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FSN has a great written piece here on Nishi's rehab and recovery. Sounds like this man couldn't have a better attitude. I think his energy is sorely missed. From things in this article and the small remarks from Nishi I've read elsewhere, it sounds like the reception he got at Target Field meant a lot to him.

I haven't seen a lot of background on Nishioka so I went to Ol' Unreliable to see what it had to say. The two things that popped out to me was how young he was when he made the club and more worrisome, all the mentions of injuries over the years.

Follow the link and scroll down for pictures of Tsuyoshi eating what looks like a Hot Dish for dinner today.

So, last time we learned Nishioka is a Lady Gaga fan, and some other things. What do we know about Nishi after part 2 of KARE 11's profile? - Opens with old man singing Tsuuyoshi’s 2010 hitting song (sung by all fans while Nishioka was hitting; look it up on YouTube). - Admired Derek Jeter growing up - Likens himself to Babe Ruth (facetiously) - Media darling in his home Japan - It become apparent once visiting him training in Osaka, Nishi isn’t the complacent type. He works tirelessly. - "I will make an exciting play, but I will make an exciting error too. So don’t miss it." - Doesn’t worry about other Japanese players in MLB; wants to play his own baseball. - Would like to be able to communicate with Gardy as much as possible. Taking English lessons. - Nishioka was able to hum the tune to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" - Nishi is reportedly very happy and comfortable in Florida now. - Japan is very proud of Nishioka and glad he is coming to MLB to try and prove his worth.

So--the first part of the profile was a little disappointing to me, because it was actually just a 5 minute or so segment on the evening news (which I hadn't realized). But here are some of the interesting points: - Nishioka's greatest concern is the language barrier - KARE 11 reporters gave a coffee table book on the Twins to his parents - Nishioka's parents and teachers are extremely proud of him--although they also expected this all along. - Nishioka: "I respect my parents so much, I can't be a better person than them until they die." (not surprising from an Asian--their culture is extremely familial) - Now that he is coming to the US, Nishioka says "I can see my own country in a different view" - Nishi lives in Toyko, but trains in Osaka (where his high school is, across the bay). - KARE 11 Brought him a big cake with Twins logo on it. He drank champagne with the KARE 11 reporter. - Nishi likes hip hop, R&B, Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson. - Nishi has NO Baseball superstitions - Nishi feels very grateful and lucky to be one of the few Japanese stars to transition to MLB. UPDATE: Forgot to mention, Nishi wants to get a house in Minneapolis by the lake.

He's probably on the plane right now headed to Minneapolis. And yeah, it seems this Japanese media hype is really rubbing off on me. FYI--KARE 11 is airing a two-part profile on Nishi starting tomorrow (Feb. 3) at 10pm CT. They actually sent a reporter to Japan to learn about him. And did anyone else know the Japanese league uses smaller, harder baseballs than MLB?

This Japanese website has a video of Tsuyoshi Nishioka arriving at MSP International, and of all the snow here. He looks kinda of surprised and bewildered, as do the Minnesotan on-lookers in the background. The video and website are all in Japanese of course (I can't get in trouble for posting this, can I?)