Pitching Stud, Pitching Dud

Hold on to your chairs....it's happening. Can you feel it?!

The Seibu Group, and president Hidekazu Ota, announced that Daisuke Matsuzaka will likely be posted following the 2006 Japanese season. Ota commented that the posting did not occur last season because the team still needed Matsuzaka at the request of his manager. This season, however, the ace has distinguished himself on the field and in the World Baseball Classic and Ota has agreed to let the voice of the fans guide his decision.

Matsuzaka has declared his wish to play in the Majors several times, and the people at Seibu have declined despite great consideration. Ota called Matsuzaka the "treasure of Japan" and indicated that he hoped to make the young man's wish come true. The final decision will be made after the season is complete, and a serious consultation will be made between the hierarchy at Seibu, the pitcher, and the fans via the team website. The website played an important role in swaying opinions at Seibu. After the WBC, fans flooded the site with praise for the MVP and an overwhelming number of people indicated their desire to see Daisuke play in the Big Leagues next year.

For his part, Matsuzaka has kept quiet all season. He is focused on winning the championship and he has maintained a quiet resolve to complete his current mission before thinking about the next. Upon hearing the news of his imminent posting, the ace stated that he hoped to finish 1st in the league and share the customary beer celebration with his teammates before considering his future. Make no mistake, this public pronouncement is a gigantic leap towards seeing our hero in the US next year, and we'll keep you posted on reactions and any further news on this front.

In other Yankees related news, Carl Pavano is a jackass. I want to shout at him like Tom Cruise in "A Few Good Men". Not the bit about "The Truth", that's far to much to expect from Pavano. What I want to shout is the part of this film when Cruise and Kevin Bacon get into it in a bar at the height of the trial. You know. "You're a lousy F&%^ing softball player, Jack!!"

YOU'RE A LOUSY F&%&ING BASEBALL PLAYER, CARL!!!

There. That feels much better. By the way, yes Cruise is wearing a Red Sox cap in A Few Good Men. Fitting that the actor*slash*lunatic that I like least and the team I like least would meet. It's like the anti_Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It seems that Cashman is P.O.ed about the whole affair too and is exploring ways to void the so-called pitcher's deal. I doubt very seriously that there's any chance of that happening, but can you blame him? Pavano is practically stealing money. He's leaving the door open to other stiffs to do the same to the Yankees in the future if there's no recourse for his sandbagging. I, for one, hope he gets his bags and heads out of Yankeeville on the next steamship to wherever. It would have been nice to see him come back and make up for his nonsense by pitching us into the World Series, and it may yet happen, but I would be just as delighted to see him depart. Let's pretend this whole ugly incident never happened.

See you tomorrow. Go Yanks.