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This from MLBTR:

Major League Baseball has asked the Rakuten Golden Eagles to submit in writing an assurance that the club does not have a side deal with Masahiro Tanaka, Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times report. Rakuten has not yet responded to MLB's letter.

Late last week, Shaikin and Hernandez reported that MLB would make sure that Tanaka was not donating to Rakuten. A donation would violate MLB's deal with NPB, which stipulates that Japanese teams not receive any money beyond a player's posting fee, which has a $20MM limit.

Rakuten's president, Yozo Tachibana, had reportedly said that Tanaka would "cooperate and donate . . . starting with improving the environment for the players and to make sure it’s the kind of stadium that can be loved by [local] fans." Rakuten has considered adding a dome.

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Poster EA, and Mojician was it? ... pointed out that the Nintendo company and Rakuten do business in Japan.  How in the world would MLB police that?  Here are Dr. D's cornball thoughts on the matter:

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1.  The "invisible hammer," out of the Commissioner's office, is never to be underestimated.

Pick up the newspaper in any given week, and you'll find stories about this player or that club official who never worked in his sport again.  This extends even to the most famous celebrities -- Barry Bonds, Barry Sanders?, Michael Jordan, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Holmgren, whoever.  They'll find something you did wrong, or they'll get pictures of you in private, and they'll feed a "cover story" to the public.

If the Commissioner's office thought that Howard Lincoln arranged a Nintendo-Rakuten deal, it might do who-knows-what to him.  Lincoln is well aware of this.

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2.  The Mariners and Masahiro Tanaka are -- in theory -- highly motivated to arrange such a clandestine deal.

It seems that Tanaka would dearly love to compensate Rakuten for the way it got shafted out of $50M in posting fees.  For those who missed Taro's and IceX's comments out of Japan ... Tanaka has a Felix-, Edgar-, Junior-like persona in Japan.  The way he's leaving, the damage it does to Rakuten, that's a factor.

This means that Tanaka-san might very well be motivated to sign with the Mariners -- even at a lesser salary -- if it meant that Nintendo was going to treat Rakuten with favor in the future.  Tanaka then moves on, "graduating with honor" from Rakuten, a clear conscience and sense of integrity intact.

Remember, Japan is its own culture.  Different things are valued differently over there, and some athletes have a vestige of the "samurai mentality."  

In America, our athletes feel perfectly free to widdle all over the clubs that have treated them with honor, for no reason at all.  Remember Alex Rodriguez smirking over the table at Pat Gillick as the M's presentation was made?  Much less likely with Tanaka-san.

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3.  It wouldn't have to be Lincoln, as such, who told Tanaka's associates, "Nintendo deeply sympathizes with Rakuten's situation," wink wink.  

In these situations no specific deal needs to be arranged.  Tanaka need only buy into the idea that Nintendo sincerely agrees with Rakuten's resentment of the "gaijin" exploitation of the posting rules.  The rest of it takes care of itself.

This much is a given:  if the President of the USA wants somebody tax-audited, he doesn't say "Audit Rush Limbaugh."  They're discussing Limbaugh, and the President gives a particular look, and his underling knows what to do.  For sure that is the way it (usually) works.

You don't need a signed deal between Nintendo and Rakuten (hypothetically speaking).  You need a couple of sympathetic words between power brokers.

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Nintendo might very well -- in theory -- call Rakuten and arrange such an understanding without Lincoln's knowledge or wishes.

Why Nintendo -- at a level higher than Nintendo of America -- would be motivated to do this, Dr. D has no idea.  Taro or IceX would have to chime in.

One way in which it could happen, would be if --- > one of the Japanese members of the board of Nintendo of America, were interested in Tanaka and then --- > alerted a friend at Nintendo Inc. of an opportunity to strengthen its relationship with Rakuten.

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If Nintendo were to treat Rakuten with favor, I don't think MLB would be able to keep ahold of the situation.  If the two giants routinely do business, and Nintendo plans to (generously!) purchase services from Rakuten 18 months down the line, that F-500 relationship is not within the realm of issues that Bud Selig can get his arms around.

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4.  There aren't that many things, in sports, that offend Dr. D any more.

This one does.  MLB's treatment of the NPB, and the way it clomps in jackbooted to tell Japanese companies how they will do business, that rubs me the wrong way.  Why should Rakuten and Nintendo be, in any way, affected by MLB's preferences?!

Our NPB posters might be able to speak to this better than I could.

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It's a complex business situation.  Howard Lincoln isn't going to be around so long that he has to worry about repercussions 15 years down the road ... there are some situations that elude a Commissioner's Office.  There are times when the Office is annoyed, or suspects nefarious play, and can't do much about it.

All things considered, it looks to me like the Mariners could get away with exploiting their Nintendo-Rakuten inside track. 

Just my opinion,

Dr D