Comments on: Unable to contact parents in Japan, Takashi Saito leaves Brewers camp

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:13:30 +0000

Who the hell would give that comment a down vote?

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:12:21 +0000

A lot of times, we as fans forget that these guys playing out there do have lives and families outside the game. We see baseball as an escape and a distraction from reality—like after 9/11. But in cases like this—or even the Padres guy (I think) whose brother was killed last year(?)—inevitably, some of these guys are going to be directly affected by forces outside the game. And we need to realize that.

By: Rosenthals Speling Instrukter

Rosenthals Speling Instrukter — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:28:22 +0000

You said it best. Sports is a great way to get some relief from everyday life and all but in the grand scheme of things is pretty insignificant.

By: madaozeki

madaozeki — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:00:12 +0000

In case it wasn’t clear, Sendai isn’t just a “town”; it’s a city of over 1,000,000 people, the largest in the region…

By: BC

BC — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:54:33 +0000

Hopefully they had moved somewhere else. All you have to do is click the video link on this page to see how horrible this was:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42023385/ns/world_news-asiapacific/
There’s basically nothing left of that town. Who knows how many people died. Horrible stuff.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:40:52 +0000

Saito is from Sendai, the city most massively damaged by the quake and tidal waves. I would guess from that, that his family lives in that area. Sendai airport was buried in mud from the waves. Hope he can get a flight close to home and find himself some drivable roads.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:24:11 +0000

Thoughts and prayers go out to Saito’s and any other families affected by this tragedy, especially those that lost their lives. What with the expansion of Asian—especially Japanese players in this case—in baseball over the last while, I would expect—but never hope, obviously, regardless of team affiliation—to hear more reports like this. Stuff like this kind of puts baseball and life in general right back in perspective.

By: BC

BC — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:15:23 +0000

I hope the heck his family lives in the Southern end of the country, and not in that town that got mowed by the tsunami. That thing looked as bad as the one in Indonesia a while back – can’t imagine how many people must have lost their lives. Terrible.

By: Rosenthals Speling Instrukter

Rosenthals Speling Instrukter — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:58:09 +0000

Hope his parents are okay. There are not many places in the world where you an live and avoid natural disasters. And they are very hard to predict and prepare for.