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Doyel is misstating the facts, Steve.

It's been more than "anonymous" scouts. Ray Poitevint, who works with the White Sox, talked extensively about Matsuzka. He's not an "anonymous scout."

And anyone with a pair of working eyeballs was able to see what Matsuzaka had to offer in the WBC. It wasn't a "fantasy" that he could throw a mid-90s fastball and three (not "six or seven") other pitchers.

This guy Doyel seems like nothing more than a grumbling fan-boy. His research is atrocious.

And if he's going to mention the Japanese guys who failed, how about the guys who made it? Hideki Matsui, Nomo, Ichiro, Taguchi, Otsuka -- there have been plenty who succeed here.

I'm not saying people have to anoint Mats as some superhero, but dismissing him before he throws a single pitch here seems foolish to say the least.

I'm sure people would have said the same thing about Wang. ("He's supposed to throw a mid-90s sinking fastball and gets most of his outs on the ground. Pure fantasy!")

well, i dont know how much of an expert this guy is. he's not a baseball specialist, he covers all the sports. all he's basing this on is past japanese pitchers and his pitch count. i'd rather trust a guy like mike plugh, who lives in japan, and gets to watch DM pitch.

to contract that article, how about this one?
http://ym.mostvaluablenetwork.com/guest-writers/matsuzaka-the-real-deal/

please dont bring up size as a negative. Pedro is 5'11", 180 too. he dominated for a few years like no one has ever seen. Roy Oswalt is 6'0", 185. And going by his bio (http://www.japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=matsuzaka), DM IS actually 6'0", 187.

Dont forget that Nomo had a few good to great seasons in MLB, and that was after he was overused in Japan. DM has not been overused to the same extent. look at Nomo's ip: 1990-235, 232, 217, 243!, 1994-114 (injured i believe). avg. of 209.

compare to DM. 1999-180, 168, 240, 73, 194, 146, 215, 2006-186. avg. of 175. that's a 34 ip difference. that's fairly big.

not to mention that Nomo went to MLB after his 2 WORST years in NPB. DM is going into MLB after his 2 BEST years. Nomo's era the 2 previous seasons were 3.70 & 3.63. DM has been 2.30 & 2.13.

plus DM doesn't rely on a deceptive delivery like Nomo did. it was good for Nomo at first, but part of the reason he tailed off was that hitters got accustomed to his delivery. DM relies on his great stuff, which is obviously much harder for hitters to get used to.

i like my chances with DM. and i think i've compared him quite favorably to the best Japanese pitcher (Nomo) we've seen so far.

remember, there had never been a great Japanese hitter in MLB before Ichiro.

PS: i apologize for any misspellings or grammatical mistakes.

No need to rehash my comments here.

I hope the Yanks get him.

I was pretty ambivalent about Mats at first, even after reading Mike P's stuff (which I agree is excellent). But, you know, You Tube can be a pretty handy tool; and to be quite frank, Mats looks absolutely sick. And even if he gives the Yanks 4 years of 200 innings/season, 3.5 ERA, it'll be well worth it. Obviously, his upside is higher than that. You just won't get that with any other free agent starter right now.

Yes it is a risk, and probably a costly one. But still, with the paucity of good starting pitching available I think I'd rather take that risk. Especially as it isn't my money.

I could go either way on DM's potential as an MLB pitcher. The problem I have is the money. I think the $60M estimate that's floating around is very conservative. He's going to get at least a a Pavano type contract (maybe a 4yr/50M deal) and the initial bid will be in the $30M ballpark. That's 4yrs/$80M for a guy who has never thrown a major league pitch. Johan Santana wouldn't even get that type of contract.

You can get a lot of pitching for $80M. The Yanks can re-sign Moose ($25M), give a similar deal to Pettitte ($25M), and still have $30M left over to pursue another #2/#3 free agent starter.

You can get a lot of pitching for $80M. The Yanks can re-sign Moose ($25M), give a similar deal to Pettitte ($25M), and still have $30M left over to pursue another #2/#3 free agent starter.
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My feeling is that if you can't have top-caliber relievers, depth in the bullpen is the next best thing. But in a rotation, as the Yanks proved in 2006, depth will only get you so far. Why spend money on Pettitte and another one or two #3/#4 starters who will replicate RJ's, Wright's, and Lidle's average stats when you can go get a guy who could end up being a fantastic #2 to go with Wang. The Yanks need aces to go with their bats, not #4-caliber starters who make it through a regular season and then get chewed up and spit out the moment they get into October.

Well said, MJ.

I personally think a rotation of Wang, Matsuzaka, Mussina and Hughes (which I think it will be by mid-year) can win a World Series.

"But in a rotation, as the Yanks proved in 2006, depth will only get you so far."
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What depth did the Yanks have? Randy's 5.00 Era and Wright's 5 innings/start does not equal depth in my mind. Lack of rotation depth is exactly why the Yanks lost. The Tigers won the World Series with a rotation full of #2 and #3 starters, as did the White Sox last year. How far did Minnesota get with their aces? How did Boston do with their ace? How far did the Mets go once their ace got hurt? The Yanks need solid pitching 1-4. Two aces will not get the Yanks anywhere.

The Yanks need solid pitching 1-4. Two aces will not get the Yanks anywhere.
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Christopher, that's exactly my point. The Yankees had nothing but a cadre of #3/#4 starters on the team last year - guys that can pitch innings but don't give you much in the way of quality. If the Yanks can add a potential ace like DM to what they already have with Wang, they'll have two guys for the top of the rotation, and Moose/RJ/(one of Hughes/Clippard/Rasner/Karstens/Pavano) to fill out the last three slots. That's better than buying Pettitte, Suppan, and Lilly and going into 2007 with Wang and a bunch of #4's again.

By the way, the term "ace" gets thrown around too often. When you say "[h]ow did Boston do with their ace?" I'm not even sure if you're referring to Schilling or Beckett. Schilling is no longer a #1 and Beckett, well, as far as I'm concerned, he's one of the most overrated players in the game over the past decade or so.

u can get a lot of pitching for $80M. The Yanks can re-sign Moose ($25M), give a similar deal to Pettitte ($25M), and still have $30M left over to pursue another #2/#3 free agent starter.
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The problem with that philosophy is getting a #2/#3 starter in this market is as much of a crapshoot as Matsuzaka's ability to be a #1 or #2. Moose is there, but Pettitte didn't pitch like a #2 this year. Who else that's available fills that role? Lilly? Suppan?

The Tigers won the World Series with a rotation full of #2 and #3 starters, as did the White Sox last year.
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For the record, the Cardinals won the World Series.

there was a World Series this year?