The Rides and Tours

I wonder how Hideki Matsui really feels now that his countrymen, led by Ichiro Suzuki, have won the first Classic. By refusing to play, Matsui insulted his country and his country's baseball legend, the team's manager, Sadaharu Oh.

On the Petco Park field after Japan's 10-6 victory, Suzuki, who had five hits in the last two games batting third instead of leading off, said in English, a language he rarely uses publicly: "Unbelievable. Most impressed with my baseball."

Translation: It was his most enjoyable day in baseball. If the Yankees win the World Series, maybe Matsui can experience that feeling.

"I didn't even think about the upcoming regular season," Suzuki said through an interpreter, reverting to Japanese. "It's not an ideal thing for a player to think, but I didn't really care if I would get injured in this game. That's how much I really wanted to win this one."