I heard a story on local radio where a columnist from the Fort Worth Star Telegram (I forget his name) said the reason that the Mariners dropped out is because the principle owner of the Mariners (who also heads Nintendo) has had a major pissing match over the years with the owner of the team that Matsuzaka plays for and has no interest in giving him money for posting in order to secure the rights to Matsuzaka.

Interesting that would come into play. Typically, Mr. Yamaguchi will go all out for good players from Japan.

"You kind of get tired giving the other team credit. At some point you've got to look in the mirror and say 'I sucked.'"

Alex Rodriguez, after the NY Yankees were eliminated from the 2006 ALDS by the Detroit Tigers.