Thinking About the Future of Hideki and the Yankees Without Rings

by jscape2000 on Feb 25, 2009 11:00 AM EST in New York Yankees Analysis

An interesting thought from the Times: Hideki Matsui is now the longest tenured Yankees without a fist-full of World Series rings.

“I think winning a world championship is what defines being a Yankee.”

“I don’t have any thoughts as far as going back to Japan,” Matsui said. “I would like to play here in the U.S. as long as possible.”

I've been thinking about Hideki a lot lately. I considered making him my Bold Prediction, but I'll save that announcement for tomorrow.

For now I'm thinking about where he'll play next season. I'm sure he won't be in the Bronx- with aging players locked in at all the infield positions and the potential for a nearly complete turnover in the outfield amid a commitment to getting younger/ more athletic, I just don't see any way to retain a defensively challenged left fielder.

I see Matsui on the West Coast. The M's seem like a logical choice, especially if this is Griffey's last season, but they really need to rebuild. If Matsui plays well and heals, I suspect he could move to the NL- the Giants need offense, and the Rockies will still be looking for a replacement for Matt Holliday. A lot will depend on Manny, but I also wouldn't rule out Hideki for a reunion with Torre in LA. The other 'LA' team has Vlad and Abreu up for free agency and might be interested. Depending on how things play out with Jason Giambi, the green and gold might bring in the latest member of the "aging vet- incentive contract" program.

Here's hoping that Hideki Matsui doesn't join Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi as eternal members of the Yankees-Without-Rings Club.

Poll

Where will Hideki play in 2010?

The Bronx

144 votes

San Francisco

86 votes

Oakland

18 votes

L.A.

30 votes

The part of L.A. near Anaheim

10 votes

Colorado

7 votes

Somewhere else

81 votes

376 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 11 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Happy trails Hideki...

I don’t think there is any chance he winds up back in Pinstripes in 2010. While I agree a move west seems to make sense- I don’t see the guy being real valuable to NL teams because of the defensive liability he creates. Much more sense would be for him to go somewhere to have the opportunity to DH, but that strategy seems to have been lost on a bunch of guys who would have been better suited going to the AL- Piazza’s initial move to SD comes to mind, and even younger guys like Carlos Lee and Adam Dunn to name a few.

Of course, it all depends on what Matsui we see this year. But no matter what, I don’t think he winds up back in the Bronx.

by NumberSeven on Feb 25, 2009 11:44 AM EST reply actions

my prediction

he wins a world series ring this year and then calls it quits

by bkcowboy on Feb 25, 2009 12:54 PM EST reply actions

This year or bust

for his Yankee ring. This does seem like the best team he’s been on.

If I's known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself. Casey

by Cbeck3 on Feb 25, 2009 3:50 PM EST up reply actions

poor Godzilla

mistimed his jump

by Frank Malzone on Feb 25, 2009 3:42 PM EST reply actions

never saw

Mothra coming.

by NumberSeven on Feb 25, 2009 4:11 PM EST up reply actions

Why

is Seattle not on that list?

by Soriano NY 12 on Feb 26, 2009 12:19 PM EST reply actions

Eww...

please no Matsui in L.A.. Bad defense and mediocre hitting, all wrapped into an overpriced package.

Signed,
A Dodger fan

by Brendan Scolari on Feb 27, 2009 1:50 AM EST reply actions

Mediocore hitting...

123 career OPS+ is mediocre? I wonder what Andre Either and Matt Kemp are then. If he were on the Dodgers right now he’d be the second best hitter on the team. Speaking of which, Ned should totally trade for him so that he can wash his hands of his Manny Ramirez situation :D

Anyways, I don’t want him back in the Bronx. I think the DH role should be filled either by an elite hitter (like Manny Ramirez or Adam Dunn the past few years) or used to keep the aging players fresh. Hopefully Jeter can end up a Paul Molitor-esque DH. The OF I’d like to see next season would be:

RF: Delmon Young (PLEASE TRADE FOR HIM, SICK HITTING TOOLS AND UNDERVALUED!!!)
CF: Brett Gardner (he was like +64/150 in UZR last season) or Austin Jackson
LF: Matt Holliday

Then either sign or trade for an elite hitter to DH or let Delmon Young and Nick Swisher take turns DHing. (If that’s the OF it’d probably be best to let Swisher play right and keep Young in the DH role)

by Omar Little on Feb 27, 2009 4:37 AM EST reply actions

Holliday scares me

his home/road splits are ridiculous. he seems mostly a product of Colorado’s thin air. i’d rather have Manny.

but i like the idea of Delmon, but at what cost? Would Kennedy and some solid pen arms (Robertson, Veras, H Sanchez, Coke, Cox, etc. and maybe Cervelli do it)? Probably not. Romine instead of Cervelli might though.

by Travis G on Feb 27, 2009 3:29 PM EST up reply actions

Home/road splits are in nature, a bit ridiculous. One, you are taking away half of a hitter’s plate appearances, and hitters usually hit better at home regardless. Furthermore, in Holliday’s division he has to hit in PetCo, SBC, and Dodger Stadium which are all hitter’s parks. Holliday is an excellent baserunner and defender too, which also adds value. If were talking about acquiring a left fielder, Holliday’s the player you want. Whether or not he’s worth a mega-deal is another question.

As to the cost of Delmon Young, I don’t know; but if the cost is IPK, Veras, Romine, and Sanchez…then I’d absolutely do it. Bill Smith has done several reprehensibly stupid things as GM of the Twins, so we’ll see.

by Omar Little on Feb 27, 2009 6:27 PM EST reply actions

oh, i think

Holliday is a good, maybe very good LFer. in 2008, players did generally hit better at home, 10% to be exact (105 OPS+ vs. 95 OPS+), but Holliday is much more than just a little helped by Coors. He hit 50% !!! better at home (126 tOPS+ vs. 73 tOPS+). that’s more than just playing at 3 pitcher’s parks 27 times a year. and it’s not a small sample – it’s 1500 road PAs vs. 1500 home PAs. that’s nearly 3 seasons each.

in fact (i just looked it up), he’s played 118 games in SF, LA and SD. that’s only 17% of all his games.

and he’s going to be 30 in 2010 and is rep’ed by Boras.

by Travis G on Feb 27, 2009 7:04 PM EST up reply actions