The Yankees are about to empty their pockets in hopes of keeping Hideki Matsui. According to people familiar with their thinking, the Yankees will offer Matsui $50 million over four years, a significant increase over their initial proposal and not that far below some of Matsui's suggestions during spring training. The new proposal exceeds a goal Matsui is believed to hold of getting "a dollar more than Ichiro Suzuki," whose Mariners deal is for $44 million over four years. The latest bid should raise hopes on both sides that an agreement can be reached before Tuesday's self-imposed deadline. Matsui's original three-year, $21-million contract allows him to become a free agent if a new deal is not reached by Nov. 15, although that deadline can be extended. Arn Tellem, Matsui's agent, is scheduled to arrive in New York on Saturday night to continue negotiations and will have brunch Sunday with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. Both sides were encouraged with the pace of their negotiations after dining together Wednesday at the general managers' meetings in Indian Wells, Calif. An American League executive familiar with the situation said he believes the Yankees plan to set $50 million as their limit, but he was not sure if they would be willing to "draw a line in the sand" over that figure in the event that Matsui balks.