For the Rockies this year, Matsui hit .288 with four home runs and 37 RBIs. He stole 32 bases and scored 84 runs as well.

…i thought kaz was in a good situation in colorado so it will be interesting to see if he can keep his momentum going in texas…

…it’s been rumored that the astros coveted Luis Castillo, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them move quickly to land their second choice. i’m interested to see how the contract compares to castillo’s…

In a related story, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle believes the acquisition of Matsui could prompt the Astros to try and move 2B Chris Burke and OF Luke Scott for pitching help.

…the astros haven’t been big spenders yet, but they’ve certainly been active and i’d rather not have another team added to the mix of those already searching for pitching…

According to a recent report for the Denver Post, citing ‘a source close to the negotiations,’  the Cubs are ‘pressing hard’ to sign Matsui - and could offer him a three-year deal worth rough $15 million.

In an earlier report, Rosenthal wrote that, in addition to the Mets, the Astros, Indians, Padres and Dodgers may also show interest in Castillo.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, at MLB.com, Marty Noble wrote that free agent David Eckstein appears to be the Mets primary target for second base.

…the buzz from new york, of late, has been that both castillo and eckstein are seeking four-year contracts, similar to what was given to Julio Lugo by the Red Sox last off-season…

WGN Radio’s Dave Kaplan recently reported the Cubs could complete a deal with Matsui by the end of this week, notes MLB Trade Rumors.

…why are the Cubs stockpiling infielders…seriously, how many do they actually have now…every time i look up, their importing another second baseman, who can also play short…odd strategy…

…anyway, if kaz is seeking - and can get - a three-year deal, and Luis Castillo is rumored to be seeking a four-year deal, maybe castillo isn’t as crazy as i thought…also, this would suggest that David Ecksetin can sign for a similar deal to what kaz gets, i would think, since they put up similar numbers…

In 410 at-bats for the Rockies last season, the 32–year-old Matsui hit .288 with four HR, 24 doubles and 32 stolen bases.

Meanwhile, Eckstein, who is also 32, hit .309 in 434 at-bats for  the Cardinals, while stealing 10 bases with 23 doubles.

Simon explains that the current myth is as follows…

“Delicate flower (Matsui) arrives from Japan, ill-prepared for the suffocating media crush and the quick-to-judge fans of big city New York. After three miserable years of this, the sad, oppressed robin flees to the freedom of Colorado, spreads his wings and sprouts into full-blown baseball glory.”

According to Simon, the problem with the above story, “is that Matsui hasn’t really gotten any better (since leaving the Mets)…but the media has taken his performance over a span of seven games and spun a fabulous yet fanciful yarn about his miraculous rebirth as an offensive force.  Simply, it isn’t true.”

…i’m happy for kaz, but eric is right…i mean, in all of these mythical write-ups with romantic storytelling i don’t recall people revisiting his paycheck and mysterious, chronic injuries, which ranged from bad nights of sleep to stiff necks to missing contact lenses…i wish this guy the best, like i do most all people in life, but, to eric’s point, let’s not make kaz out to be something that he isn’t, and by that i mean so we, and the team included, don’t look like total jerks in the process…

In 104 games this past season for Colorado, Matsui hit .288 with four HR and 37 RBI, while stealing 32 bases.

Rockies bench coach Jamie Quirk, on his team’s second baseman, Kaz Matsui, as quoted by Lisa Olson in the Daily News…

“He’s a dynamic player, a tremendous personality. He gets along great with everybody. His sense of humor fits right in with this ballclub. I would call him a character. He makes me laugh…We only wanted him to play second base and that took a lot of pressure off. Not everybody succeeds in New York. It’s a tough place to play. There might have been some undue pressure with his contract and with the other Matsui on the other side of town.”

…naturally, such as the Daily News column linked above, a collection of racist and mean fans are helping to define the rest of us, which is so irritating…look, fact is, there are lots of Mets fans who are happy for kaz, like me, as well as my fellow blogger D.J. Short, and the people who posted similar comments to his post, and will likely post similar comments in this post…why is that so hard to believe…

…for me, i was glad kaz got traded, and i’m equally glad that he is doing well for the Rockies…sure, i hope he fails when facing the Mets, but that is more because i hope the Mets succeed…i don’t wish ill-will on anyone, except maybe the Philly Phanatic…

…so, good luck in the world series, kaz…smile, you’ve earned it…