Former White Sox (and Yankees and Rockies) pitcher Jose Contreras is one of those over-35-free agents. Rather than wait around to see who calls -- or doesn't -- he's working out for Japanese teams. The Softbank Hawks, specifically. The Hawks are generally a strong team -- made the playoffs last year after a couple of seasons in the wilderness -- and Contreras would, by far, be the biggest name among former Major Leaguers on the club.

Contreras always kind of reminded me an NPB pitcher -- or what I sort of imagine NPB pitchers to be like -- due to that quirky-herky-jerky delivery of his. There's a lot of deception to his game -- weird, changing arm angles and stuff -- and he can cause timing problems for batters. Reminds me of Hideo Nomo or something.

Point is, I could see Contreras doing well in Japan simply because he has forgotten more about being crafty than most guys ever know.