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D-Mat's coming
2006-11-06 20:09
by Bob Timmermann

According to this report by Bob Nightengale in USA Today, Japanese sort of free agent pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka has chosen the nickname "D-Mat" for himself.

I'm going out on a limb here that in Japan, Matsuzaka didn't go by that nickname.

Gregg Doyel of CBS Sportsline is not sanguine about Matsuzaka's chances of becoming a star in North America.

Comments
2006-11-06 20:26:24
1.   Bluebleeder87
"Slimy Boras" = priceless in my book, oh so true!!
2006-11-06 20:34:01
2.   Bluebleeder87
i guess we shall wait & see what kind of pitcher he becomes in the MLegues.
2006-11-06 20:42:28
3.   Xeifrank
D-Mat? Is that short for Door Mat?
vr, Xei
2006-11-06 20:53:22
4.   joejoejoe
According to Baseball-Reference he already has a nickname, 'Kaibutsu' or The Monster.
2006-11-06 21:01:18
5.   joejoejoe
What does Gregg Doyel think an agent is supposed to do for a player - get less money?
2006-11-06 21:15:48
6.   das411
'Kaibutsu' > D-Mat
2006-11-06 21:17:10
7.   Voxter
I am going to be one very sad Linus if people really start calling him "D-Mat". Which they probably will.
2006-11-06 21:31:33
8.   Bob Timmermann
One of the English language writers in Japan (I forget which one), liked to give players A-Rod type nicknames.

Alex Cabrera was called A-Cab. Would Michihiro Ogasawara be nicknamed M-Oga?

Fortunately Ogasawara has a great nickname already: Guts.

2006-11-06 22:41:56
9.   Greg Brock
If my nickname consisted of the first letter of my first name and first three letters of my last name (A-Rod, D-Mat, etc.), it would not sound very cool.

In fact, it would sound a lot like a high-tech mattress company.

B-Tim, however, sounds kind of cool. Go with it, Bob.

2006-11-07 00:02:18
10.   joejoejoe
It doesn't work for every player. See A-Puj and F-Her.
2006-11-07 00:20:58
11.   Bluebleeder87
10

i'm glad you didn't combined A-Rod & F-her

2006-11-07 02:04:12
12.   Deanna
Errr... I don't think so.

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/hl?c=npb&a=20061104-00000002-ykf-spo

Although Hideki Matsui, who has a perfectly good nickname already, quipped that "Well, does that mean people will have to start calling me H-Mat"?

2006-11-07 03:10:24
13.   Bluebleeder87
i'm insominia driven today, how about R-Clem?
2006-11-07 03:54:24
14.   joejoejoe
I think 'Apple Jack' is a good nickname for Matsuzaka.

Matsuzaka is from Aomori prefecture in Japan which is famous for their apples. Apple Jack has a 3-syllable rhythm, shortens to Jack, has mutations as needed 'That was a real poison apple from Apple Jack for strike three' etc. It can be shortened even further as AJ. It's a tip of the cap to his home region. The K sound pairs nicely with the K sound in MatuzaKa.

As far as I get a vote in these things (1 in 6.5 billion) my choice is Apple Jack. Pass it on.

2006-11-07 04:33:30
15.   Chyll Will
K-Fed? Missed the bus a while ago. K-Mart? Well, he gets paid enough to ignore it. Even her handlers must have told her J-Lo was an inside joke gone terribly wrong. So if he doesn't want to get stuck being called Door-Mat (I thought the same thing, 3) for the rest of his life, he needs a well-placed fastball right between that English-language writer's front teeth to save the world from needless imperialism.

"Gyro Gearloose" and the over on outdoing Fat ... Toad, but not reach Fernandomania.

2006-11-07 07:09:41
16.   jakewoods
Agents are paid to get the most money they can for a client. Dont hate Boras for being good at what he does.
2006-11-07 08:17:21
17.   screwballin
I think Boras earns some of the hatred because he is so willing to have younger clients sit out a year. So he gets maybe a few hundred grand for them a year later, but pushes them a year farther away from going to free agency, where they can make the big bucks. I think he takes advantage of some of these kids: after all, he might not be their agent when the big payday comes, so better for him to get his when he can.

Meanwhile, someone like JD Drew loses a year of prime earning time, plus to this day he can't even stop for a quick cheesesteak in Philly for fear of getting whacked.

2006-11-07 08:50:49
18.   Bluebleeder87
Agents are paid to get the most money they can for a client. Dont hate Boras for being good at what he does.

i'm set in my ways!! & no one will change my mind! down with Boras!

2006-11-07 08:51:48
19.   Bob Timmermann
2/3 of America can't stop in Philly for a quick cheesesteak without getting whacked.
2006-11-07 12:41:38
20.   das411
19 - :-D

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