Chan Hooooooooo

The Yankees signed Chan Ho Park to a 1 year, $1.2 million deal.

My take? Fine. They Yankees spent very little on a serviceable arm to add to the bullpen mix. But, this signing could make things more interesting than they look at face value, and of course those of us who cover the Yankees will go nuts over what was probably just a meaningless, depth-related signing. Does this mean that Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin could be used as trade bait? Maybe, but could they really fetch all that much on the open market when half-year pitchers like John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez are still lurking?

Although it seems every story about the Yankees includes these two names right now, could this be a move that effects Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes? Many of us scoffed at the notion that Joe Girardi would be holding an open competition for the fifth spot, assuming that it was a two man race. However, a move for an extra arm like Park could be viewed as solidifying the bullpen and freeing up Gaudin, Mitre, or even Alfredo Aceves' creamy goodness to become a starter. In this case, could Joba and Phil both end up in the bullpen? To me it still seems unlikely, as my money is on Hughes to win the spot regardless of who is in the competition, but it will give us something interesting to watch while players with jersey numbers in the 90's are playing all spring.

He's ready for his closeup

After watching Hideki Matsui hit two bombs and drive in five last night (that's right, I stayed up for the whole game for some reason), it got me thinking about his future.

It has been seen as a foregone conclusion that the Yankees and Godzilla will part ways at season's end, and the theory that he could go back to Japan seems a little bit of a reach. Though it has been speculated upon, I can't see him ending up anywhere other than Seattle. Last night's audition did nothing to discourage my notion.

Looking at the Mariners' roster last night, two things jump out: first, management's affinity for Asian players (no shit, considering they are owned by Nintendo). Second, the team is hard pressed to put asses in seats; so much so that they bring in washed up players like Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Sweeney to take hacks in the twilight of their career. The fact is that Hideki Matsui meets BOTH of these needs for the Mariners franchise. He's half washed up and he's Asian. In Seattle that's like working at a Starbucks and listening to shitty grunge music. Now all he has to do is grow a soul patch, and he will be a God of Chris Cornell proportions in the Northwest.