Sox Ink Lefty Okajima

As has been widely reported, the Boston Red Sox announced the signing of Japanese free-agent LHP Hideki Okajima on Nov. 30, 2006. Okajima, a 30-year-old reliever, signed a two-year reportedly $2.5M deal, with a $1.75M team option for a third. In 2006 Okajima went 2-2 with a career best 2.14 ERA and four saves in 55 appearances for the Pacific League champion Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Okajima's arsenal of pitches includes a "plus" curve, a fastball and a fork ball. The new Sox lefthanded specialist had a cumulative record of 34-32 with a 3.36 ERA and 41 saves in his twelve year Japanese career. "Okaji," as he has asked to be called, will wear number 40.

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MiLB.com - Ellsbury Q&A

Check out MILB.com's interview with top prospect Jacoby Ellsbury.

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Ellsbury Goes 2 For 3 In Javelinas Final Game

11/17 Cup of Coffee: The Javelinas won their final game of the Arizona Fall League by defeating Scottsdale 1-0. This gave them an overall record of 14 wins and 18 losses for the short fall season. This saw them finish in last place in their division. Jacoby Ellsbury went 2 for 3 in the game with a run scored. He finished with a .276 batting average. Chad Spann went 0 for 3 in the game and ended up hitting .268. Dusty Brown did not play. He finished up hitting .239. David Pauley started and went 3 innings in the game. He did not allow a run while giving up 3 hits and 0 BB. He had 3 Ks. Overall he was 0-3 with an ERA of 5.06. He had 14 Ks in 23 2/3 innings. Lenny DiNardo pitched 1 scoreless inning of relief. He allowed 1 hit and 0 BB while striking out the side. Overall, he was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. He had 16 Ks in 13 1/3 innings. Kyle Jackson finished with a 6-0 record and an ERA of 6.23. He had 11 Ks in 17 1/3 innings. Barry Hertzler finished with a record of 1-0 and an ERA of 3.31. He had 17 Ks in 16 1/3 innings. See you in the spring!

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Spann Has Big Night As Javelinas Blast Phoenix

11/16 Cup of Coffee: In their second to last game of the fall season, the Javelinas bats came alive as they trounced Phoenix 11-0. Chad Spann had a big night at the plate going 4 for 5 with a run scored and a RBI. He raised his overall batting average to .278. Dusty Brown went 1 for 4 with a BB. He is now hitting .239. Kyle Jackson improved his record to 6-0 with a 2 inning scoreless performance. He allowed just 1 hit, 0 BB and had 3 Ks. The Javelinas play their final game of the fall season tonight.

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Ellsbury Goes 2 For 4 In Javelinas Loss

11/15 Cup of Coffee: Action in the Arizona Fall League yesterday saw the Javelinas drop a 6-5 decision to the Saguaros. Jacoby Ellsbury went 2 for 4 and scored a run. Dusty Brown went 0 for 3 with a BB and a run scored.

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Red Sox win bid on Daisuke Matsuzaka

With a record bid the Boston Red Sox won the rights to negotiate with Japanese star pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Red Sox bid of $51.1 million easily topped the previous record of $13.125 million for Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. The 26 year old right hander was 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA for the Seibu Lions of Japan's Pacific League in 2006. Now the Red Sox have 30 days to finalize a deal with Matsuzaka or risk the return of the Japanese ace to the Seibu Lions for the 2007 season.

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Javelinas Win 2nd In Row

11/14 Cup of Coffee: The Javelinas defeated Grand Canyon 5-2 on Monday. Jacoby Ellsbury was hitless in 5 at bats and saw his average drop to .255. Chad Spann went 1 for 4 and scored a run. Dusty Brown went 1 for 4 with a triple being his hit. Barry Hertzler went 3 hitless innings. He gave up 1 BB and had 4 Ks. Lenny DiNardo went 1 inning. He did allow a run. He gave up 1 hit and had a K.

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Javelinas Outslug Mesa 13-10

11/12 Cup of Coffee: Saturday's action saw the Javelinas defeat Mesa 13-10. Chad Spann went 1 for 4 with a run scored and a RBI. He also had a BB. Dusty Brown went 1 for 3 and had a RBI. He had 2 BBs as well. Kyle Jackson pitched 1 inning of relief. He allowed 4 runs on 4 hits and a BB.

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Javelinas Held To 5 Hits In 4-2 Loss

11/11 Cup of Coffee: Grand Canyon defeated the Javelinas 4-2 on Friday. David Pauley started and took the loss. His record is now 0-3. He went 4 2/3 innings giving up 4 runs on 8 hits. He did not walk a batter and had 2 Ks. Jacoby Ellsbury went 0 for 4 and is now hitting .269. Chad Spann also went 0 for 4 and saw his batting average drop to .242. Dusty Brown went 2 for 4 and had an RBI. His average is now .245.

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Javelinas Blanked 8-0 By Grand Canyon

11/10 Cup of Coffee: On Thursday, the Javelinas were shutout 8-0 by Grand Canyon. Jacoby Ellsbury went 1 for 4 and is now hitting .281. Dusty Brown entered the game as a pinch hitter and was 0 for 1. He is hitting .224. Barry Hertzler pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief. He did not give up a run on 3 hits and a BB with 3 Ks.

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Jackson 5-0 Credited With Javelinas Win Over Saguaros

11/09 Cup of Coffee: Kyle Jackson pitched 2 innings of perfect relief with 2 Ks in the Javelinas 10-6 win over the Saguaros. He was credited with the win and his record in the AFL is now 5-0. Jacoby Ellsbury went 3 for 5 and scored a run. Chad Spann went 0 for 3 but had 2 BBs. He also scored a run.

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Javelinas Lose 5-2 To The Saguaros

11/08 Cup of Coffee: In a battle between the two Peoria teams the Saguaros defeated the Javelinas 5-2. Jacoby Ellsbury went 0 for 5 while scoring a run. Chad Spann went 1 for 4. He scored a run and also reached base with a BB. Dustin Brown went 1 for 4 and had an RBI. Lenny DiNardo went 1 2/3 innings allowing 1 run on 1 hit and a BB.

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Sox Prospects Go 0 for 10 In Shutout Loss

11/07 Cup of Coffee: The Javelinas were shutout by Phoenix 5-0 on Monday. Jacoby Ellsbury went 0 for 4, Chad Spann went 0 for 3 and Dusty Brown also went 0 for 3 in the game. Barry Hertzler pitched 1 shutout inning of relief. He allowed a hit and a BB. He had 1 K.

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Javelinas Blanked 6-0 by Phoenix

11/05 Cup of Coffee: On Saturday, the Javelinas were shutout 6-0 on just 3 hits by Phoenix. Jacoby Ellsbury went 0 for 4 while Dusty Brown also went hitless going 0 for 3. David Pauley started the game and took the loss. He went 4 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits and a BB. He had 3 Ks. The Javelinas find themselves in last place in their division with a record of 9-13 and 3 games behind division leader Grand Canyon.

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Ellsbury Continues To Swing Hot Bat In Javelinas Win

11/04 Cup of Coffee: Jacoby Ellsbury went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI in the Javelinas 9-4 win over the Saguaros on Friday. Sox prospect Kyle Jackson got the win in relief after blowing the save. He went 1 inning giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. He had 1 K. His record in the Fall League is now 4-0.

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DiNardo Hurls Perfect Inning of Relief In 8-1 Win

11/03 Cup of Coffee: The Javelinas scored a 8-1 win over Mesa on Thursday. Dusty Brown went 1 for 3 with a BB. Two Sox pitchers combined for 2 scoreless innings of relief. Lenny DiNardo threw a perfect inning with 2 Ks. He threw 11 pitches in the inning, ten of which were strikes. Barry Hertzler also threw a scoreless inning of relief. He did not allow a hit but gave up a BB.

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Ellsbury Scores Twice In 6-3 Win

11/02 Cup of Coffee: Jacoby Ellsbury went 2 for 5 with a double and 2 runs scored in helping the Javelinas to a 6-3 win over Mesa. He is now hitting .306. Chad Spann was the only other Sox prospect to see action in the game. He went 0 for 2 with a BB. Slumping a bit, he has seen his average in the Fall League drop to .288.

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Javelinas Edged 7-6 in 11 Innings

11/01 Cup of Coffee: The Javelinas were edged 7-6 by Scottsdale in 11 innings. Jacoby Ellsbury went 0 for 6 in the game. Chad Spann went 1 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI. Dusty Brown went 1 for 5 with an RBI. Kyle Jackson pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief. He allowed 1 hit while giving up 1 BB and striking out 1.

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