No one should hate Hideki Matsui. Save that for the New York Yankees as a whole and for George Steinbrenner, who can be a decent guy if you're a schoolkid from Iowa. But for the part of the world not obsessed with the Bronx Bombers, it is a little bit easier.
The E-List has no opinion, but it does think Matsui's injury certainly is worth mentioning.
Godzilla broke his wrist trying to make a diving catch, and all of a sudden the folks at the Elias Sports Bureau started jumping up and down as the members of the World Asterisk Society had a good cry.
Matsui had played in every game since he joined the Yankee (518 of them, before the streak ended), and he played in 1,250 straight for the Yomiuri Giants before hopping over to the American League. He still had a ways to go to catch Cal Ripken Jr., but Matsui's numbers sure were pretty. Too bad the questions would have surfaced inevitably about whether combining streaks of pro games for purposes of a record should count.
With things like home runs, it seems more ridiculous, but for a fellow who played that many games at the top of his respective pro system, it does not quite seem fair to ignore it. But Eli and the boys surely can't be arbitrary.
The most interesting part of the whole thing, in the eyes of the List, is this: Matsui had a couple heart-to-hearts with Sadaharu Oh during the offseason before telling the world in a statement that Team Japan would have to fly into the World Baseball Classic without its biggest name and arguably best player.
He wanted to focus on the season and being in good condition for his team, so he could realize his goal of winning a world championship. After skipping the WBC, his season may be over.
The List wonders if it is an example of a beloved hero being served just desserts for taking a convenient way out. More importantly, should this be labeled a curse of some sort?
Matsui has a demanding boss (see first paragraph), and although people were miffed and some even thought he had turned his back on Japan, Matsui was understood for choosing company over country. It's a fact that many Japanese wind up choosing company over family in terms of lengthy work days, so Matsui's loyalty to the Yankees eventually was forgiven.
Japan managing to win the blasted WBC probably helped the whole therapy process. Had Wang Chien-Ming pitched in Taiwan's opener against South Korea and managed to win, Japan would have seen an embarrassing first-round exit. At that point, Japanese fans may have used their No. 55 jerseys to wipe the egg off their faces.
But when Matsui went down with the broken radius bone, he immediately apologized for the injury. Sure he's sorry, but if he's out for the year after skipping the WBC and a chance to win a championship, he will be even more so. Not to mention how sorry Steinbrenner will be after being down Gary Sheffield before losing one of baseball's most consistent and non-headache creating stars.
Then again, Team Japan was fine without Matsui. Maybe all the Yankees need to win a World Series in the 21st Century is to follow the WBC model and take it on Matsui-less.
Yeah, right. New York better hope the three-month projection for his return is closer to the truth.
LOOK AT THE GIANTS, losers of three in a row after last weekend's Interleague series with the Seibu Lions. The Giants had not lost three straight all season long, and then all of a sudden, the trip to Saitama Prefecture has the smooth-sailing Central League leaders looking riding in some rough water these days,Seibu had fallen behind collared-shirt commando Tsuyoshi Shinjo and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in the Pacific League standings, but after the weekend, they pulled back atop the heap. The Pa League still is tighter than the snares on Lars Ulrich's kit.
The Giants appear to be picking up a bad habit from the Chunichi Dragons, who went from CL contender in the first six weeks of the 2005 season to being several games back by the time it had run the Pacific League gamut.
Yomiuri, after rattling off a record-setting run to open the season, has slowed considerably, and the disappointing weekend left its mark 2 1/2 games ahead of the Dragons and Hanshin Tigers.
A WEEK OF INTERLEAGUE has left both the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Yokohama BayStars further outside the realm of relevancy. The Eagles have lost more games, but the winning percentage is off only by a couple points, meaning essentially that the 'Stars are just as bad as Rakuten, although they have the luxury of being a week behind because of when the PL and CL open.
At least Yokohama kept its dignity alive by winning two of three in their series with Rakuten last week.
GOOD WORK, TIGERS. Way to sweep the Marines (not including the postponed game). Way to come out like a well-oiled machine with nothing on the line. See if you can remember what it feels like next time you get a shot in the Japan Series.
AND A VERY special E for the University of Exeter.
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