Matsui’s Injury: Last Friday’s surgery was a success, and he is expected to make a full recovery. Doctors have confirmed that it will take a minimum of 3 months to rehab from such an injury, which would place him back in the lineup in late August—if the physical therapy goes perfectly. We’ll see.

Sturtze is Hurtze: I can’t get enough of that rhyme! After a very poor start, during which he surrendered nine earned runs in 10 2/3 innings and racked up a sweet 7.59 ERA, it appears that Sturtze may have had a legitimate excuse for being so embarrassingly bad. Team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon diagnosed Sturtze with a torn rotator cuff this week, and will have to go under the knife to repair the damage. Sturtze’s season, and thus some of my pain, will end with the surgery.

Pitiful Pavano: He’s been trying to prime himself for a pinstriped comeback all season, but it doesn’t look like that will be happening on schedule as planned. It appears that his Spring Training-induced buttock injury has healed, but now his “right tri-cep area” is causing him trouble. He lasted just 1 inning during a rehab start for AA Trenton this week before complaining of tightness and leaving the game. He was on track to return to the Yankees in the beginning of June, but this setback will push that back at least a couple weeks.

Rx is Rest for Chacon: Torre is considering pushing back Chacon’s scheduled start against Tom Glavine and the Mets on Sunday, due to the Mark Loretta ball that smacked him in the leg last Thursday (bear in mind that it was also a Mark Loretta hit that crippled Matsui! Conspiracy?). I’m not sure if Chacon’s frightening performance against the Rangers on Tuesday (8 ER in 1 and a third innings) can be attributed to the pain in his leg, but allowing him an extra day or two before going out to start can’t hurt. If Torre does sit Chacon out on Sunday, Small would take the mound for his first start of the season.

Surprise, surprise: Despite keeping up his “I’m going to retire” charade for several months, Clemens has now told his agent that he thinks he wants to play this season. His agent, Randy Hendricks, reported that the Rocket has begun training and should be able to decide if his body can handle another season after 3 weeks. Hendricks named June 5^th as the unofficial date that Clemens will decide where to pitch, and said that he could be ready to start a game on July 1^st—whether that will be with Houston, Texas, Boston, or the Yankees remains a mystery.

Outfield Options: The Yanks are reportedly looking to sign Terrance Long to a minor league deal and putting him on the 40-man roster to give themselves more outfield alternatives. The 30-year-old Long played with the Royals last season (and the Padres and A's before that) and has a .270 lifetime batting average. There has been no word from Torre or Cashman to indicate that they are seeking to make a big trade for an outfielder like Torii Hunter or Shannon Stewart, but that doesn’t stop New York tabloids from making guesses. Soriano is one of the top names on the rumor list, since he has a history with the team and is reportedly unhappy in Washington (can you blame him?), and it’s possible that Phillie might be willing to deal Abreu. The one thing these rumor-millers fail to speculate on is what the Yankees would give up for one of these guys. Everyone but Wright and Pavano is likely untouchable, and those two have such large contracts (with little current value) that it isn’t likely the Yankees would be able to score someone like Torii Hunter.

That’s it for today, folks…Get your pinstripes ready, it’s nearly gametime!

Labels: injuries, pavano must die, rumors