Honeymoon is Over?

While the Boss Steinbrenner did stop short of calling him a Fat Toad a la Irabu, he did criticize Matsui yesterday, suggesting that Matsui is not the power hitter he was advertised to be. I'm sure he is questioning his investment in Matsui (USD 21 million over 3 years, which is excessive, IMHO).

What is really crazy, though, is that everyone is comparing Matsui's slow start to Ichiro's fast one in 2001. Even though they don't share any similarities in hitting style.

CFiJ made an excellent point in another thread, where he said Ichiro doesn't wait around for his pitch, he goes after them and is content with hard-hit singles, whereas the expectations for Matsui are homers, which necessitates patience - unless your name is Guerrero or Soriano...

This will, if nothing else, go to show that a) not all Japanese players are the same (duh), and b) perhaps a long-term lucrative contract isn't such a great idea for players who will need time to adjust.

The same applies to Jose Contreras, but signing a player to a long-term contract with no proven track record in the majors is asking for trouble. Hopefully in the future, contracts will be structured for lower amounts in the first year, and escalating from there, so the team doesn't feel as bad about sending their struggling rookies to the minors for a while to adjust without being under the microscope.

Because this is the Yankees, who have the money to spend and the depth to replace, the Yankees will probably still come out on top when all is said and done, but if this were, say, the Minnesota Twins, they would be doomed to invest USD 7 million in a player who so far has a .259 avg and 700+ OPS.

While people at this site, myself included, have been preaching patience with Matsui, I have a feeling Steinbrenner doesn't see it that way. I hope for his sake Matsui finds his power stroke, and soon. But really, Steinbrenner can't complain, with all the money he's making off Matsui jerseys and other merchandise.

Just a rant....

You have made excellent points. NY has so many newspapers, local TV stations, and two 24 hour sports radio stations, so they need to constantly get the "story." So the hot story was Steinbrenner's comment on Matsui. The media would have loved it if Godzilla roared back at the Boss.

Why do they want to see his power? He is OK with his batting order now, and his glove. Nobody expects Miyamoto or Akahoshi to hit home runs here.

His batting is better than Giambi, Posada, Rivera, and Zeile. I think his play is acceptable.

He may or may not be worth $7 million a year if he performed more around the .290-.300 with 25-30 HR and lots of walks my research indicates is an equivalent of his NPB efforts. However, barely .260, with little power and a below average on-base percentage aren't good even for a Gold-Glove quality center fielder. Godzilla may have won some of those in Japan in center, but I doubt he would do so in MLB. Let's face it, even those light hitting defensive demon CFs struggle to get half of $7 million a year, generally speaking. That's why people want to see his power.

I've said in other threads I think he'll come around, and I still believe it, but I understand the impatience as well.

Jim Albright

How much does Posada, Mondesi, and Ventura get? Where can I see that information like on this good home page?

Yup, Mondesi is earning $13 million, Posada $10 million, Ventura got a pay cut and is still making $5 million.

Matsui covers more than the $6 million he is making this year with all the added revenue that the Yankees are getting because of him. But the expectations were so high (media generated), so the pressure is on.

The problem is that Matsui cannot be anything other than a power hitter if his MLB journey is to be considered successful. Even if he hits .330, wins a Gold Glove but only hits 10 HRs. That'll just confirm the belief that Japanese hitters don't have power. I think he'll be much better off if he manages to hit 30 HRs with a .250 avg. It'll be the lesser of 2 evils.

Matsui needs to break the stereotypes. In one of the Yankees games this year, after Matsui lined out hard to (somewhat) deep center, the announcers commented "that ball probably would have gone out in Japan." What!? It was a line-drive that wasn't even close to the warning track in Yankee stadium. This kind of things annoys me to no end.

Hitting 30 HRs with a .250 avg. is better than batting .330, 10 HRs winning a Gold Glove?

In Japan, between Ichiro and Matsui, who is worthier?

I'm not suggesting hitting 30 HRs with a .250 avg is more valuable then batting .330 and a Gold Glove. It might be, but you'd have to play with some numbers to make an argument either way.

My point was that his MLB home run total has extra significance because of him being the first power hitter (and arguably the best) from NPB to come over.

As to who's more valueable in Japan, I'd have to go with Ichiro because of his all around game. Plus the fact that Matsui only hit 50 HRs last season, his 3 year average is probably in the low 40s, which doesn't put him ahead of Petagine, Rhodes, and Cabrera.

Another thing is that part of Matsui's popularity can be attributed to the fact that power hitters come few and far in between in Japan. So it's a big deal when someone like Matsui comes along. It's the same with power pitchers, which is one of the reason why Matsusaka is so popular.

Here in North America, it's all about having the total package. People love seeing 5-tool players. Someone who has power and does nothing else usually doesn't garner that much attention (unless you have McGuire power...or you might end up in Japan).

There's not a lot of difference in NPB between Ichiro and Godzilla. Ichiro had a better average and was better defensively. Godzilla had power and patience at the plate. Personally, I'd go with Godzilla's package over Ichiro's because the extra walks for Matsui make the on-base percentage difference between the two small, and the difference between the two defensively doesn't overcome the difference in power, IMO.

In MLB, I'd reverse the selection until (unless?) Matsui's advantages reappear. Then I'd have to reevaluate the difference between the two in that setting to make a choice.

Jim Albright

On the YES Network, the broadcasters actually said that Matsui will not be a power hitter in the Majors and to expect him to be more of a singles hitter.

And that person would be Michael Kay. He is the Yankee announcer that is quick to express his opinion, but is also quick to retract it when he sees that he made a mistake. I hope Matsui makes Mr. Kay take back his word.

By the way, Mr. Kay just represents the fan he is, not a former player or a baseball expert.

It's pertinent to point out that the Yankees own the YES network and Steinbrenner personally approves the Yankee broadcasters. A few years ago Mr. Kay was thumping the "Let's move the Yankees out of old Yankee Stadium to the safety of a New Mega-Dome in Manhattan" line; thank goodness that stuff has ended.

Anyway, during the broadcast of Matsui's early grand-slam game, the cameras panned over the Stadium crowd and the presence of many Japanese fans was noted. Mr. Kay commented that "they're not here to see the game, they don't care anything about that, they're just here to see Matsui." Oy.

As to Matsui's hitting, time will tell and it's still early in the season. The honeymoon is indeed over and that's not a bad thing, I think. It might actually lighten some of the pressure for Matsui to be treated as just another member of the Yankees, not the Home Run Saviour. The bigger issues would seem to be Giambi's hitting and the middle and relief pitching, anyway.

Tempered expectations for Matsui [ESPN]

The title reads like he's been a disappointment, but it's actually a positive article about Godzilla's play.

Sadaharu Oh predicted this from the get-go. He said, unlike Ichiro who is a "tensai" (natural, literally "genious"), Matsui is "bukiyou" (awkward or clumsier) as a hitter. Oh thinks Matsui is like him. He said that Matsui is a type of hitter who practiced extremely hard to become the hitter he is now. Therefore he will probably needs a longer time to adjust to MLB.

There is a funny episode about Matsui that I got from an anonymous NHK sports announcer. Yomiuri Giants' players were enjoying their vacation in Hawaii after they won the Nippon Series. One day, while most of the players were either playing golf or shopping, Matsui was spotted at the beach by himself, practicing swinging hundreds of times for hours. That is the kind of man he is. A complete workaholic. That's how he became great.

I believe he will come out from this funk stronger than ever.

- There is a funny episode about Matsui that I got from an anonymous NHK sports announcer. Yomiuri Giants' players were enjoying their vacation in Hawaii after they won the Nippon Series. One day, while most of the players were either playing golf or shopping, Matsui was spotted at the beach by himself, practicing swinging hundreds of times for hours. That is the kind of man he is. A complete workaholic. That's how he became great.

Good story, Seiyu. I'm with you in cheering for Matsui, the baseball player and the man.

On the other hand, I think Steinbrenner has repeatedly shown himself to be a man with little self-control or respect for others. His only virtue is that he's been willing to spend money on baseball talent and on people who can judge baseball talent. Oh, and that he served as a good butt for jokes on Seinfeld's show.

Eric