Kazuhisa Ishii did not become the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles' general manger in 2018 to just sit back and be idle.
The former NPB and MLB pitcher has been busy in his role as a mover and shaker in the Eagles' front office. Busy doing what, however, is still up for interpretation.
Is Ishii putting together a winner, or is he creating a northeastern chapter of the Seibu Lions? Does he have a master plan for competing with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the Lions in the Pacific League, or is the plan to surround himself with guys he used to play with?