It would be wrong of me to go back to last week and recap the Yankee greatness that was, the 2009 World Series. Justice prevailed as Matsui finally got the Championship ring he ventured over the big lake for. Girardi was right and can breathe another day in Yankee land, maybe even another few. And Rollins couldn’t look more stupid with his over zealous claims that fell shorter than he stands. It would be wrong of me to take a couple weeks off (paying job related) from writing and come back and smear World Series chants over Yankee-hater’s faces. So instead I’ll find guidance in an old cliché, follow my own criticisms and act like I been here before.

I’ll move past the “ticker-tape” parade (that I attended) where the glory of winning was celebrated through out southern Manhattan. Can’t take too much of your time and talk about the weather that morning or the audacity of parade planners to spread out all the players on floats that were delayed by double-decker busses filled with Yankees staff and hot dog vendors.

Nope, it wouldn’t be right after so much time has passed for me to sit here and type the highlights of the Yankees 27^th World Series Championship. It would be arrogant of me to think that I could re tell the stories everyone has read in the papers over the last week; there’s no interest. We all know Pettitte is the most clutch pitcher in playoff history. We know MO is a gift from God and we know that Jeter is so abnormally good in the playoffs that his .407 WS BA goes unmentioned by most big name writers.

So instead of all that “We’re the best” “Philly is….Philly” talk I’ll move on just like everyone else has and start talking about a few offseason topics that are going to plague Yankee fans ears more than those obnoxious Direct TV commercials that are only topped in annoyance by Joe Buck.

Hideki Matsui raises the most eyebrows as offseason chatter begins. His playoff and World Series performance was appropriately complimented by the WS MVP Award. He is a Yankee in every sense of the word. He has pinstripe character and most importantly a deep desire to win and win often, if not always. I like Matsui a lot; at times I’d even say I love Matsui. However I’m a believer in letting him go.

Yes it’s sad to say goodbye to Yankee favorites but I think his lack of defense (as in none) and weak knees deter his value. Along with that I think he’ll expect too much money. Not that the Yankee can’t pay it because they obviously can, but the money can be spent in better areas going after more well rounded players. Matsui isn’t going to play left field for the Yankees, probably ever, making him a very expensive DH. Matsui has also mentioned (through an interpreter of course) his desire to continue playing the outfield; he still starts off every day at the ballpark shagging fly balls. Plenty of teams will pay him to play left, but not the Yankees.

I’d rather have Johnny Damon. Even with his adventures in left and his soccer player’s throwing arm I’d rather have his 2-hole bat. I love watching him hit. He is pesky and persistent. He fouls off bad pitches until he gets his and can frustrate the hell out of good pitchers while derailing them from their rhythm. He also has a swing made for the new park. He hit .282 with 24HR and 83RBI as a number two guy. And despite his heart attack attempts in left, making routine fly balls look like liners off a spitball, he only had 5 errors. Which really isn’t that many. If I asked anyone out there to guess how many errors he had this season my guess is people would have thought a dozen…at least.

Then you have to think about Posada. Not as a player to get rid of but as a reason to not keep Matsui. If the Yankees want to start weeding him out of the starting catcher spot (God I hope they do) over the next couple of seasons they should start next year. I can’t get behind Posada starting any more than 90 -100 games next season. I want Francisco Cervelli to start making more appearances. During the games where the youngster is behind the dish I think it would be important to have Posada start to get comfortable in his eventual new pinstripe position: DH

It’s going to be a long off-season with a lot of talk. But at the same time March will be here before you know it and the Yankees will have to make a move or two. I think both Damon and Matsui want to play for the Yankees but both would play somewhere else without much hesitation if the money wasn’t right. And I think plenty of teams would take either guy. The Yankees need to think long and hard about this one but I think they’ll need to consider their farm system more than the free agency pool through out this process. Especially with names like Jesus Montero and Austin Jackson floating around.

I’ll be here all off-season talking about free agency, minor leaguers and washed up Vets. Can’t guarantee how often it’ll be but it’ll be often enough I’m sure. Meanwhile as the weather turns so does my focus: Knickerbockers. Feel free to check me out on the Gearupforsports Knicks page along side my trusty mentor Joey OC as we dissect these depressing b-ballers fumbling through the motions. Until next time…cue Queen’s “We are the Champions.”