On the Mets beat

TOKYO -- With the MLB All-Star tour of Japan starting up this week, it's interesting to note that Kaz Matsui filed for free agency today. Kaz, then with the Seibu Lions, was the star of this tour in 2002 -- even overshadowing Hideki Matsui to some extent. A year later, he signed a three-year, $21-million contract with the Mets, the beginning of a strange 2 1/2-season journey for both clubs