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May 12, 2006
Yankees Lose Hideki Matsui to Injury, Possibly for the Season
The New York Yankees lost last night's game to the Boston Red Sox, 5-3, but they lost a lot more than just the game and the series. In the first inning, Yankees left fielder, Hideki Matsui, injured his left wrist while catching a ball hit by Mark Loretta. To anyone watching it was obvious that the injury was probably a serious one and tests at the hospital comfirmed those fears. Matsui has a broken wrist and will undergo surgery today. Early guesses are that Matsui will miss at least three months, but it's possible he could miss the entire season. To make matters worse for the Yankees, The New York Times is reporting that Gary Sheffield's right wrist injury may be worse than originally thought and he too might need surgery.
Losing one key player is bad enough but losing two big offensive contributors for an extended period of time could be deadly to the Yankees. While Matsui has been pretty quiet at the plate so far this season, he normally is extremely productive by season's end and the Yankees were surely counting on him to put up his usual numbers. Sheffield is also a key piece of the offense and even if he is able to come back in a few weeks, there's a chance that his swing might be affected all season by his injury. Should the Yankees panic and go out and make a trade for another outfielder? No, there is no need to do that, especially when it's unknown as to how long Sheffield is actually going to be out for. However, it's essential that the other Yankees step it up at the plate, in the field and on the mound. The pitching must be excellent because while the Yankees are missing two big hitters, the offense might not have as easy of a time coming back from a deficit as they have in the past.
The effects of the Matsui injury won't just be felt in the Bronx. With last night's game, Matsui's streak of 1,768 consecutive games played comes to an end. In this country that streak seemed to be more of an annoyance to a lot of fans who felt that playing every day no matter what caused Matsui to wear down. But in Japan Matsui is revered for that streak. His injury will be huge news there, probably even more so than in this country. Matsui's streak is the third longest ever in the majors, behind only Cal Ripken and Lou Gehrig.
As for the game itself, Loretta was also the man who gave the Red Sox the lead by hitting a grounder to Derek Jeter. Throwing from his knees, Jeter threw high to first and the ball came out of Miquel Cairo's glove, as he attempted to both jump to catch the ball and tag out Loretta. On the play two runs scored. Shawn Chacon was rocky for the Yankees, lasting only 4.2 innings, giving up five hits and five walks, and throwing just 52 out of 104 pitches for strikes. However, by some stroke of luck, Chacon only gave up one run, which kept his team in the game, until Loretta's hit in the 6th.
This weekend the Oakland A's come to town, and weather permitting, fans will get a taste of how the Yankees are going to fare without Matsui and Sheffield.
Posted by silverdsl at May 12, 2006 10:11 AM