SaberMets.com

« Orber And Out | Main | Weekend Notes »

Rocca On

Lawrence Rocca of the Star Ledger, normally a miserable bastard with nothing good to say about the Mets, pens a nice article today about Kaz Matsui's troubles entitled A pothole for now, but soon a pot of gold. This article comes on the heels of Norm's epiphany, and why he won't be booing Matsui any time soon. Rocca urges Mets fans to be patient with Matsui, that his struggles in the field and at the plate are part of a lengthy adjustment period that should be expected. He has some insightful quotes from ex-Met manager Bobby Valentine, who is quite familiar with Japanese baseball:

"He's still getting used to the grass," Bobby Valentine said yesterday. "My guy plays on only one field where there is grass and dirt. On turf, he's a Rey Ordonez-looking guy. When he gets on that (grass) field, he looks like a Little Leaguer. It's amazing how different everyone looks, because it's so different."

Valentine, the former Mets manager who spoke via cell phone while riding the bullet train back to Tokyo after a road trip with his Chiba Lotte Marines, said it's not just the new playing surfaces that are affecting Matsui's defense.

"He's got to learn all the speeds of the runners in the league, which is very difficult," Valentine said. "That's what determines what hop you get it on, how hard you throw it to first. Most errors for young players are due to the speed of the runner. I think it's incredible that he's doing as well as he's doing. It's a tough adjustment. It takes time."

Rocca also does well to compare Kaz's transition to that of Yankee Hideki Matsui:

Through 57 games last year, Hideki Matsui of the Yankees was batting .250 with 16 doubles, three home runs, 18 walks, 34 strikeouts and had earned the nickname "Groundzilla."

Through 57 games, Kaz Matsui was batting .254 with 18 doubles, five homers, 27 walks and 58 strikeouts.

It should be noted that Hideki compiled his numbers batting deep in a far better lineup, in a far better hitter's park.

Right on. Hideki is having a terrific year for the Yankees this season, hitting .298/.406/.507. Valentine even works in a little ribbing of former GM Steve Phillips' trade of Melvin Mora for Mike Bordick in 2000. Check out the rest of the article, it might be the only thing Rocca writes this year that isn't best suited for wiping my ass.