Matsui Should Leave his Glove at Home

Hideki Matsui will be the everyday DH this year and as well he should be. In fact if he stays healthy, he should be among the best DHs in the league this year. He is a 34 year old who has the knees of a 68 year old. Joe Girardi recently placed a ban on Matsui playing the outfield until June, when Interleauge play rolls around. I say, he shouldn’t even play the outfield in those games. Instead, the games held in the NL park should be built in days off for the aging slugger.

Besides, even before Matusi had his knee problems, he was never considered a great defender. In fact, at his best, Matsui was considered on the edge of average to below average in the outfield. Couple that with his knee issues, and Matsui would be probably be closer to atrocious in the outfield.

The problem is the Yankees have too many DH types on their roster. One player who should see a significant number of at bats at DH is Jorge Posada. He is coming back from shoulder surgery so don’t count on Jorge catching 140 games this year. Because of this Girardi will have to start Posada as the DH at times to keep his potent bat in the lineup. This would no doubt cost Matsui some at bats, but he won't cost the Yankees any runs on defense if he is sitting on the bench.

-Favad Ali