If Matsui heads to the DL, the amount of injuries suffered by the Yankees this year would almost be comical... but not quite. The Yankees need his high average and OBP, look at his stats this year:

from: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080626&content_id=3010709&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

Ignore his unflattering RBI's and Runs because, if he is able to maintain his batting average, and continues to hit in the 5-spot, either he accumulates RBI's or the Yanks are in trouble.

"Girardi acknowledged that the team will discuss the option of placing the designated hitter on the disabled list when it returns to New York."
from: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080626&content_id=3010709&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

As fans, we can only hope that:
a.) he doesn't go on the DL
b.) he doesn't play injured, hurting his output

If he is as hurt as it looks, looks like either option is a possibility...

from: http://yankeebible.blogspot.com

    After a team wins a World Series, or any major title of a sport, there is an influx of "fans", and I use this term loosely here, that wish to take part in the team's celebrations and, in fact, maybe even feel entitled to join in the festivities. Of course it goes without saying, that any ACTUAL fan of a team watches games, not just in the post season, and after years, not weeks (or in even in the worst cases days), one can finally love your team. And once you actually love your team, you are a fan.

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    Despite the myriad possible complaints a Yankee fan can have during the past month: an inconsistent offense, Little League quality defense, etc., poor starting pitching isn't one of them. And most recently Giese and Pettite have shown that fans shouldn't think of the Yankees' staff as over the hill (think Mussina and Pettite) or inexperienced (think Chamberlain, Rasner, Giese), but, instead as venerable and phenomenal.

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There were two remarkable games this month that I believe indicate something very important about this Yankee club and their potential outcome for the 2008 season. These games on paper seemed to be as different as possible except for the fact that both ended in Yankee victories and could potentially foreshadow the outcome of this year's season. One game was against the Blue Jays and starred Jason Giambi with heroics resembling that stormy 2002 miracle when he officially became a "Yankee" with a walk-off homer, just as he replicated in this game. And the other game with potentially long term implications was today's game. This one starred the phenom Joba Chamberlain and conjured images of his adrenaline-soaked call up last year and his celebratory fist pumps: the elated gyrations that demonstrated the full emotional content of the electrifying, late innings. Chamberlain had been told to hide these emotions, as to not offend his competitors and he did for a while. But he was not able to this game as raw passion and joy erupted from his 230 lbs. frame. As he celebrated, the 54,362 in attendance today serenaded him with zealous cheer.

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