, we all figure, "lost his homers" to Safeco ... but, did he really?  The first two years are what count when assessing Joh:  the third year, the pitchers AND MANAGER turned on him like jackals, and the depressing Safeco-park effects had set in.

But in years 1 and 2, the righty Johjima hit .290 with (prorated) 30 doubles and 18 homers.  And he was a +3.3 and +3.1 win player those two years.

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STOPS:  I'm not saying that Nakajima would make the All-Star team from Safeco.  But I have a feeling that he would be one of those specific players -- like Johjima was -- who sprayed the field with hard-hit balls, off of pitchers' pitches.

All shortstops hit righty.*  You don't need a 120 OPS from short; 90-105 park-adjusted and you've got a player you can win a pennant with.

Only and because of the fact that Nakajima plays the shortstop position, I would be enthused about his bat in Safeco.  I'd guess that, with the juice in his bat, he can OPS+ 100, 110 in Safeco.

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Part 3

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