Johjima spent the first nine seasons of his career with the team currently known as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in NPB's Pacific League, and there he was a 30-homer player between 2001 and 2004 before hopping across the Pacific to the Mariners. After struggling with the Mariners the past two years, the decision to move back to NPB clearly makes a ton of sense; he'll make more money, he'll be back home, and the smaller parks may give him a chance to regain his power stroke.
The Seattle Mariners announced on Monday that catcher Kenji Johjima has opted out of his current contract so that he can return to Japan and finish out his career there. Johjima signed a three-year contract extension with the Mariners in April of 2008, but used a clause that allowed him to opt out of the final two years of his deal.
The 33-year-old catcher came to Seattle in November of 2005 after playing 11 seasons in the Japanese Pacific League and was the first Japanese-born player to ever catch in the major leagues. In his four seasons as a Mariner, Johjima hit .268 with 48 home runs and 198 RBI.
You know how you can purchase playoff tickets for your favorite teams even before they've qualified for the playoffs? It's a conditional thing, with the understanding that if your team fails to make the postseason you'll have your money refunded immediately. Of course, if you are a Texas Rangers fan, that understanding apparently doesn't apply.
According to Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers have emailed those who purchased playoff tickets that they won't be receiving a refund until "sometime in November." That's good to know, I'm sure. The Rangers were only eliminated from playoff consideration on Sept. 30. Why should the fans, who spent their own hard-earned cash, expect to get it back within six weeks? It's not like playoff tickets cost much.
With two series over, Major League Baseball has updated the schedule for the rest of the Division Series.
The Rockies and Phillies will play their Game 4 at 4 PM ET if the Yankees-Twins series is still going on. Should the Yankees finish off a sweep Sunday night, the NL Game would move to 6 PM ET.
Series-by-series times are after the jump (all times Eastern).
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly look at some aspect of America's pastime.
Instead of handing our hardware to Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, Zack Greinke and Chris Carpenter (yes, those would be my votes), I thought we'd mix it up a bit. Plus, being a Cubs fan, I'm plenty filled with negativity at this time of the year -- which, really, is normal. So these are the Bizarro World Awards. The Suck Awards, if you will. The envelopes, please ...
Mike Blowers played 11 seasons in the majors, but he never had a day like this. Sunday, Blowers -- who now does color broadcasting for the Seattle Mariners -- made one of the most unbelievable predictions we'll ever see. The sheer accuracy of how he laid the situation out is simply mind-boggling. It involves the first career home run of rookie infielder Matt Tuiasosopo. Please check out the video, as it is well worth the watch.
Mike Blowers knows more about baseball than you. His AM radio predictions for Seattle Mariners third baseman and spellcheck challenger Matt Tuiasosopo came true in increasingly accurate and eerie ways, including pitch count, distance, and barometric pressure. The only possible explanations for this are that he is a genius, or that an older version of him traveled back in time with a Sports Alamanac. Somebody get a picture of his wife, see if she has enormous implants.
I predict that tonight's Dugout is after the jump. /puts fingers to temples
Finally, the regular season is almost over. Most baseball seasons -- especially since realignment and the addition of the wild card -- have at least three heated races down the stretch. While the Braves, Rangers and Giants have tried to make things interesting at different points in time, there is really only one race that's been in total doubt for the entire month: the AL Central. As the Twins and Tigers get set to play the only interesting game of the day, we're left sorting out what has been a relatively boring final month. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though. A week from Wednesday, the playoffs begin.
Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez has always had the stuff to make opposing hitters and anyone watching him work drop their jaws and say "wow." But he's also had the ability to frustrate with his inconsistency.
All of that has changed in 2009 as the 23-year-old has put together his best season in the major leagues, going 17-5 with a 2.49 ERA and 207 strikeouts.
Now his name is being mentioned as a Cy Young candidate, and the Mariners are elated to think about the fact that Hernandez may get even better in the coming years. Of course, that also means he's going to get more expensive.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Angels soaked the jersey in beer, champagne and tears, holding Nick Adenhart's No. 34 high in the middle of the celebration he missed.
Los Angeles is headed back to the playoffs for the sixth time in eight years, and the Angels intend to go with the memory of their late teammate alongside them. The 22-year-old pitcher's death in an April car accident roiled their season early on, but it couldn't sink this resilient team.
Kendry Morales homered and drove in three runs, and the Angels wasted no time clinching their third straight AL West title with an 11-0 victory over the second-place Texas Rangers on Monday night.
Just a few days after announcing that he won't return to the Seattle Mariners in 2010, Kenji Johjima has signed a four-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Central League. NPB Tracker says the deal is a four-year deal worth the equivalent of $27.25 million, which is a pretty nice deal for him after opting out of the $16 million owed to him by the Mariners. 
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With two series over, Major League Baseball has updated the schedule for the rest of the Division Series.
Seattle 
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The 
