By Matt Snyder
In an interesting twist of fate, the Yankees are going to limit spending. Yes, when it comes to grabbing a designated hitter — to put in the spot vacated by the now-traded Jesus Montero — the Bronx Bombers are only going to spend between $1 million and $2 million on a DH, reports CBSSports.com insider Jon Heyman.
Heyman also notes that won’t be enough to get Carlos Pena and probably can’t grab former Yankee Johnny Damon either. One guy they could probably afford? The 2009 World Series MVP, Hideki Matsui. And Heyman reports there has been some contact between Matsui’s representatives and his former ballclub.
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Matsui is 37 and coming off easily the worst season of his career. He hit just .251/.321/.375 with 12 homers and 72 RBI in 141 games. He’s definitely on the downside of his career, but he hit well for the Angels in 2010. Plus, playing half his games in Oakland last season sure didn’t help matters. He hit a dreadful .236/.323/.340 at home.
Also to consider, if the Yankees do sign Matsui, the differences in how the home parks play will be significant. Being a left-handed hitter, Matsui would benefit greatly from playing half his games in Yankee Stadium — a venue that is really easy on lefties and where he’s hit 17 home runs in 299 career regular-season at-bats.
Further, the Yankees know Matsui can deal with playing in New York and is familiar with many of the current Yankees.
So, yes, this move would make perfect sense for both sides.
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22297882/34428576
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120117-00000210-ism-base ( Nihongo)
