Two Yankees, Toughing it Out

Offensively and defensively, the Yankees have been missing the services of Hideki Matsui since June 27, and Jorge Posada on and off for even longer. Matsui is an integral RBI guy to give ARod and Giambi protection in the five or six hole, and is needed more than ever in left with Johnny Damon's shoulder issues. Posada can hit pretty well, but can't throw, so even when he was in the game, other teams ran rampant--Jose Molina and Chad Moeller are decent defensive replacements, but can't match Jorge's bat.

Both Posada and Matsui have opted out of season-ending surgery, in an effort to return this season and help out their team. With Tampa Bay in free-fall, both Boston and New York have closed the gap significantly. Right now the BoSox are one game back of first, while the Yanks are 3.5 games behind, and certainly in contention for the Wild Card. 

What happens in the next few weeks, as Jorge and Hideki rehab their injuries--Posada's shoulder and Matsui's knee--will not only determine the immediate future of these two players, it may affect their long-term plans, too. Whenever surgery comes for either of them, it will delay their start to next season marginally or dramatically, and if they make their injuries worse by playing with them, it may affect them even longer.

But this is the sports mentality: My team needs me, so I need to play through pain. And, to some extent, this should be commended, certainly as opposed to players nursing minor injuries who refuse to take the field for their contending teams. Stiil, it's a measure of the Yankees' win-now mentality (and for them, it's always "now") that they're not willing to let these two key players sit for an extended amount of time.

Yes, they're needed, and yes, they'll make a difference, but one can only hope that the difference they make is not for the worse, by Matsui blowing out his knee or Posada royally screwing up his shoulder. Neither joint is peripheral for what these guys do, and the Yankees lineup has enough DHs right now, with Giambi and Damon wrestling for that spot. Or the two might come back, only to find that they can't contribute on either side of the ball, and therefore are wasting rehab time in a fruitless effort to play anywhere close to 100%.

In some ways, Yankees hoping for long-term prosperity may hope the Pinstripers fall from contention, to come back stronger next year. But it's hard for any Yankees fan--to say nothing of anybody named "Steinbrenner"--to cash in the chips so soon.

Best of luck to all the ailing Yankees as well as the healthy ones, for short- and long-term success. Taking one for the team is a good philosophy, unless it turns into taking two.