Tokyo has allowed three of its top players to walk.
Greisinger, the winningest pitcher in the central league this season, was not re-signed.
Ramirez was also released by the Swallows. You will remember that Ramirez easily outclassed the CL MVP (Yomiuri's Ogasawara) this season, and would have easily won that honor had his team not been so utterly crap.
Number two in the rotation, Kazuhisa Ishii, walked on out to Saitama to join the Seibu Lions. He'll serve as a nice one-two punch with Wakui out there. We snagged Seibu's pitching coach, but Mr. Araki is going to have his work cut out for him at Jingu.
I wouldn't mind the personnel losses so much if I knew that the cash saved by not paying those three extra huge contracts would be reinvested in the team (like the farm team, for instance), but the front office is all but guaranteed to pocket it.
