Hideki Matsui had a lot of expectations when he signed with the Yankees. Nearly all have been met but one.

“The only thing I didn’t envision is not winning the World Series,” Matsui said yesterday in the Yankee clubhouse. “I always visualized us winning the World Series every year. That’s the stance I take.”

And although it looked like the Yankees were headed to their second straight Series before falling on their faces by blowing a 3-0 ALCS lead to the Red Sox, Matsui has intentions of sticking around The Bronx after his contract runs out following next season.

“It would be nice if I can stay,” Matsui said through a translator. “This is the best environment to play baseball in.”

But he wouldn’t say whether he or agent Arn Tellem would approach the Yankees next year about an extension.

“I don’t have any specific plans,” Matsui said of his negotiations. “I leave that to Arn. I don’t know what the Yankees would look into; I haven’t really thought about it at all.”

The Yankees undoubtedly have and following his impressive season – his second in the majors – Matsui seemed on his way to winning the ALCS MVP before the bottom fell out in Game 4.

Despite the disappointment, Matsui said he won’t reflect on the series much.

“I’m not the kind of person that looks back and wishes things happened differently,” Matsui said. “I don’t think about the past.”

He did, however, acknowledge that Trot Nixon’s catch of his line drive during Game 5 of the ALCS might have prevented the Yankees from winning the series.

With two out in the sixth, after Derek Jeter’s double had given the Yankees a 4-2 lead, Matsui drilled a Pedro Martinez offering to right center that likely would have driven in three runs and perhaps put the game away. Instead, the Yankees failed to score again and lost 5-4 in 14 innings.

“That might be possible,” Matsui said of the change of the team’s fate. “Had that catch been made, it might have been an extra base hit and we would have scored more runs.”

An inning prior, Martinez threw a fastball up and in that Matsui had to duck away from and he was unproductive the rest of the series.

“It’s not related at all,” Matsui said.

The slugger plans on returning to Japan next month and coming back to New York before spring training with an empty feeling.

“Both [years] are difficult to swallow,” Matsui said. “This year was harder because last year at least we made the World Series.”