Twins earn right to sign Nishioka

Baseball: The Minnesota Twins have 30 days to sign Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka after submitting the highest bid for his negotiating rights.

The Chiba Lotte Marines announced Friday they had accepted the bid for the 26-year-old Nishioka.

If no agreement is reached, the Marines will not receive the fee.

The deadline for bids was Wednesday.

Nishioka led the Pacific League with a .346 batting average this season and had 206 hits, becoming the league’s first player to get 200 hits since Ichiro Suzuki.

After bidding about $5 million to win the exclusive negotiating rights, the Twins should have little trouble closing the deal.

So get ready to see another batting champion in Minnesota’s 2011 lineup, alongside Joe Mauer.

This negotiation is expected to go much smoother than the one Oakland is having with Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma.

Nishioka is in a different position than Iwakuma and other players who have come to the majors from Japan. For one thing, he’s younger.

Iwakuma, 29, is one year from free agency in Japan. Nishioka is three years from free agency. Chiba Lotte is treating this as a special case, and many expect Nishioka to jump at the chance to play before the capacity crowds at Target Field.

Associated Press

Idaho pays visit to Eastern today

Men’s basketball: A pair of 1-3 teams will try to prove they are better than their record might indicate this afternoon, when Idaho and Eastern Washington square off in a nonconference game that tips off at 3:05 p.m. at Reese Court.

Idaho, after disposing of Eastern Oregon in it’s opener, has dropped three straight and is coming off a 75-33 spanking administered on Monday by Montana in Missoula. The Vandals, shooting just 37.3 percent from the field, are paced by Luiz Toledo, averaging 13 points per game.

EWU, which is still waiting for injured sophomore point guard Glen Dean to make his season debut, lost at Boise State 83-54 in its last outing and picked up its only win of the year at home against Northwest University, an NAIA school.

The Eagles have four players – Tremayne Johnson, Cliff Colimon, Jeffrey Forbes and Laron Griffin – averaging in double figures, but are averaging more than 20 turnovers per game.

Steve Bergum