Let me preface this by saying that this one goes out to all the haters out there that hated on me when I didn’t like the Nick Johnson signing over re-signing Matsui.

I rarely view personnel decisions that Yankees make negatively, but over the winter I was adamantly against the signing of Nick Johnson as the DH over Hideki Matsui.

What was the response I heard? Johnson is an upgrade over Matsui due to his OBP and Matsui is getting old and who knows how long he can stay healthy for.

What was my response to that? Johnson is made of glass. I’d rather have Matsui’s power numbers.

For what it’s worth, Matsui hasn’t done much this year, but Johnson has done less. Without going further into numbers, Johnson is doing no good for the team being on the DL and with expected surgery he won’t be returning until July. Say all you want about how the difference in age between Johnson and Matsui means that Johnson is expected to be more productive. I didn’t listen to it then because age doesn’t matter when you’re dealing with a guy that has annual stints on the DL. Matsui hasn’t been great this year so far, but he’s healthy and Johnson isn’t. Say all you want about Nick Johnson’s OBP and Matsui struggles thus far, but Matsui is healthy and can help his team while Johnson is over on the bench with an injury.

By no means am I trying to say that Matsui has been incredibly productive this season and he would have been a huge help for the Yankees. I’m saying that maybe the bashing I took over the winter was premature, just as this post may be. Nick Johnson may come back from injury in July and tear it up. But he’ll be gone for a good portion of the first half of the season and he hasn’t been a major contributor to the 2010 Yankees.

I’m not asking for sympathy, folks, I’m just asking that before you post comments about how you’re right and I’m wrong, wait until things pan out a while before you go blog bashing. My opinions on New York sports aren’t always right or in the majority, but that’s what why we do this and you read this – to spark discussion and get us all excited. Be respectful though, because nobody is always right.

The Yankee are off to a 5-2 start in 2010 after they won their home opener on Tuesday. They began the season taking two of three in Boston, then they won two of three in Tampa Bay. They began their home schedule with a win over the Angels on a day that officially put to rest their 2009 championship season.

Home openers are always special, but they are even more special following a championship year. The Yankees celebrated the occasion with class as they paid tribute to a former Yankees who is a class act himself; Hideki Matsui. It was only fitting that the World Series MVP was in the house for the Ring Ceremony (as an opponent). Matsui received the loudest applause and his former teammates showed their love by hugging him after he received his ring. Matsui gave the Yankees seven solid years and will be remembered as a guy that rose to the occasion.

What’s going unnoticed to some extent is that the Yankees are 5-2 against teams that are supposed to be the best in the AL. The Red Sox, Rays and Angels are three teams that could win over 85 games each in 2010. The Yankees are 5-2 against them early on and if they can continue to beat these three teams the entire year, they should have no problem reaching the 95 win mark in 2010.

Nick Johnson may be returning to the Bronx. Johnson came up through the Yankees’ system and played for the team from 2001-2003 before being traded to the Expos in a package for pitcher Javier Vazquez in 2003. 

Johnson hit .291 in 2008 with the Nationals and Marlins combined with eight home runs and 62 RBIs in 133 games. He also walked 99 times and had an OBP of .426. 

Johnson would replace Hideki Matsui as the Yankees DH. Earlier this week Matsui signed a one-year deal with the Angels. Matsui hit .274 in 2009. He also hit 28 home runs and had 90 RBIs. Nick Johnson has never reached either of those marks in his career. Johnson’s best season was 2006 when he batted .290, hit 23 home runs and drove in 77 RBIs. He also scored 100 runs and walked 110 times that season. Matsui has hit 23 or more home runs four times since 2003 and had 90 or more RBIs five times since 2003.  

If you’ve been reading my articles, you’d know that I have been in favor of the Yankees re-signing Hideki Matsui since day one. I have said Matsui should have been the Yankees’ priority ahead of Damon. This made even more sense when the Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson because Granderson adds depth to the outfield and in turn makes Damon expendable, especially since the Yankees and Damon are way off in terms of salary and years. Not too many people agree with me about this. People said the Yankees didn’t want to bring back Matsui because he’s slow, has bad knees, can’t play the field, and the DH spot needs to be open for aging stars like Posada and Jeter. My answer to this was simple; Matsui can flat out hit. That’s all the Yankees need from their DH. Matsui can also sit out one or two games a week to let Posada DH. The Bombers don’t need a DH that can run, steal bases or play the field. They need a hitter to bat 5th of 6th in their lineup. Matsui also did a great job protecting A-Rod which he wasn’t given much credit for.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; The Yankees made a mistake by not re-signing Matsui for one more season. Now, the Yankees are looking to fill the DH spot with Nick Johnson.

I repeat – Nick Johnson. Not exactly the power-hitting prototypical DH the Yankees need. The Yankees thinking must be Granderson replaces Matsui in the lineup and Johnson replaces Damon. I’d support Granderson and a power hitting DH but Johnson will be a nice number two hitter. 

Johnson may walk and get on base more than Matsui, but he doesn’t have the power or the ability to bat in the middle of the Yankees lineup like Matsui. Johnson will most likely be the second hitter in the lineup. Even with the addition of Granderson, who has shown some pop in his bat, the absence of Matsui weakens the lineup. Unless the Yankees plan to sign Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, they have one less middle of the lineup bat. Matsui’s bat made the lineup deeper. Nick Johnson is not an upgrade over Matsui, but he is a good signing nonetheless.

Money doesn’t seem to be a factor in this decision since Matsui accepted a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the Angels. Nick Johnson made $5.5 million last year and the figure won’t change much this year. Matsui would have accepted a one-year, $6.5 million offer if the Yankees had reached out to him. From the beginning they put Matsui on the back burner. They focused on Damon, who hasn’t backed down from wanting a three of four year deal worth over $12 million a year. The Yankees missed they chance to re-sign Matsui.

If you had told me the Yankees would choose not to retain Matsui because they were looking to sign a big bat then I would have felt better. But Nick Johnson? Really? If I told you a month ago that Nick Johnson is going to be the Yankees DH in 2010 and he would be at most $2 million dollars a year cheaper than Matsui, you would respond, “Give me Matsui, the Yankees can afford the $2 mill.”

Who can honestly say they’d rather have Nick Johnson as the DH over Matsui? Even with Johnson’s ability to play defense and get on base, I’d rather have Matsui because the Yankees need a DH with power, not a guy that is penciled in as a number two hitter.

I think the Yankees misplayed this. I think either Cashman thought Matsui was going to wait it out in hopes the Yankees would make him an offer after they took care of some other things or he thought he was going to be able to sign someone that would be an upgrade over Matsui. I say this because if two weeks ago, you laid Matsui and Johnson side by side on the table, the Yankees would have chosen Matsui. 

If you think Matsui’s health concerned the Yankees, note that Nick Johnson doesn’t have a clean bill of health himself. Johnson has missed an extended period of time in his career due to several different injuries. He missed the entire 2007 season due to injury.

Hideki Matsui will be missed. He’ll be missed more than Damon will be missed. He’ll be missed more than several former Yankees were missed over the last few years because the Yankees are not making an upgrade. They should have re-signed Matsui for one more season and dove into next year’s free agent class, which has better hitters and is deeper than this year’s class. Matsui may not be missed in December, but he’ll be missed in September.

*This post wasn’t intended to be negative toward Nick Johnson, but more positive toward Matsui. Johnson will be a good addition and number two hitter for the Yankees. He has a great OBP and will set the tone for the middle of the order to drive him in.

ESPN is reporting the Angels are in deep discussions with Hideki Matsui and are close to a one-year deal for $6.5 million. This is a deal the Yankees should have made. One more year is all they needed out of Matsui. Their are better hitters to choose from out of next year’s free agency compared to this year’s to replace Matsui at DH. The Yankees know what they have in Matsui. They don’t know how a player from outside the organization will hit as the Yankees DH in this lineup. He can’t play the field and can’t run, but he can hit and that’s all the Yankees needed out of their DH for one more year. One more year and Jesus Montero may be ready for the big leagues. 

I’ve been in favor of the Yankees bringing back Matsui all along. The guy can flat out hit. He’s a perfect DH for the them. I thought the Yankees didn’t want to bring him back because he was looking for a three year deal. Now he signs with the Angels on a one year deal. The Yankees left Matsui on the back burner this offseason and he goes to a playoff team and makes them better. 

A lot of people disagree with me about Matsui. He hit 28 home runs and had 90 RBIs in 2009, not to mention a .509 slugging percentage. His .274 wasn’t bad either. He’s good support behind A-Rod. Expect the same production in 2010 with the Angels.  

The Yankees know Matsui better than the public does. Maybe they had questions about his knees. When the guy is healthy and plays a full season he’ll hit over 20 home runs and drive in around 100 runs. The Yankees are going to miss their World Series MVP. 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted, “Heard Yankees were told by Matsui’s people that Angels would give chance to play some LF.” He added, Heard Yankees told Matsui couldn’t do anything til exhausted SP/Damon issues, but Matsui wanted quicker resolution.”

The aging Yankees want to get younger and Girardi likes multi-talented players. Matsui doesn’t fit that bill. I still think one more year would have been fine. Without Matsui, expect position (especially Posada) players to DH more often.

Johnny Damon still believes he fits on the Yankees even though they have acquired center fielder Curtis Granderson.

“I don’t think it affects what I can still do. Either they come out and pursue me or they don’t,” Damon told the New York Post. “I still know how to play baseball and will make any team better.”

The Yankees could figure out a way to make it work if they bring back Damon (although I don’t like the idea of having Damon and Granderson in the same lineup), but not on a four-year deal. Two years is the maximum I see the Yankees going. If Damon and the Yankees come to terms, either Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner become expendable. Finding potential trade suitors for Cabrera of Gardner shouldn’t be hard since some teams have already expressed interest in the young outfielders. 

Nothing but silence has come out of Matsui’s camp meaning they are weighing their options and realistically evaluating the market for slugger. Matsui has to be the Yankees priority over Damon for the mere fact that signing Damon gives the team excess outfielders and without Matsui, the Yankees don’t have a defined DH. The fact that Damon is a better option in left field than Cabrera and Gardner takes a back seat to the Yankees’ unwillingness to give Damon a four-year contract. If Damon’s asking price doesn’t come down to where the Yankees want it, they’ll be content with putting Cabrera in left field and having Gardner as their fourth outfielder.

If Damon lowers his contract standards to two years and Matsui accepts a one-year deal, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that both guys are back with the team next year. The Yankees should be more concerned with brining back the World Series MVP before Damon. 

Read more on the Yankees and Matsui
Also read about Matsui and Damon

The Yankees’ acquisition of center fielder Curtis Granderson has an impact on some other players in baseball.

Now that the Yankees have the center fielder they’ve longed for, where does Johnny Damon fit into the equation? Granderson slides into the number two spot in the lineup between Jeter and Teixeira where Damon used to bat. Granderson is also inserted onto a team that has several outfielders already on the roster not including Damon. Damon’s days in pinstripes are just about over.

The addition of Granderson makes it unlikely that the Yankees will acquire Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays. Austin Jackson was a player the Jays wanted in a deal, but he was shipped off to Detroit in the Granderson deal. That means to get Halladay the Yankees would have to give up two players out of Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Jesus Montero. That isn’t going to happen. Of the four guys the Yankees didn’t want to part with, only one would remain with the team and there’s no way they package Hughes and Joba together in a deal. That means Montero would have to be in the trade with one of the two pitchers. You won’t be seeing Halladay in the Bronx.

Excludng pitching (which is a while different topic in itself), this is what I would do if I were Brian Cashman; Sign Matsui to DH, let Damon walk, move Melky to left field, use Brett Gardner as the fourth outfielder, and fill in the bench with young, inexpensive utility players.

This is how the Yankees lineup will look:
1. SS Derek Jeter
2. CF Curtis Granderson
3. 1B Mark Teixeira
4. 3B Alex Rodriquez
5. C Jorge Posada
6. DH Hideki Matsui
7. 2B Robinson Cano
8. RF Nick Swisher
9. LF Melky Cabrera

Not a bad lineup if you ask me. If the Yankees were to re-sign Damon, where would he bat in the lineup? Ninth? It’s hard to picture Granderson and Damon fitting in this lineup together.

The Granderson trade to the Yankees will shakeup some things around baseball. It also gives the Yankees leverage over Damon. If Damon wants to come back to the Bronx that bad then he’ll lower his asking price because the Yankees found his replacement in the lineup and don’t need his services anymore.

If not Hideki Matsui, who will be the Yankees designated hitter in 2010? The World Series MVP wants to come back to the Bronx and the two sides could meet in the middle and come to terms. Everybody is getting caught up in what the Yankees will do with Matsui and fellow free agent Johnny Damon, but they aren’t talking about the fact that the Yankees don’t have a primary DH on their roster without Matsui. Matsui is a better DH than almost anyone the Yankees would bring in to replace him. 

The Yankees know what they’ll get from Matsui when healthy. The key in that sentence is “when healthy”. Health may be the Yankees concern about Matsui, who has been hindered by knee injuries. If Matsui and his agent are willing to compromise on salary figures, it’ a no-brainer for both sides. Matsui is the best option for the Bombers at DH. It’s becoming more likely Damon won’t be returning since he covets a three or four year deal. This bodes well for Matsui.  

Matsui and the Yankees may not come to terms, however. Joe Girardi could go with a part-time DH and the rest of the time give an everyday player a half day off and have them DH. Three games a week Girardi can rotate Posada, Jeter, A-Rod or another position player at DH. The Yankees could also obtain a regular DH.

Matsui is the Yankees best option for DH. He played in 142 regular season games in 2009. He’s 35 years old, will turn 36 in June, and can give the Yankees between 120 and 140 games as DH in 2010. A reasonable offer will put Matsui in pinstripes for 2010.

I’ve been reading some free agent predictions and one of them that I’ve seen several times makes me scratch my head; Hideki Matsui to the Mariners. This makes absolutely no sense for the Mariners since they re-signed Ken Griffey. Matsui isn’t going to play the field unless a gutsy National League team signs him. An American League team isn’t going to put him in the outfield with those knees when they can DH him. Matsui and Griffey would give the Mariners two primary designated hitters. What a waste of a roster space.

There are conflicting reports about the relationship Matsui has with Mariners’ star and fellow Japanese player Ichiro Suzuki. Some reports say they are friends and other reports say they don’t get along. Until we know the truth about their relationship, saying that Matsui would like to play with Ichiro shouldn’t be a reason for the Matsui-to-Mariners prediction like several articles use.

Unless the Mariners are truly considering playing either Matsui or Griffey in the field on a normal basis, there is no way the Mariners sign Matsui.

Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui were pivotal players for the 2009 World Series Champion Yankees. They may not be back to help the Yankees defend their title in 2010. Both players have said they would like to return, but in recent years, the Yankees have been opposed to bringing back older, less athletic, one-dimensional players.   

A few years ago, the Yankees wouldn’t guarantee Bernie Williams a roster spot after his contract expired. The Yankees only offered him an invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Bernie’s abilities were diminished at this point, unlike Damon and Matsui’s abilities which they showed in 2009 they still have something left. Last season, the Yankees didn’t work with Bobby Abreu or Jason Giambi after their contracts expired. Abreu had a good year too. He batted .296 with 20 home runs and 100 RBIs. This doesn’t bode well for Damon or Matsui.

If the price is right, it’s not out of the question for the Yankees to bring back one or even both of them. It’s not like they are the same player. While Matsui’s only use is as a DH and bats in the middle of the order, Damon still has some speed in his legs, is average in the outfield and is a top of the order type of guy. The question is whether the price will be right. Damon and his agent Scott Boras are allegedly looking for a four-year deal. The Yankees will let Damon walk if they don’t budge. The Yankees will not be bringing either guy back for more than two years and even that may be a stretch. Look for Damon and Matsui to come back on one-year deals, if at all.