The Yankees are Champions, and several players have finally sealed their fate as real Yankees, especially, Hideki Matsui, who won the MVP with several “clutch” home runs, and last night tied the record for most RBI’s in WS game with six.

Though he and his teammates get to spend the next two days celebrating (some will continue on past tomorrow’s parade, most certainly) the crowning of the World Series champion marks the beginning of the off-season.  And there is no bigger question for the Yankees than what to do about Hidecki Matsui.

His knees are bad, so much so that he ties up the DH spot.  He is very good, hits lefties well, but has a hard time legging out a double.  Still, he was the World Series MVP for a reason.

So, if you want to go younger, you have an aging catcher and a couple of other aging players, what do you do?

Here is the other piece of information that most fans don’t have, or perhaps just don’t put in the equation.  The Yankees make a ridiculous amount of money because of Matsui.  The advertising on the outfield wall in left field (behind where he used to play) probably paid close to his salary.  The year he joined the team Yankees revenue increased by $8 million while the next teams closest to the Yankees increased by $4 million. According to Forbes.com, the teams revenue increased by $62 million between 2002 and 2006.  That coincides with the launch of the YES network, so it cannot all be attributed to Matsui, but still, he provides a nice revenue stream that they Yankees will lose without him.   And now, Matusi is the World Series MVP.

Now I am not suggesting that the Yankees might be willing to, or should, give Matsui a Kings ransom nor a long term contract.  But parting ways with him may not be the best business plan either.  The reality is though, if you can only keep Matsui or Damon, Matsui has some added value that we as fans don’t see.

The trick here will be making sure that they don’t commit to too long of a contract, and that they plan an exit strategy.  If Matsui’s knees become too bad for him to play, the team can’t just release him.  Too much shame in that.  The team must be realistic about what happens if he takes up a roster spot, while not being able to DH everyday.  Is he tradable down the line?  Depends on the contract.  So, this is one decision filled with layers and layers of ramifications.

As John Harper writes today, it is pretty tough to part ways with Matsui after his World Series performance.  And Damon may have made the choice easier with his injury. As winners of the World Series though, its too early to stress these issues.  They will be resolved in due time.  Its time for a parade now though.  Congratulations Yankees!  Congratulations Matusi!