Do you guys think there is any shot of moving Matsui back to shortstop? iirc, didn't the mets try him at short, but then moved him to 2nd when they called up jose reyes? Did he get moved to 2nd because he couldn't handle short defensively? I know he stunk it up at the plate in NY, but if his defense was fine, I think it would be pretty interesting to think about him at short. Not that I am an Adam Everett basher (I actually think he will be fine in this lineup), but if it would help the overall team, I think it should be at least up for consideration.
I don't know about "silly." But anyway, the duo of Bourn/Matsui are not that pricey, and they are two starters (projected starters at least). It is not going to break the bank.. 2 years down the line we are not going to be able to sign X player because of that "dang $5M we are paying Matsui." It isn't the monster deal some people are trying to make it out to be. The avg major league salary, last I checked (and I didn't look it up online, so someone can check it for me), is like $2.6M. So it not preposterous to pay that much for a FA you are luring to your team. And I hear what you are saying on the Japanese stars, but Matsui actually was a huge star in Japan coming over and still has a following. He was supposed to be their great SS and the next Ichiro. Whether that was for his actual play or just because he was another Japanese player coming over, who knows. Is his presence going to bring in $5M a year from the Asian market and pay his salary? Of course not.
Quoted for truth. I think that a big part of this signing was finding the player who fit best in the current organizational philosophy -- namely, the emphasis on speed and defense, especially up the middle. Look at our position player moves so far -- committing to Towles while signing Ausmus for insurance (defense), getting Bourn (defense, and speed at the top of the lineup), getting Matsui (defense, speed at the top of the lineup), and beefing up the bench with some defensive specialists. As Maxwell's Temper effectively discussed, Matsui is much more of a prototypical #2 hitter than Burke. Smith went for the better defender and better fit at the top of the lineup. Unfortunately for Burke, he's not good enough to overcome those deficits. Oh, and Burke had more than enough of a chance when he was handed the CF job last year. He could take some notes from Hunter Pence about what to do when you get a chance... I"m sure that whining when he got sent down didn't help his case either ... Bottom line: I'd have rather had Iguchi (but maybe he didnt like us) and I'm worried about the closer situation, but I like what we're doing this offseason -- defining an organizational philsophy and aggressively going forth to fill some needs.
I wasn't trying to tell the whole story...I just looked up the easiest somewhat significant statistic I could. Does the baserunning stat consider OBP? It's great that he can run, but you have to be on base to do that. (Not that Chris Burke was on base any more frequently than Kaz.)
What NL 2B starters made in 2007 (why only NL... because I'm lazy ): Los Angeles - Jeff Kent - $9.814 million San Francisco - Ray Durham - $7 million New York - Luis Castillo - $5.75 million Houston - Craig Biggio - $5.15 million Philadelphia - Chase Utley - $4.785 million Arizona - Orlando Hudson - $3.9 million San Diego - Marcus Giles - $3.25 million Chicago - Mark DeRosa - $2.75 million Pittsburgh - Freddy Sanchez - $2.75 million Colorado - Kaz Matsui - $1.5 million (player in question) Milwaukee - Rickie Weeks - $1.32 million St. Louis - Aaron Miles - $1 million Washington - Ronnie Belliard - $750,000 Cincinnati - Brandon Phillips - $407,500 Florida - Dan Uggla - $392,000 Atlanta - Kelly Johnson - $380,000 So, the average NL 2B salary in 2007 was around $3,181,156. Based on these numbers, Kaz will make roughly $1.9 million more (on average) than the median 2B salary. (Yes, this is flawed because I'm comparing his salary to 2007 numbers, but it's all I've got to work with right now.) By comparison, Chris Burke made $415,000 in 2007. Is Kaz worth 1,200% more than Burke? Hey, at least he's making less than Biggio did in 2007, right? If my list of 2B starters is wrong, I apologize.
Vescey, Your list is misleading since there are so many young 2B that have yet to be eligible for free agency. If Uggla, Weeks, or Utley had been veterans, they'd be paid twice what the Astros are paying Matsui. $5 Million is about what average starting veterans make in MLB. Good signing or bad signing, Kaz is getting paid about what he is worth.
Holy Crap...Are you kidding me...Nothing against Matsui, but damn, he's shown nothing...He hit for a crappy avg. in Colo-f'n-Rado...
The Mets actually moved Reyes to second to allow Matsui to play shortstop. That wasn't working out well, so they moved Matsui to second and Reyes back to short.
Matsui's Fielding Stats Reyes' Fielding Stats It appears that the move was because Matsui was a poor defensive shortstop.
Have you read any of the statements by Smith & Wade? It's not exactly a mystery what they're trying to do.
You lose a draft pick when you overpay for a crappy Free agent. We lost one for the firestarter Woody W.
Good move, This is about the big picture and not just stats. With Kaz, they can have burke as part of a package for some starting pitching. Even though Kaz isnt a whole lot better then burke in hitting, he is still better. And he is was better at defense. Just in time for winter meetings also ^_^
