Uehara Coming To Majors

Yomiuri Giants right-hander Koji Uehara announced Monday that he will opt for free agency next season and come play in the United States. ''I haven't seized the dream of playing in the major leagues. That is my ambition,'' Uehara told a press conference. ''I don't have that much time left and I want to achieve that goal before I see out my career,'' added the 33-year-old. Uehara, who nearly signed with the Angels in 1998 out of college, is 106-58 with a 2.97 ERA in nine seasons. Uehara has a splitter, cut fastball, a solid slider, fastball, and a nasty forkball. All his pitches have come down some as he gets older, but he would probably be effective for a team for at least a year or so. Uehara is still drawing interest from the Angels, but also has interest from the Dodgers and Red Sox. We are a long way from finding out where he will go, but I am sure he will be the next Japanese player to come over from Japan.