"Another day, another deal not done.

On Monday, the A's failed to come to terms with Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma by the deadline. Oakland will get back the $19.1 million posting fee paid to his team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, which perhaps can be applied to the hunt for a designated hitter, and that very well might be another Japanese player.

The A's are focusing their efforts on former Yankees All-Star Hideki Matsui, and two sources confirmed that Oakland general manager Billy Beane met with Matsui's agent, Arn Tellem, on Monday. Unlike other A's targets this winter, Matsui is believed to have strong interest in signing with Oakland.

The A's were disappointed not to land Iwakuma, the 2008 Pacific League MVP in Japan. Iwakuma was looking for $12 million per season. Oakland was offering less than $10 million per year, with the posting fee factored into a four-year deal. The A's were unwilling to go over a total of $36 million in total package for Iwakuma, two sources told The Chronicle, posting fee included, but the team did improve upon its original offer of four years, $15.1 million.

"Both sides were anxious to get something done, but we couldn't find common ground to do it," said A's assistant general manager David Forst, who said the team will have interest in Iwakuma next year when he is a free agent (and would not need a posting fee).

The A's were optimistic enough about signing Iwakuma early in the process that they traded fifth-starter candidate Vin Mazzaro to Kansas City for outfielder David DeJesus. Oakland has several possibilities to fill the rotation, but Beane said the team also might explore the free-agent market for a fourth- or fifth-starter type after concentrating on adding another bat."