Teams must submit their bids for Daisuke Matsuzaka by 5 PM ET today. The Mets and Yankees are expected to be the teams most likely to retain his services, and submit the highest bids. Scott Boras, who is representing him, spoke yesterday and naturally had high praise for his client, reports The New York Post.

“He's hard-working, he's disciplined, he's dominated everywhere he's
pitched,” Boras said. “He's one of those pitchers I think will come
over here and have a great impact on a team.

“Having been in the
business 30 years, you don't get arms like this, with breaking balls
like this, with change-ups like this, that come along very often.

“He's a very special pitcher.”

Hot Foot will break any news on D-Mat when it becomes available.

Adam Rubin, who is over in Japan right now for the MLB All Star tour, spoke to Jim Allen, who covers baseball for The Daily Yomiuri. He posts audio of his interview with him discussing Daisuke Matsuzaka on his Daily News Mets Blog.

Rubin also posts an email he received from Brian Bannister, who is pitching in Mexico's winter league with Oliver Perez right now.

Seeing how the Foot has been getting a lot of traffic and commentators lately, I figured I might try to stir up the community and see who people would wish to see in a Met uniform (and not as well), a la forum-style — because, hey… we're all “Hot Foot Fans of the Day,” right?

In a recent conversation with Anthony (Ambassador Foot to y'all — rag on me all you want, but I still find it easier to say it than “you all” all profoundly), we compiled a list and came to the conclusion to four players we'd both want to see as a Met.  Before I get started, remember: a) all of the increased revenue that has picked up this past season due to attendance and merchandising (I'm even seeing a bunch of Mets propaganda in Atlanta, and I never used to come across that), b) we have a new television network coming soon, and c) oh, that ridonkulously beautific stadium that's supposedly going to be open on Opening Day of 2009.  Let's get retarde — err, wait… started (sorry, that stupid, unedited Black Eyed Peas song came up after visiting a friend's lame MySpace).

The List/Rundown/Rome Is Burning:

Starting Pitcher - Daisuke Matsuzaka

The so-called gyro pitcher, or who I like to call “Suzi,” short for “Matsuzi,” if that even makes sense (but now I'm just thinking of calling the dude “Sushi.”  All of this would probably change, of course, if he were to be a Skank or any less equivalent.   Anyways…).  Only 26, he already has 108 wins under his belt in the NPB.  He has ridiculous movement on his fastball, but even moreso with his “whatever-you-want-to-label-it” breaker.  Either way, it's mentioned that he doesn't throw the Gyroball and that the ball spins in an unorthodox fashion due to release “mistakes.”  Hah!  He will be sitting out the MLB/NPB All-Star Game this November (obviously).  The guy can pitch and not just at an overseas-level, and he would easily contend with Chien-Ming Wang (or, for the Chinese savy: 王建民) in the Clash of the Asians.  I really can't see any dropout from the transition to the MLB's talent and a bigger ball, but then again… scouting overseas talent ain't my cup of tea.  No way Omar lets this slip… I think he'd be able to perform in New York, seeing as if he's been in the Japanese limelight his entire baseball career (he apparently was a God in high school).  Also, after watching the YouTube video in Anthony's earlier article where he strikes out 14 batters, I've noticed two things: 1) live bands at baseball games would be cool as hell, and 2) he rocks LIVESTRONG, which makes him “baaawlin'!”* in my books.

*See New York Giants defense for more info.

Highlights of Matsuzaka from the WBC Championship against Cuba:


Pitching for the Seibu Lions (04/14/06):


Rotation of Matsuzaka's “Gyroball:”

Starting Pitcher - Barry Zito

He tied the A's in team wins (16) in a young-but-effective (or just plain good) rotation with Joe Blanton, tying for eigth in the American League and also becoming a 10-game winner for his sixth consecutive season, dating back to 2000.  His 3.83 ERA was ranked 10th in the AL.  His most memorable moment last season is when he outdueled Johan Santana in Game 1 of the ALDS, in a game/series where everyone counted Oakland out.  He's been one of my favorite pitchers since he emerged in 1999 and have been infatuated with the rumors of him becoming a Met (as much as I love these parenthetical remarks) for the past two or three years.  Him moving to the NL will no doubt lower his ERA, and if anyone thinks he's beginning to wash up, consider this: his 16 wins this year have been the most since the year he won the Cy Young in 2002 and could have easily been a 20-game winner. The ace will be turning 29 years old after the 2007 season starts and already has 102 career wins.  His best month of the season was in May, when he went 3-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 6 starts.  In that one loss of the month, he lost to the Yankees albeit allowing only 1 ER, and did the same for the two no-decisions.  He also went 4-1 in both June and August, with 3.95 and 3.40 ERAs, respectively.  Yeah, he's known to have a bad game here or there, but my mind is set on wanting some baked Zito once every five dinners (or lunch, I suppose).

Second Baseman/IF/OF - Julio Lugo

The man can play multiple positions, as seen when playing for with the Dodgers.  He started 29 games at second, 16 and third base, eight at shortstop, two in right field and once in left when coming over to the National League from the Devil Rays.  He hit a .278 batting average for the season, with 69 runs scored, 12 home runs, 37 RBIs, 24 stolen bases in 33 attempts and had a .341 OBP, .001 higher than his career average.  Before being traded to Los Angeles, he was hitting .308 with 53 runs scored, 12 homers, 27 RBIs and 18 stolen bases with Tampa Bay.  Since the move, his numbers have declined to a .219 batting average, 16 runs scored, no home runs, 10 RBIs and only 6 stolen bases, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt due to the fact that he was injured, playing on a team that had a surplus of infielders and switched to an entirely new league of pitching.  Although he's not the best of fielders due to the errors he sometimes commits, there's no doubt he's got a glove.  I like to think he's a good fielder who takes chances and sometimes lets the play get the best of him.  Either way, no matter who plugs up second, it's going to be hard to follow up Jose Valentin's stellar defense in '06.  I'd be well more than satisfied with him hitting in the bottom half of the lineup.  He'll be 31 years old later this month.

Left Fielder/Second Baseman - Alfonso Soriano

The so-called “bad teammate” I've been hearing about.  The vibe I get from some fellow Soriano-hater bloggers/commentators is that he is portrayed as the T.O. equivalent in baseball which I honestly don't get.  Maybe someone can help me out with this one.  I just can't see one player ruining the dynamic and chemistry both Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph have created in the clubhouse, so to think that Soriano would break up the somewhat “band of brothers”  mentality that lies in Captain Red Ass and the Intrepid Mets completely baffles me.  He's part of the prolific 40/40 club in which only Jose “Bash & Dash” Conseco, Barry “Cream & Clear” Bonds and Alex “Gay & Gayer” Rodriguez are a part of.  His numbers for the season?  They were either slightly better or right on track of his career averages: .277 batting average, 119 runs scored, 46 home runs, 95 RBIs and 41 stolen bases.  Yeah, his strikeouts were at a career-high with 160, but he also came slightly close to doubling his walks count to 67 (his career high prior to that was 38 in 2003 with the Yankees).  He also led the Majors last year with 22 outfield assists, six more than second place RF Brad Hawpe, nine more than our boy Carlos Beltran who led center fielders with 13, and twelve more than Jason Bay, who was second in left field assists with 10.  He had 11 errors last year, which is around Adam Dunn country (eww…), though this was his first year starting in the outfield.  I don't see how the Mets can't make a huge bid on him.  He'll be 31 years old in January.

Daisuke Matsuzaka has been compared to Curt Shilling. He turned 26 in
September, has a 108-60
career record, with a 2.95 ERA. This year he was 17-5 with a
2.13 ERA (second in the Pacific League) in 25 starts,
striking out 200 and walking 50 in 186 1/3 innings.

He also
was MVP of the World Baseball Classic in March,
going 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA. His jersey from that tournament
was sent to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

He throws four
pitches, and has great velocity, hitting 96 mph at times. Some say he
throws a mysterious Gyroball pitch, which is a combination
slider/screwball. Watch a video of Matsuzaka below…

Matsuzaka is two years from being eligible for free
agency in Japan, but the posting period opens today, and the
Lions have promised to post him within the next few weeks.

Once major-league teams are notified a player has been
posted, they have four business days to submit a sealed bid
for the rights to sign the player.

There should be plenty of bids on Matsuzaka. Along with
the Yankees and Mets, the Seattle Mariners are always in on
Japanese players, and the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles
Dodgers are seeking a top pitcher.

After the four-day period expires, the Japanese team is
told the amount of the highest bid — but not the identity
of the bidder — and has four business days to accept or
reject it.

Once the bid is accepted, the winning U.S. team has 30
days to come to terms on a contract. If no deal is struck,
the player returns to Japan and cannot be posted until next
year. The U.S. team does not have to pay its bid.

The bidding process is sealed, meaning teams will have to
balance what they are willing to pay against their guesses
on other teams' bids. That has led to estimates of bids
of more than $20 million in Matsuzaka's case.

Although Matsuzaka has hired hard-driving Scott Boras as
his agent, he will have almost no leverage. He can negotiate
with only one U.S. team, and since Japanese players
practically have to beg to be posted, the threat of
returning to Japan is almost an empty one.

Still, Boras could ask for a market-value deal, something
like five years and more than $70 million, putting the total
cost to the team in the area of $100 million.

The Hardball Times does a good job at determining value for Matsuzaka as well as breaking down his performance in Japan and how it might translate to MLB.

Buster Olney suggest the Mets build their staff this offseason as if Pedro is not even returning next year, he writes on his ESPN blog…

If Pedro comes back in July and is ready to make an impact, he could
be, in effect, the best acquisition any team makes before the deadline.
But very few pitchers come back quickly from the type of surgery
Martinez had, and his brother, Ramon — who threw with the same kind of high-torque motion as Pedro — never came back.