Matsui apologizes for getting hurt
Immediately following surgery Friday to repair a broken wrist that will sideline him for at least three months, Hideki Matsui apologized for getting hurt.
Matsui was injured trying to make a diving catch in left field during the New York Yankees’ 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. The broken radius bone ended his consecutive games played streak that dated to August 1993 and included 1,250 games with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan and 518 with the Yankees.
“Due to this injury, I feel very sorry and, at the same time, very disappointed to have let my teammates down,” Matsui said in a statement. “I will do my best to fully recover and return to the field to help my team once again.”
Yankees manager Joe Torre spoke with Matsui, who was operated on at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Torre expects Matsui will return to the ballpark in the next few days and remain in the New York area while his wrist heals.
Torre wasn’t surprised by the apology.
“It’s all about responsibility – what he thinks his responsibility is to this team, this organization, because the Yankees committed to him and he feels it’s a two-way street in that regard,” Torre said. “He’s done that before here, where he’s made an error, he’s come up and apologized to me.”
Matsui’s statement also praised his manager.
“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,” he said.
With right fielder Gary Sheffield also on the disabled list with a left wrist injury that will keep him out of the lineup until at least late May, New York will go with a makeshift outfield that includes Bubba Crosby and Melky Cabrera in the corners on most days, with Bernie Williams sharing time.
Torre estimated that Matsui will miss most of the remainder of the season.
“We don’t know what the timetable is. It’s probably a minimum of three months,” Torre said. “I think my feeling is, with everything involved and trying to get back into game shape, it’s probably closer to the end of the year; the end of the season.”
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner tried to call Matsui.
Woods has strong rehab outing
Chicago Cubs right-hander Kerry Wood allowed a run on five hits and struck out three in five innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Iowa in Des Moines, Iowa.
Wood, coming back from right shoulder surgery, could make his season debut for Chicago as soon as Wednesday. The Cubs, however, have yet to make an announcement on his status.
Wood threw 85 pitches, 54 for strikes, and walked two. His pitch count was at 61 after he labored through a 27-pitch third inning, but Wood retired six of the last seven batters he faced.
Wood’s velocity was slower than normal. He topped out once at 93 mph, but most of his fastballs were 88-90 mph.
Rowand on 15-day DL
The day after making a spectacular, run-saving catch, Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Aaron Rowand had surgery to repair a broken nose.
He was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and the Phillies called up outfielder Chris Roberson from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Rowand also sustained fractures around his left eye when he ran into the outfield wall while making the catch with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning of a 2-0, rain-shortened home victory over the New York Mets on Thursday night.
Around the majors
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Ricardo Rincon (0-0, 10.80 ERA in five appearances) will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff. … Starter Sergio Mitre threw only three pitches before leaving Florida’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with discomfort in his right shoulder. … The Los Angeles Dodgers placed third baseman Bill Mueller on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his right knee and recalled infielder Oscar Robles from Triple-A Las Vegas. … Houston activated left-handed reliever Trever Miller (12.27 ERA in seven appearances) from the 15-day disabled list.