I spoke to a Japanese business client of mine Tuesday afternoon. Knowing he was a big baseball fan, I asked what he knew of Daisuke Matsuzaka and his response was enthusiastic, to say the least.

"He is twice the pitcher of Nomo," my client said. "And he throws this pitch, the gyroball, that is unbelievable." His description of the pitch was consistent with what I had heard elsewhere: part screwball, part curveball, lots of velocity. "If he throws it 95," my client explained, "the batter feels like it is coming 105."

My client and I then discussed the peculiarities of the posting process and the fact that the Cubs--or anybody else--would probably wind up spending $100 million or so by the time they could get Matsuzaka under contract.

It seems like a lot of money, though if the guy is twice the pitcher of Nomo, who, himself, was probably five times the pitcher of many of the stiffs the Cubs sent to the mound last summer, that would make Matsuzaka ten times better than what we were subjected to in '06.

That's good enough for me. I hereby authorize Hendry and Captain Beanie Baby to spend the cash.