Comments on: Why Nick and Not Matsui? http://blog.ctnews.com/yankees/2009/12/18/why-nick-and-not-matsui/ Short descriptive tagline Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:14:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Scott Ham http://blog.ctnews.com/yankees/2009/12/18/why-nick-and-not-matsui/#comment-79 Scott Ham Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:04:37 +0000 http://blog.ctnews.com/yankees/?p=296#comment-79 I don't think the Yankees would take Damon back at anything but a bargain price. Ask Bobby Abreu how easily that can happen. Damon would still be a productive member of that lineup and allow the Yankees to trade Melky, who has probably close to peaked. The problem with Damon is he's a terrible left fielder which is why Cashman lowballed him for the reported two year $14 million deal. I think Cashman had a number he would have accepted for Matsui which was probably pretty close to the $5.5 million they gave Nick, maybe a little less. Nick is a better option so I'm not sure Matsui would have returned anyway. At least Nick can at first. I don’t think the Yankees would take Damon back at anything but a bargain price. Ask Bobby Abreu how easily that can happen.

Damon would still be a productive member of that lineup and allow the Yankees to trade Melky, who has probably close to peaked. The problem with Damon is he’s a terrible left fielder which is why Cashman lowballed him for the reported two year $14 million deal.

I think Cashman had a number he would have accepted for Matsui which was probably pretty close to the $5.5 million they gave Nick, maybe a little less. Nick is a better option so I’m not sure Matsui would have returned anyway. At least Nick can at first.

]]> By: NS http://blog.ctnews.com/yankees/2009/12/18/why-nick-and-not-matsui/#comment-78 NS Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:46:26 +0000 http://blog.ctnews.com/yankees/?p=296#comment-78 Matsui was a casualty of protracted (and apparently futile) discussion b/w Yankees and Damon/Boras. If Matsui was still available, I bet that Nick Johnson would not have been signed. Yankees sent couple of messages to Damon/Boras about their seriousness to bring him back but at their price when they got Granderson and when they let Matsui sign with Angels. They did not get the desired response and so now they are moving on with Nick as DH. I very much doubt if they want Damon back now. The priority has shifted to starters and reliever as it should. Matsui was a casualty of protracted (and apparently futile) discussion b/w Yankees and Damon/Boras.

If Matsui was still available, I bet that Nick Johnson would not have been signed.

Yankees sent couple of messages to Damon/Boras about their seriousness to bring him back but at their price when they got Granderson and when they let Matsui sign with Angels. They did not get the desired response and so now they are moving on with Nick as DH. I very much doubt if they want Damon back now. The priority has shifted to starters and reliever as it should.

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