Archive for Hideki Matsui
On the eve of free agency, Godzilla makes his mark
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For seven seasons, Hideki Matsui has just always been there. He arrived in New York in 2003 at the age of 29 and was set to be a solution to the Yanks’ inability to find a steady left fielder, and now with a World Series MVP unders his belt, Matsui has been every bit as good a hitter as advertised.
In ten seasons in Japan, Matsui was a beast. He made his NPB debut at age 19 and amassed a career line of .304/.413/.582 with 245 home runs in 1268 games. In the states, he has played in 916 games and has hit .292/.370/.482 with 140 home runs. As age sapped him of the strength in his knees, his power has declined a bit, but by the end of a healthy 2009, Matsui had reemerged as one of the go-to clutch hitters in the Yankees’ lineup.
This week, Matsui has been the man about town. He appeared on David Letterman last night, carrying in the World Series trophy, and Japanese restaurant import Go! Go! Curry on West 38th St. has been celebrating their fellow countryman this week as well.
My two favorite stories about Matsui this week came from The Times. Jack Curry talked about Hideki’s World Series legacy. Matsui came to the Bronx to win a World Series, reached the Classic in his first year in pinstripes and did not make it back until potentially his last season with the Yanks. Curry notes the symmetry:
For Matsui, the game bookended his performance against Martinez in his first season in the 2003 American League Championship Series. Matsui belted a run-scoring double off Martinez as the Yankees rallied to beat the Red Sox, 6-5, on Aaron Boone’s homer.
After Martinez walked Alex Rodriguez on four pitches to begin the second, his pace slowed against Matsui. After Matsui fouled off a 3-2 changeup, Martinez tossed a fastball. It was an 89-mile-per-hour pitch, which is about as robust a fastball as Martinez can muster these days, and Matsui drilled into the second deck in right field for a two-run homer.
Matsui said he loved New York and hoped that he gets to stay. In Matsui’s first season, he proved that he was comfortable on baseball’s biggest stage. In what might have been Matsui’s final game with the Yankees, he showed that he can still perform professionally and exceptionally.
And then there is Hiroko Tabuchi’s report from Japan where the country has been celebrating Godzilla all week. Newspapers throughout the island nation proclaimed it the year of Matsui, and Japanese baseball fans understand the impact of Hideki’s heroics.
“For this baseball-loving nation,” wrote Tabuchi, “Matsui’s performance at the World Series on Wednesday — hitting a home run, tying a World Series record with six runs batted in and being named the most valuable player — sent a clear message. It put a Japanese player and the Japanese game on the American baseball map more firmly than any compatriot’s performance did.”
Today, Patrick Newman reported that Matsui will not be returning to Japan as had been previously rumored. Instead, the left-handed slugger will look to stay in the states, and if the Yankees want him for another year, I will welcome Number 55 back with open arms.
(image via tsjc)
Jose Molina and the Game 5 DH debate
Posted by: | CommentsWith A.J. Burnett taking the mound later tonight to try to secure a Fall Classic face-off against the Phillies, his personal caddy, Jose Molina, will be behind the plate. Although the offense suffers, I’ve come to terms with this decision. After all, Burnett is sporting a 2.19 playoff ERA in 12.1 innings and has struck out 10. If he truly does pitch better to Jose Molina, then the Yanks should, by all means, make Burnett comfortable in a potential clinching game.
Were the Burnett start ever so simple. As with every other A.J. Burnett outing, this one is not without controversy. Yesterday, Jorge Posada went 1 for 3 and was on base two other times while Hideki Matsui walked away from a 10-1 win as the other Yankee without a hit. For this short series, Posada is hitting .308/.471/.615 to Matsui’s perfectly respectable if powerless .286/.412/.357. Over the two games in Anaheim, Matsui has not looked particularly comfortable at the dish, but I’d hate to lose either player’s bat in Game 5.
So what are the Yanks to do? Would they DH Matsui behind Alex Rodriguez and prepare Posada for a mid-game pinch-hit appearance? Would they DH Posada, use Matsui to pinch hit and then either burn the DH spot or go with Francisco Cervelli behind the plate for the final few frames?
Marc Carig posed these question to Joe Girardi yesterday, and Girardi was nocommittal. “That’s something we’ll talk about,” the Yanks’ manager said. Posada issued a similar statement: “I don’t know yet. They haven’t said anything yet.”
The Star-Ledger reporter offered up this take on the situation:
Posada has hammered Angels starter John Lackey in the past. In 32 lifetime plate appearances against the Angels right-hander, Posada is 12-for-29 (.414) with three walks, a homer, and three RBI…Matsui hasn’t been bad against Lackey either. Though his .286 average in 32 plate appearance against Lackey pales in comparison, Matsui has two doubles, a homer and seven RBI against Lackey.
Based on some very limited numbers that generally don’t mean too much, Posada should start. He’s the hotter bat right now, and he has more success off of Lackey than Hideki Matsui does. Of course, the easy answer is to start Posada behind the plate. Although Jose Molina said he doesn’t know if he’ll be catching Burnett, I’m not going to mess with a good thing this late into October.
And so we await the lineup card. I predict Posada batting behind A-Rod. Jorge right now gives them the best chance to win, and with the Angels so close to elimination, the Yanks are going to apply as much pressure as they can later tonight.
Could Matsui stay in New York?
Posted by: | CommentsBut with the Mets? Some guy with the same name as me at MLBTR passed along this report from Newsday, where David Lennon speculates that Yanks’ DH Hideki Matsui could wind up in Flushing with the Amazin’s next year. Allow me to quote:
With Hideki Matsui telling friends he’d like to remain in New York above all else, as well as return to leftfield, it would be logical for the free agent to appear on the Mets’ radar this offseason.
In fact, Matsui is so eager to play the field again after a full year as the Yankees’ designated hitter that he’s also told people he would consider trying first base – a position he hasn’t played since high school.
[snip]
One baseball official suggested that the limited duty for Matsui this season will work to his advantage in allowing him to return to the outfield. With less wear and tear at DH, it was a chance for Matsui to recharge, and another four months off during the offseason obviously will be a big help, too.
The Mets obviously need all the help they can get, but can Matsui hold up all year while playing in the field? In leftfield, I’m not so sure it could be done. Godzilla needed to have his knees drained a few times this year after doing nothing more than running hard around the bases. Maybe he could pull it off at first, but he’ll almost assuredly be a negative-UZR player there, likely Giambi-esque.
Of course, Matsui’s amazing production this year (.274-.367-.506 with 28 jacks) is going to make it real hard for the Yankees to let him walk away. Granting, he’s not worth his $13M salary, so it’s unlikely the team will offer his salary arbitration after the season, even though he projects to be a Type-A free agent. FanGraphs valued his 2009 production at $11M, though I would be shocked if he pulls down eight-figures next year. What do you guys think, does one year at $8M seem reasonable for Matsui’s services next year?
Yanks take game, series, AL East, home field advantage, and best MLB record
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Thanks to reader AB for sending in the photo
After taking the first two games of the series from the Red Sox, all the Yankees needed yesterday was to avoid a blowout. Even with a loss they would still have been a win or Red Sox loss away from clinching the division and home field advantage. Sure, they would have lost the season series, but after starting out 0-8, finishing 8-10 would have been acceptable. They gave that extra effort, though, downing the Sox to even the season series and take the AL East division title.
The Sox, surely wanting to avoid the sweep, made life tough on Pettitte for the first three innings. They created some high-pressure situations by putting nine men on base, including two separate bases loaded situations. The Sox managed just two runs in those frames. That came back to bite them later, as Pettitte settled down and allowed just one baserunner during innings four through six.
Through the first five innings, the Yankees could not solve Paul Byrd. The soft-tossing righty scattered five hits over those frames, walking none. He did make a few mistakes, including a first-pitch homer to Melky Cabrera and a double to Swisher. The latter was erased when Nick Swisher supposedly left early on a tag-up play. The ump sure enjoyed showboating his call when the Sox appealed, but replay showed that he was wrong, wrong, wrong. It surely was not Tim Welke’s finest moment. (But don’t think that it will cost him any playoff games.)
Pettitte held down the Red Sox just long enough for the offense to strike. In a way, it was redemption for the run in the first. Pettitte had retired the first two batters in the first before loading the bases and allowing a run. Paul Burd retired the first two batters in the sixth before Mark Teixeira singled and A-Rod capped a 10-pitch at-bat with one of his own. That ended Byrd’s day. He led, but the go-ahead runs were on base.
Three pitches later Takashi Saito uncorked a pitch that bounced in the dirt and all the way to the backstop. That put the go-ahead run in scoring position, and Hideki Matsui wouldn’t let that go to waste. J.D. Drew made a nice stop on Matsui’s liner to right, but he was just a half second behind and the ball bounced up into his mitt. Both runners scored and the Yankees had taken the lead.
With Hughes having pitched the last two games, the game was left to Brian Bruney. The beleaguered reliever came out for the seventh looking to shake his poor September. While he threw a first-pitch ball to each batter in the seventh, those were the only ones. He ended up throwing 9 of 12 pitches for strikes, setting down the Red Sox — including their 1-2 hitters — in order. He also came out and got the first two batters in the eighth, ending with 21 pitches, 14 strikes. That’s what the Yankees are looking for from Bruney. He’ll have another week to prove he’s ready to make the postseason roster.
Teixeira added an insurance run with a home run off Dan Bard in the eighth, and from there it was all Mariano. Like Saturday it got a bit rough, with two runners reaching base — though one was on a Robinson Cano error. Not that it mattered. Mo got two weak grounders to end the game, clinching the division, home field, and best record in baseball for the Yankees. They now have 100 wins for the first time since 2004.
It sounds like the Yankees had themselves quite a celebration after the game, spraying champagne and some light beer all over themselves, reporters, and anyone who happen to be in the clubhouse. They still do have a baseball game tomorrow, though. I’d expect to see a complete-scrub lineup — it’ll be nice to see Juan Miranda get a start or two this week.
On a more serious note, A.J. Burnett returned home to Arkansas after the celebration to be with his father, Bill, who will undergo triple bypass surgery today. A.J., iron man that he is, still expects to be back for his start on Tuesday.
The return of Godzilla
Posted by: | CommentsGet your pencils ready; it’s time for a quiz. Who has the second most home runs on the Yanks? Third most RBIs? Third highest OPS? And who has done this in 495 plate appearances, fewer than all but Jorge Posada among Yankee regulars? By now, of course, the answer is clear: Hideki Matsui is having a season, for him, for the ages, and in doing so, he is going to force the Yanks’ hand in November.
Matsui’s season wasn’t on pace to end up this way. June 28 marked the Yanks’ last Interleague game, and Hideki Matsui pinch hit against the Mets. That wrapped up a month of irregular play and little success for the once-mighty Yankee DH. He was hitting .246/.345/.463 with 10 HR and just 28 RBIs. Unable to play the outfield due to his very creaky knees, Matsui seemed to be on his last legs.
Since then, however, Matsui has been every bit the force in the Yankee lineup that the team expected him to be. Over his last 261 PAs, Hideki is hitting .310/.396/.588 with 18 HR and 60 RBI. He leads all Yankees in home runs and slugging over that stretch and is one of the key movers behind the Yanks’ run toward the best record in baseball. His home run last night was an unsung moment in the game, a blast well into the high porch in right field.
Matsui is also heading toward free agency, and the Yankees are going to have to decide if they want to bring him back as their full-time DH. Over the course of the season, the Yanks have intimated that, with their aging team, they would prefer to keep the designated hitter spot open for its veterans. They can rest Jorge Posada without losing his bat. They can cycle Derek Jeter, A-Rod and Johnny Damon — if he returns — through that spot. With Matsui limited to DH duties, the Yanks would have more roster flexibility without him. They would also have fewer wins.
I’ve briefly touched upon this idea in the past, but Matsui’s value to the team’s offense cannot be understated. Few teams have a DH as good as he is. In fact, among full-time designated hitters, Matsui’s .905 OPS ranks him second. While the league’s DHs are averaging a .255 BA with a .781 OPS, the Yanks are far outpacing that figure thanks to Matsui.
From a value perspective, Matsui has a 32.1 VORP and a 2.5 WAR (wins above replacement). If the Yanks go with their rotation DH plans, their lineup would include a subpar hitter nearly every day. Ramiro Peña has a 1.1 VORP and a 0.3 WAR. Jose Molina’s and Franciso Cervelli’s respective offenses both put them below replacement level on the VORP scale. Molina’s WAR is 0.2, and Cervelli’s is 0.1. Faced with a very competitive Red Sox team, the Yanks can ill afford to let Matsui’s 2.5 wins simply walk away unreplaced.
As the Yankees head into the playoffs, Hideki Matsui will anchor this offense. He can hit lefties; he can hit righties; and apparently, he can hit in Anaheim too. He may be old; his knees may be frail; but he can hit with the best of them. The Yanks should look to bring him back next year on a one-year deal. Unless they can find a suitable replacement, the team will miss his bat if it isn’t there.
The Hideki Matsui Appreciation Thread
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It’s hard to believe that Hideki Matsui is just about to wrap up his 7th season in pinstripes. The three-time MVP of the Japanese Central League came over to the states as a free agent prior to the 2003 season, signing for just $21M over three years. He introduced himself to New Yorkers by slugging a grand slam in the 2003 home opener, his very first game in front of the Yankee faithful. Although he lost out to Angel Berroa for the 2003 Rookie of the Year Award, the team can’t complain about the return on the investment at all, as Godzilla played in every single game over those three seasons and compiled a .297-.370-.484 batting line in that time.
After proving to be supremely durable and so dependable at the plate, the Yanks couldn’t afford to let Matsui walk as a free agent after the 2005. They brought him back on a four year, $52M deal, but Hideki battled injuries in years one and three of that deal. He broke his wrist on a fluke play in 2006, landing the wrong way as he slid for a ball in the outfield. Matsui’s string of 1,768 consecutive games played came to a sudden halt, as did his Major League record of 518 consecutive games played to start his big league career. All those years of playing every day on the turf in Japan started to take it’s toll on Matsui’s knees, and he missed considerable time in 2008. Despite all that, Matsui still hit .291-.372-.469 in the first three years of that four year deal.
For the first time in his career, Matsui entered the 2009 season as a bit of a question mark. No one was sure how his knees would hold up or if he’d even be able to play the field at all. While he hasn’t been able to roam the outfield, and while his knees have acted up from time to time, Matsui has been nothing short of tremendous as the Yanks’ every day designated hitter. Among DH’s with at least 200 plate appearances, Matsui ranks second in OBP (.365), second in SLG (.521), first in OPS (.886), first in homers (25), first in RBI (82), first in total bases (207), and first in BB/K (0.87). His overall line of .277-.369-.509 gives him his best OPS over a full season since 2004, and of course, there’s the big hits.
If he’s not busy ripping walk-off homers like he did against the Orioles on July 20th, then he’s probably preoccupied with launching two homers and driving in seven runs against the Red Sox like he did on August 21st. Matsui’s a pretty quite and unassuming guy, so maybe he’ll just hit a two-run homer to the tie the game while someone else gets the walk-off glory, like last night. And amazingly enough, Matsui has continued to pound lefthanders again this year (.958 OPS vs LHP, .855 vs RHP), something he’s done consistently throughout his career. The guy is just a hitting mahcine.
We don’t know what the future holds for the marriage between Matsui and the Yankees, as the team wants to get younger and more athletic while Godzilla gets older and couldn’t be any more immobile. Whether or not you want to see him back next year (see the poll below), let’s take this chance to thank Matsui for all he has done for the Yanks. All the big hits, the consistency, the quiet professionalism, the whole nine. Thanks, Hideki.
Photo Credit: Robert Beck, SI
How much is that OF/DH in the window?
Posted by: | CommentsFor the Yankees, 2010 is shaping up to be something of a sandwich. Stuck between 2011, ideally the year of the Jesus (and perhaps A-Jax), and 2009, the year of Johnny Damon’s and Hideki Matsui’s impending free agency, the Yankees will see a lot of key spots in limbo next year. They could go to the wall on a few big free agents, they could re-sign those they know or they could ride out the tide.
The first one up to consider is Johnny Damon and the left field spot. On defense, Damon has been dreadful this year. His UZR is currently -7.3 after reaching 6.7 last year. Yet his offense has been tremendous. He has an .882 OPS and should reach a career high in home runs this year. He is also in the final year of a four-year contract paying him $13 million a year.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve examined how the Yankees want to bring Damon back and how Damon wants to return. Today, Jon Heyman adds his take to the Damon mix:
The Yankees intend to try to bring back Johnny Damon, probably for about $6-8 million a year (that’ll be the first offer, anyway), and might be willing to give him a second year. Damon’s been saying in the papers all year that he wants to be back, which is quite a departure from the usual free-agent script and could mean he’s that rare player amenable to a below-market contract. Yankees management loves Damon personally, too, and that doesn’t hurt.
That figure — $6-$8 million a year for two years — is pretty much what I assumed the Yankees would offer. According to Fangraphs, Damon will probably outperform his contract value this year. With a month of the season left, Damon’s value is pegged at $11.9 million. Allowing for age-related declines, I would assume a value of $10 million next year and $8-$9 million the year after. (Value, by the way, is something of an ideal figure. It’s WAR “converted to a dollar scale based on what a player would make in free agency.” That “would” requires perfect information and agreement as to a true value between the team and the player.)
Next up is Hideki Matsui. We know that Matsui likes New York, and in the comments to Joe’s most recent post, we were debating Matsui’s potential value to the 2010 Yankees. While Joe Girardi has talked about using the DH spot as a rotating half-rest spot for his aging veterans, I am of the belief that a premiere bat at DH would better serve the team. The Yankees can ill afford to lose Hideki Matsui and his 15.8 batting runs above average to a lineup that includes Ramiro Pena or Jose Molina every day.
But how much is Hideki Matsui worth? He too is playing out the last year of a four-year $52 million contract, and while Damon has met that value, Fangraphs pegs Matsui’s value as $24.2 million over the four years. Even with a monster September, Matsui won’t be worth much more than half of what he has been paid.
As long as Matsui can stay healthy enough to DH and produce as near his current levels next year, they should be willing to offer him a one-year deal with the idea that some combination of Jorge Posada, Mark Teixeira and Jesus Montero will assume the DH duties in 2011. In 2007, Frank Thomas DH’d for the Blue Jays and put up similar numbers to Matsui’s 2009 campaign. He earned $5.5 million and was worth approximately $9.9 million. If the Yankees and Matsui can agree to a one-year $8 million deal for 2010, I would approve.
The Yanks could look outside of Matsui and Damon, though. They could opt for an outfield of Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher. While the defense would be stellar, the offensive production would suffer immensely. Damon’s WAR outpaces Melky’s by 2 wins and Gardner’s by 0.7 wins, mostly due to Brett’s defense. They could, as Ken Rosenthal speculated today, be in on Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, the top two free agent outfielders.
In the end, though, I’d rather give two 36-year-olds one-to-two year deals than give Jason Bay anything. I could be convinced to look at Holliday in Yankee Stadium for the right price, but with his career resurgence in St. Louis, he will be looking for a big pay day. No matter what, this off-season will be an interesting one as the Yanks look to fill a few short-term gaps and assess their organizational philosophy going forward.
