Whither Godzilla?
Now that we are in the after glow of the World Series, the Yankees have to start to consider what to do with Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. John Harper of Newsday wonders if this is the last hurrah for Godzilla as a Yankee or could the World Series MVP be back in pinstripes again next year.
"I have no idea right now," he said with a smile through his interpreter after last night's game. "I hope so."
For weeks, even months, there have been whispers around the Yankees that there is no way the ballclub will bring back both Matsui and Johnny Damon, each of whose four-year contract is expiring.
GM Brian Cashman has made no secret of wanting to get younger overall, while also acknowledging a possible need to spread the use of the DH spot around, especially with catcher Jorge Posada turning 39 next season and Alex Rodriguez perhaps needing further hip surgery this offseason.
Of the two, Matsui always seemed more expendable because the condition of his knees has taken him out of the outfield and turned him into strictly a DH, one who doesn't run well anymore. Damon, meanwhile, can still be serviceable in left field, and, as we saw in Game 4, help win games with his speed as well as his bat.
If Matsui is indeed not resigned (and decides to continue to play in the U.S. which isn't a given), I would love to see the guy in a Ranger uniform and not just for his porn collection. The guy kills lefties to the tune of .282/.358/.616 last year and fits in with what the Rangers needs. He would be mainly a DH with a bit of OF or even first base in a pinch.
The question is of course price. Hopefully NL GMs will be smart enough to not give the guy a full time OF position. Hoping for smart GMs in the majors is always a hazard, but if the Yankees are not resigning him because they need to use the DH for Posada (eventually), that should set off some alarms to other clubs. If the NL teams stay out of the bidding, it's down to the 13 other AL clubs. The wild card of course is the possibility he could go to Japan which would overpay to get Matsui back and where he would be treated as a super star.
UPDATE Matsui ruled out the possibility of going back to Japan.
I would think the Abreu deal ( 2 years, $19M) would be the model since both are the same age and play roughly the same position. Do the Rangers have that kind of cash? There's a ton of money coming off the books and the payroll will be lower if the Rangers don't do anything, even after raises, buyouts, and arbitration. If the team can get sold quickly (cross your fingers everybody) then the new owners will likely bring the payroll up to the league average (cross your toes now) and have money to spend on a bat.
Despite their money problems, there are still rumblings of the Rangers maybe paying for Marlon Byrd to stay even now. If the Rangers have the money to pay Byrd, then they have the money to pay Matsui. And really, who would you rather have? While Byrd can play the OF better than Matsui, he's not going to have as good a bat. Plus the Rangers have enough young toolsy outfielders that they can afford to lose Byrd's defense if it means an upgrade on offense.
I know this is all a pipe dream most likely, but hey, that's what the offseason is for right?
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Olney thinks he is
headed back to Japan. Make sense. He would be paid more and treated like a hero.
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by RangerMad on Nov 5, 2009 10:28 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Pass...
a LH bat who is getting up there in age with no defensive value.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
by slc ranger on Nov 5, 2009 11:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
yeah he seems like a guy who is on the verge of a physical breakdown
unless we play half our games against pedro ill pass.
by Smoakin in the Boys Room on Nov 5, 2009 11:51 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I'd love to have a hitter this good
and a person who goes about his business in a very professional way around all of our young players.
by tyd3311 on Nov 6, 2009 7:18 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I don't have much to say about this except...
…I love the usage of the word “whither”. It’s a personal favorite of mine ever since I had to look it up after watching the Monty Python episode “Whither Canada?”
I have no objection to man walking on the moon.
by Chad Crudup on Nov 6, 2009 9:24 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Also...
…I’m pretty sure our manager wouldn’t pay much heed to
I have no objection to man walking on the moon.
by Chad Crudup on Nov 6, 2009 9:26 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Whoops! Premature post button hit...
What I was going to say is that Wash probably would still use Matsui as a traditional lefthanded hitter as I don’t think he is aware that reverse splits exist.
I have no objection to man walking on the moon.
by Chad Crudup on Nov 6, 2009 9:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Sometimes I wonder if he's aware splits exist period
"It's kind of a new stat that's in vogue" - Joe Buck on OPS
"...he wasn’t a good hitter, just a good middle of the order bat that hit a lot of homers." - NYTXFAN on Mark McGwire
by lonestarJon on Nov 6, 2009 6:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I really like Matsui
But between his probability of returning to Japan (really, if you’re a Japanese hero, why would you come to DFW?) and his left handedness (his 2009 numbers v lefties were good, but that looks like more a fluke than a real reverse split); I wouldn’t expect anything.
Now, if he’d come for what Abreu got last year, then yeah, I’d love to have him at DH instead of whatever mediocre bat we’ll run out there otherwise. But he’ll want $10+ to say in the US, and he’s not worth that.
Go Rice Owls!
by JBImaknee on Nov 6, 2009 9:37 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

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