per ari alexander .... A little more specifically what I was told regarding Astros and Asia at Winter Meetings: They beefed up Asia/Pacific Rim scouting - adding and/or moving 3-4 scouts. They are looking at Korean and Japanese amateurs more closely. They were targeting SPs from Asia - and target acquired with Imai. Jim Crane has been pleased with his partnership with Daikin and thought having high level Japanese players would be a positive marketing-wise.