In Japan, live ratings were up 101% on NHK BS (which I assume is the name of the station). We’ll call that the Hideki Matsui factor.

In Panama, average ratings were up 101% on RPC and 40% on TV Max. That’s the Mariano Rivera factor.

In Korea, home of Phillies reliever Chan-Ho Park, ratings were up 73% on OBS.

In the Dominican Republic, average ratings were up 46% on CDN. In Canada, live ratings were up 65% on Rogers Sportsnet. In Mexico, average ratings were up 22% on Televisa.

The Yankees draw a crowd, and not only in New York.

The Yankees could easily get into the Roy Halladay hunt if they’re willing to part with Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, which they apparently are. The one player they’d love to hold on to is Austin Jackson, their future center fielder who could keep their outfield costs low.

Seems to me that getting Halladay would almost certainly cost one of the Yankees top young pitchers, and that young pitcher would be replaced by the new ace, which make it easier to give up either Hughes or Chamberlain. Replacing Jackson is tougher for the Yankees because they don’t have nearly the same outfield depth in the system.

Aside from guys like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, it’s hard to label anyone as untouchable. It’s a matter of finding the right deal. No doubt the Yankees would rather keep Chamberlain and Hughes, but for an ace like Halladay, they might be willing to deal one of them. They’d certainly rather keep Jackson as well, but for a young outfielder — there’s been a lot of talk here about Curtis Granderson — he might become more available.

I don’t know whether the Yankees are actually willing to trade Chamberlain or Hughes, but I don’t think the idea of moving one of them for Halladay is outrageous. It’s probably necessary for such a deal.

Last night I got a most unexpected email from longtime reader of this blog, Ron Hromisin. Turns out, the World Series trophy was back in my old stomping grounds this weekend, and Ron was there to see it.

Al Santasiere, who co-wrote the official retrospective of the old Yankee Stadium, was at Misericordia University — near Scranton in a town called Dallas — for a book signing. The trophy came with him.

“My family and I returned a short time ago from what was the thrill of a lifetime,” Ron wrote. “There it was in all it’s glory, for the first time ever outside of NYY Stadium!!!”

All three exclamation points were Ron’s, and every one of them seemed necessary.

1. Mariano Rivera (non-drafted free agent, February 1990)
2. Jorge Posada (24th round, 1990)
3. Derek Jeter (first round, 1992)
4. Chien-Ming Wang (non-drafted free agent, May 2000)
5. Jose Valdez (non-drafted free agent, October 2000)
6. Robinson Cano (non-drafted free agent, January 2001)
7. Shelley Duncan (second round, 2001)
8. Melky Cabrera (non-drafted free agent, November 2001)
9. Wilkin De La Rosa (non-drafted free agent, November 2001)
10. Phil Coke (26th round, 2002)

Cabrera beat De La Rosa by two days. Had they not left the organization for a while, Andy Pettitte would have ranked second — drafted two rounds ahead of Posada — and Triple-A outfielder John Rodriguez would have ranked fourth (he was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in 1997).

Now that Valdez and Duncan are gone, the next Yankees to join the Top 10 are (potentially)…

• Marcos Vechionacci (non-drafted free agent, August 2002)
• Hideki Matsui (non-drafted free agent, January 2003)
• Francisco Cervelli (non-drafted free agent, March 2003)

The Yankees would have to re-sign free agents Vechionacci and Matsui for them to move into the Top 10. Now that all 2003 draftees are free agents, the next five on the list to join the Top 10 are a group of fairly obscure minor leaguers and one not-at-all-obscure major leaguer…

• Josue Calzado (non-drafted free agent, May 2003)
• Melky Mesa (non-drafted free agent, July 2003)
• Jose Gil (non-drafted free agent, July 2003)
• Luis Nunez (non-drafted free agent, November 2003)
• Alex Rodriguez (acquired in trade, February 2004)

If the Yankees were to re-sign minor league free agents Eric Duncan (first round, 2003), Jay Stephens (sixth round, 2003) or Michael Gardner (13th round, 2003), they would also fit into this list.

Valdez was once fairly highly touted but had fallen into organizational player status with the Yankees. He put up good numbers but was basically a guy who could fill a bullpen role in Double-A and Triple-A. When he came to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, he was the last guy in the pen. Never remotely close to a big league call-up.

“The Valdez kid threw well last season, and he’s lighting up the Dominican Winter League,” Houston GM Ed Wade told mlb.com. “We had a couple of guys see him down there and they felt this kid had a chance to be a real significant contributor to the back end of the bullpen. We gave him a roster spot as a Minor League free agent, which is a rarity.”

Valdez is worth keeping an eye on just to see if the Yankees completely missed the boat.

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Speaking of former Yankees minor league pitchers, Jeff Karstens has been designated for assignment by the Pirates. Pittsburgh previously let Eric Hacker leave as a minor league free agent. Hacker was traded to the Pirates for Romulo Sanchez, who the Yankees just added to the 40-man, so at least the Yankees got the better of the Pirates in one move.

Chase Wright and Matt DeSalvo, by the way, are also minor league free agents. They were part of that massive group of 2007 rookies who made emergency starts for the Yankees. Another from that group, Tyler Clippard, pitched well out of the Nationals bullpen this year and seems to have solidified a major league job.

The timing for Chapman’s decision is a little surprising considering Mejia did guide him through the post-defection process and helped him earn free agent status with MLB, but Chapman has opted to go with a more established agency. It’s possible that Chapman was interested in the Hendricks agency because they represent Angels first baseman Kendry Morales, another Cuban defector. The Yankees have worked with the Hendricks Bros., who also represented Roger Clemens, on numerous deals.

Chapman is 21 years old and his fastball has been clocked at over 100 mph. The Yankees and Red Sox are said to lead the pack of teams interested in him.

Truth is, the Yankees already have too many players on the 40-man.

For every major league free agent the Yankees sign — and they seem likely to sign at least a left fielder, a designated hitter and a starting pitcher — they have to find a spot on the roster. There’s one spot open, but every other free agent addition comes at the cost of someone currently on the roster.

A spot might open by non-tendering Chien-Ming Wang (if that is, in fact, what the Yankees decide to do). Sergio Mitre might be a non-tender candidate as well (just a guess). Other spots could open through trades. Point is, something is going to have to change unless the Yankees are content to sign only one free agent this winter.

It’s very difficult to lose a player through the Rule 5 draft. Four Yankees were taken last year and none stuck. It’s very easy to lose a player through waivers. Steven Jackson, Anthony Claggett and Dan Giese jump to mind as Yankees who were claimed last year. Protecting too many players and having to DFA one of them can be worse than protecting too few players and running the risk of losing one in the Rule 5.

Here’s his scouting report.

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Noesi is a very interesting guy, I guess probably the definition of a late bloomer as a prospect. I saw him with SI (Staten Island) in ‘08 and he had the fastball but not much in the way of a secondary pitch. This year when I saw him in Charleston then later on in Tampa he had come a long way. Sits around 91-93, touches 94 and heard reports of 95. But pretty steady around 92-93. Plus command of the fastball, can go east and west very well. The difference now is he’s mixing the curveball with good 12-6 action (72-76 mph). About an average pitch now, flashed plus now and then. Mixes a changeup but saw him make a lot of mistakes on it. 82-86 mph. Really a show pitch right now. If he can get it over enough he’s got a #3 type profile. He was just really surprising this year. Really became a pitcher, throws a lot of quality strikes and the fastball has a lot of life.

I don’t think he’s a guy that converts to the pen either. I saw him go deep into some games, change his patterns and actually even pick up velocity at higher pitch counts. His curveball had a tendency to tighten up later on too. Clean delivery, everything is pretty nice and easy.

I’ve thought he was maybe the most overlooked good prospect in the system by the end of the year. He’s not that far off I don’t think. Pitches and carries himself like an experienced guy.

———

Great stuff. Thanks Frankie.

The first time a player clears waivers and is sent outright to the minor leagues, he has no choice but to accept the assignment. The second time, he has the right to refuse the assignment. Duncan was outrighted off the 40-man last winter and went to Triple-A. If Duncan clears this time, he will refuse the assignment.

“I’ll wait and see,” Duncan said. “I might clear on Monday or something, and if do, then I’ll become a free agent.”

The Yankees were clearly never sold on Duncan. He toiled in Tampa and Trenton too long, and his chances of being an impact player in this organization were slim. Duncan, though, has done all he can to prove himself and earn a chance at some big league at-bats.

I keep thinking of Garrett Jones, who I watched rake in the International League for years without getting a shot with the Twins. Then the Pirates picked him up and he became a Rookie of the Year candidate. I have no idea whether Duncan can do something similar, but I know he put up Triple-A numbers as good as or better than Jones. He just wasn’t a match for the Yankees organization.

Danger averted, the conversation continued.

“I just found out five minutes ago, actually,” Russo said. “I was trying not to think about it. I knew it was coming up but I didn’t know exactly the date until yesterday. It wasn’t in my control. It’s the Yankees, and they put me on there, which is great.”

Russo was one of three infielders added to the 40-man roster this afternoon. Along with Ramiro Pena, that group will give the Yankees four legitimate utility infield candidates. The knock on Russo will be that he hasn’t spent much time at shortstop. He might have the most advanced bat of the bunch, but most of Russo’s time has been spent at second base and third base, with a little bit in the outfield and a handful of games at short.

“I’ll try to do whatever it takes,” Russo said. “If I have a chance to make the team that way, that would be great. I’m going to try to do everything I can in the offseason to work on it. I guess it would be a good thing for them to see me at short. I feel like I can play it.”