Wife's plea gets Matumoto a job

There are such things as fairy tales in spring training, and yesterday the Blue Jays gave life to one when they signed sidearm-throwing lefty Jo Matumoto.

The 36-year-old Brazilian-born pitcher of Japanese descent arrived in camp in hopes of making his dream come true and jump from the relative obscurity of pitching in Brazil and Japan to the major leagues.

Matumoto faces long odds – he's paper-thin and needs probably several months to build strength in his arm and body. But there's something about his wonky delivery and breaking pitches – his primary pitches are a screwball and slider – that prompted the Jays to sign him.

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