Having lost superstar slugger Hideki Matsui to free agency and the major leagues, the Yomiuri Giants have acquired Roberto Petagine, the runnerup to Matsui in this year's Central League home run derby. The Giants have thus plugged Matsui's hole in their lineup with another Triple Crown threat, but three questions come to mind in evaluating the Peta-Giants marriage:

1) Will the team suffer defensively with the shifting of two or three key players to positions they have not played in some time, or ever?

2) Can Petagine remain injury-free and play the entire 140-game schedule as Matsui has done since 1995?