Nov. 7 -- GOING GLOBAL?

"We have to try to be creative with regard to acquiring pitching. We have

to keep our mind open and try to extract all the information we have."

-- Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr.

So, Curt Schilling is off the market.

Now what?

Well, pitching remains the Phillies' No. 1 priority. It's clear from talking to Pat Gillick and others in the organization that the Phils realize they can't go through another season trying to outslug themselves, even though they play in a hitter's ballpark and have the league's most feared lineup. They barely made the playoffs last season despite scoring nearly 900 runs because their pitching staff posted a 4.73 ERA, fourth-worst in the NL. If that happens again, chances are, the Phillies won't defend their NL East title.

But where should they turn for pitching help? As we saw when we did our position-by-position look at the Phils' rotation, the free-agent market is filled with aging veterans (Tom Glavine, David Wells, Kenny Rogers) and middling starters who will get overly lucrative contracts (Kyle Lohse, Carlos Silva). And everyone is looking for pitching. The cost for free agents will be outrageous, and any team that may actually trade a pitcher (White Sox with Jon Garland, Marlins with Dontrelle Willis) will demand a hefty ransom. The Phillies, who don't have much bait, likely would have to part with at least Shane Victorino and one of their few pitching prospects.

That's why they keep talking about getting creative.

If the Phillies are going to upgrade their pitching, they may have to think outside the box. How? Well, assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed in an e-mail Tuesday night that they may look toward Japan. Last winter, the Red Sox turned up reliever Hideki Okajima, the less heralded countryman of phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka. And while Dice-K got the big contract and offseason acclaim, Okajima became an All-Star and possibly baseball's top setup man.

Right-handed starter Hiroki Kuroda (pictured above) and reliever Masahide Kobayashi are the top potential free agents who could be lured to the majors. Unlike Dice-K, neither will require a posting fee before negotiations can begin (the Sox bid $51 million just to negotiate with Matsuzaka). Now, we're not going to pretend to know anything about these pitchers, although 33-year-old Kuroda appears to be a control artist and 33-year-old Kobayashi has been an effective closer for several years. But we will give you their stats in Japan and let you judge for yourself: In lieu of the limited free-agent or trade options, should the Phils pursue a Japanese pitcher?

HIROKI KURODA
2007 with Hiroshima: 12-8, 26 starts, 7 CG, 179.2 IP, 176 H, 42 BB, 123 K, 3.56 ERA
Career: 103-89, 271 starts, 74 CG, 1700.1 IP, 1706 H, 445 BB, 1,257 K, 3.69 ERA

MASAHIDE KOBAYASHI
2007 with Chibba Lotte: 49 G, 47.1 IP, 53 H, 12 BB, 35 K, 27 SV, 3.61 ERA
Career: 445 G, 580.1 IP, 507 H, 170 BB, 463 K, 227 SV, 2.79 ERA

KAZUO FUKUMORI
(31-year-old reliever)
2007 with Tohoku Rakuten: 34 G, 36 IP, 44 H, 17 BB, 33 K, 17 SV, 4.75 ERA
Career: 377 G, 662 IP, 670 H, 243 BB, 460 K, 72 SV, 3.68 ERA