Since joining the Yankees in 2003 from Japan, left fielder Hideki Matsui has impressed many people around the team with a personal style that is precisely formal and naturally gracious.
Despite losing outfielders Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui, each with a left wrist injury, the Yankees said they would not rush to make a trade.
So, after a successful operation on his left wrist yesterday, it was no surprise that the first words issued from Matsui were in the form of a news release that was tender and direct. It mentioned, in particular, Manager Joe Torre.
"I would like to thank Joe Torre from the bottom of my heart for having been considerate of my consecutive games played streak these past several years and for placing me in the lineup every day," Matsui said in the release issued through an interpreter. "I feel very sorry and, at the same time, very disappointed to have let my teammates down."
The operation was performed by Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser, a hand specialist, and the team doctor Stuart Hershon at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital. Matsui was expected to spend last night at the hospital.
Matsui injured his wrist in the top of the first inning Thursday night while trying to catch a short fly ball during a 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox, and he immediately left the game. Had he finished the half-inning, it would have been his 519th consecutive game as a Yankee and the 1,769th in a professional career that began in Japan. Now, with pins in the wrist and a long rehabilitation ahead, he will probably not be back until at least September.
Torre found some gallows humor in the situation. "The most important thing now is really not what's missing for the Yankees," Torre said. "It's what he's going to do with all his spare time he never had before."
Melky Cabrera started in left field last night, replacing Matsui. Bernie Williams was in right field for Gary Sheffield, who remains on the disabled list, also with an injury to his left wrist. Sheffield's injury is considered less serious, but it is uncertain when he will return.
Brian Cashman, the general manager, said he did not expect Sheffield to need surgery. "His situation is not similar to Hideki," Cashman said. Sheffield was unavailable in the clubhouse before the game; Torre said he was receiving treatment.
Cashman visited Matsui after the operation and put him on the telephone with Torre and George Steinbrenner, the team's principal owner. "He's a very special man," Cashman said of Matsui. "As good a player as he is, he's better as a person. You want all your players to be like him."
Torre held a brief team meeting before batting practice yesterday as the Yankees prepared for the first game of their three-game series with the Oakland A's. He said he talked about Matsui's operation and the challenges the team faces. "I hope they understand we aren't planning any vacations here," Torre said.
The Yankees promoted outfielder Kevin Reese from their Class AAA team in Columbus. Reese, who was batting .257 with two home runs and nine runs batted in, played two games last season with the Yankees.
Reese said he was packing his luggage for a road trip to Norfolk, Va., on Thursday night when he received the call.
"Little nicer here," he said, comparing New York to the minor leagues. "It's still exciting, but it's just a little tougher to come in when you know you've lost an All-Star player."
Matsui was batting .261 with 5 home runs and 19 R.B.I. In his first three seasons with the Yankees, Matsui batted .297 while hitting 70 homers and driving in 330 runs.
With two corner outfielders injured and center fielder Johnny Damon aggravating his aching left shoulder and right foot, the Yankees are expected to explore trade possibilities, although Torre and Cashman played down the possibilities.
"Brian's on the phone all the time," Torre said. "But I don't go running back to my office to see if there's a message."
Among those who could interest the Yankees is Alfonso Soriano, the former Yankee second baseman who plays left field for Washington and is in the final year of his contract.
"We're a very patient organization," Cashman said, adding that other players on the roster would have a chance to show what they could do before the Yankees rushed into any decisions. "We'll see. This creates an opportunity. I can't tell you where we'll be in two weeks or two months."
Damon was injured Thursday night when he caught a fly ball against the center-field wall. After receiving treatment before batting practice yesterday, he was in the starting lineup, and he said he had put a guard on his right foot again after playing without it for about a week.
"I'm fine, it just rattled me a bit," he said of hitting the wall. "I've got to try and be a little more graceful."
