http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/takahashi-is-missing-his-safety-blanket/ May 31, 2010, 6:22 pm Takahashi Is Missing His Safety Blanket By DAVID WALDSTEIN The New York Mets SAN DIEGO — Hisanori Takahashi is scheduled to make his third start and ninth appearance of the season Monday against the Padres, but for the first time since joining the Mets last winter, he will be doing it without the support of someone very close to him. Takahashi will be without his personal trainer, cook, translator, massage therapist and confidant: the remarkable Yoichi Terada. Terada left the team Monday to return to Japan, where he is scheduled to get a work visa Wednesday in Osaka. He intends to return to the team once he secures the visa. His old one ran out Monday. Since Takahashi’s arrival, Terada has been most prominent in guiding him through his daily workout routines, which includes stretching him and running with him. Terada also massages Takahashi, which is something many Japanese players consider vital to their conditioning and durability. Terada has also been cooking for Takahashi on the days when he starts. Going into Monday’s game, Takahashi, a 35-year-old left-hander, was 4-1 with a 2.13 earned run average, with 44 strikeouts in 38 innings. Could Terada’s departure affect Takahashi’s pitching performance? There’s no way to know for certain, and Takahashi would never admit to it even if it did. In the interim, Mike Peters, who is Ryota Igarashi’s translator, will translate for Takahashi, but it is not believed that he can cook up a rice bowl as well as Terada.
