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June 08, 2006

I Really Need To Start Playing Lotto

On February 26, 2006, I wrote:

Just reading about Gary Sheffield's back flare-up today, I began to wonder - What if something terrible happens to the Yankees this spring, and, either Matsui or Sheffield gets knocked out for most of the season?

And, now, on June 8, 2006, we hear this news:

With Hideki Matsui out until September with a fractured wrist, the Yankees were hopeful that therapy would be enough to get Gary Sheffield and his ailing wrist back on the field before too long.

That won't be the case.

Sheffield will undergo surgery to repair the torn ligament and dislocating tendon in his left wrist on Tuesday, and the outfielder isn't expected to return to the Yankees until September.

Funny, as much as a major injury to one of these players was a concern for me in Spring Training, right now, I'm not sweating it.

In his last 30 games, or so, Bernie Williams has not been a total bust. And, Melky Cabrera has done a very nice job in LF (filling in for Matsui). At ths moment, these two are not the worst Band-Aid option ever.

To be honest, if you told me now that both Matsui and Sheffield would be out for the rest of the year - without question - I'd probably say "OK, well, at least now, the Yankees know that they shouldn't count on them and it's up to the rest of the team to pick-up the slack."

Really, without these two, the Yankees still have six (at one time) All-Stars in their line-up. It's not like this means that they won't score runs this season.

If the Yankees don't win this year, the loss of Matsui and Sheffield will not be the cause - and should not be seen as an excuse.

So, what about my concern three-and-a-half months ago? Call it a Chicken Little moment. Hey, even bloggers are rusty in Spring Training.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at June 8, 2006 10:53 PM

Comments

While I love Melky and I'm happy to take whatever Bernie can give us, I don't think "[i}f the Yankees don't win this year, the loss of Matsui and Sheffield will not be the cause - and should not be seen as an excuse" is necessarily valid. Haven't you and other stats-inclined bloggers written that the Yanks' starting pitching should not be expected to perform the way it has performed up to this point? And that the Yanks' formula for making the playoffs in 2006 was based in outslugging our opponents? If the Yankee starting pitching begins to slope downward the way it has been forecasted, then the loss of Sheffield and/or Matsui will be the single biggest reason why the Yanks might not make it to October.

I'm not predicting they won't make it, mind you, merely saying that losing Sheffield and Matsui is a damn good excuse if things don't break our way.

Posted by: MJ [TypeKey Profile Page] at June 9, 2006 09:36 AM