If necessary, Saito free to return home
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he had already discussed with general manager Doug Melvin the possibility that Takashi Saito would have to return home to Japan, where a huge earthquake struck near his hometown Friday. The baseball implications of Friday’s disaster were low on the list of priorities of club officials concerned for Saito’s extended family.
“I don’t really want to think about that right now,” Roenicke said.
Roenicke spoke to Saito early Friday morning before the reliever left to wait for word from loved ones. He had already reached his wife, who was safe with their three children on higher ground. But Roenicke said Saito was unable to reach his parents and other family members who live on low ground near Sendai, a Pacific coast city hit especially hard by high waves.
“He’s obviously concerned, pretty upset about what happened,” Roenicke said. “He went back to his place here [in Phoenix] … to try to sit by his phone and see if he got any more information.”
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Adam McCalvy
