Later tonight, when Darrell Rasner faces off against A.J. Burnett (gulp), Hideki Matsui should return to the lineup for the first time in two months. Hideki hasn’t played June 22, and by all accounts, he’ll need knee surgery this year. With Matsui returning, though, I have to wonder how the Yanks plan on using him.

On the season, Matsui had been quietly having a great season before he hurt his knee. While his power was down a bit — he has just 7 home runs in 69 games — his triple-slash numbers are .323/.404/.458.

But Matsui has excelled in a few situations this year when the rest of the team has not. In 78 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Matsui is hitting .338/.449/.462. In clutch situations, he’s been stellar as well. If the Yanks are to make a run for October over the last six weeks of the season, they sure could use a bat like Matsui’s in the lineup.

There’s one catch: Where should the Yankees play Matsui? As far as I can tell, the Yanks’ lineup is full, and inserting Matsui into the order could weaken the team.

Right now, the Yanks’ outfield consists of some combination of Xavier Nady, Brett Gardner, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu. In the DH slot, they use the odd man out of the outfield — usually Damon or Nady — or Jason Giambi with Wilson Betemit stepping in at first. The Yanks aren’t about to sit Xavier Nady and his +171 OPS. Damon’s been a stellar offense force, and even Jason Giambi has managed to turn in a good season. Bobby Abreu leads the team in RBIs.

Meanwhile, Matsui can only DH. So how will Joe Girardi manage this one? I’m guessing that Jason Giambi will play first and Matsui will DH. Brett Gardner will perhaps be the odd man out, but the Yanks seem committed to playing him. Plus, the defense suffers significantly with Damon in center.

Right now, I’m basically just thinking out loud, but if the Yanks want to insert Matsui in the lineup, the outfield would generally be Nady-Damon-Abreu. That’s not my ideal lineup, but with Matsui returning, it will do.

Of course, we’re being a bit premature. No one knows how Matsui’s knee will hold up, and the Yanks probably won’t push it too much. Damon is better suited to the DH/OF role he’s inhabited for much of the year, and Brett Gardner has, in his most recent call-up, shown the promise and ability we thought he would the first time around.

Considering the way the Yanks have been going, having too much offense would be a welcome problem, and we’ll see, starting tonight, how Girardi and his coaches handle it. As long as Hideki hits, it almost doesn’t matter.

Via Ed Price, Brian Cashman said that the perpetually under-appreciated Hideki Matsui will begin a minor league rehab assignment this Thursday in Tampa. If the Yanks can get 4 or 5 healthy weeks out of Matsui a the end of the year, man, that would be some kind of boost to the offense.

No, this will not shore up the bullpen, nor will it give us an extra starter. It could, however, mean drastically reduced playing time for Melky Cabrera. The AP reports that Hideki Matsui has intensified his running program, and will soon running the bases. His return might not be that far off. The only question is if his knee will hold up, allowing him to contribute to this still-frustrating offense.

At the tail end of an article about Pudge’s injury and Melky’s benching, Kat O’Brien lets us know that Hideki Matsui will begin a running program today. He hadn’t gotten to this point in any of his previous rehab attempts. The lineup could certainly use him.

While Monday’s news of the day was Jorge Posada and his injured shoulder, the other injured Yankee cog made a decision about his immediate future. According to the four-letter, Hideki Matsui will not undergo surgery yet and will attempt another rehab on his knee. More important, however, is this news that doctors have recommended that he go under the knife and that Brian Cashman is not optimistic that Matsui will rejoin the club any time soon. This will be the last rehab attempt before surgery, and I don’t expect to see Godzilla back in the Bronx this season.

Yesterday afternoon, as I noted then, Hideki Matsui called his setback “short-term.” Today, we find out that the news may be worse. Matsui’s knee has swelled up again, and the AP reports that he will likely need surgery. Within the same report comes speculation that the Yanks could turn to Barry Bonds to fill the Matsui void. However, Brian Cashman doesn’t seem to want to go down that path. No matter, Matsui’s injury is bad news for the Bombers.

We interrupt our slam Jason Varitek All Star Game coverage to bring you some not-so-great news on a few injured Yankees. Via the AP:

Matsui did not hit Tuesday after experiencing additional discomfort in his sore left knee. The Yankees had hoped he might be ready to return when eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list on Friday.

“Perhaps you can say so, it’s a short-term setback,” Matsui said through a translator at the Yankees’ minor league complex. “I’m going to hit tomorrow, that’s the plan anyway.”

Damon, eligible to be activated from the DL on Sunday, continues to have soreness in his injured left shoulder, and won’t likely start hitting off a tee until at least late this week. He underwent treatment only on Tuesday.

“It feels a little better today,” Damon said. “It still feels horrible waking up. I’m still kind of down because I know (Yankees manager Joe) Girardi wants to put me in the lineup on Sunday and I’m not sure we can do that.”

Damon’s news is being reported as a “setback,” but I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. His injury hasn’t gotten worse; it just isn’t getting better as quickly as he and the Yanks had hoped it would. Matsui’s knee and his progress, however, should probably be regarded as a setback, and at this point, I’m skeptical that we’ll see Matsui back in the Bronx before 2009.

With this news, the Yankees are obviously going to have to face a tough decision. While I’m not sold on his long-term prospects, it does make sense to give Richie Sexson a look at DH/1B in a platoon situation. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck with Wilson Betemit in the lineup nearly everyday. Meanwhile, the Yanks will continue to mix and match with Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera and Justin Christian until Damon recovers. Tough times for the outfield.

Ed Price checked in with Hideki Matsui yesterday, and it’s tough to get a good read on the situation. Matsui, inactive for a few weeks due to inflammation in his knee, swung off a tee earlier this week and said he felt good. But the Yanks are guarded about Matsui’s condition. Team officials believe he will not be able to do anything other than DH this year, and if he doesn’t respond well to rehab, season-ending surgery will be a reality. I wonder if there are any other OF/DH types out there who could fill in for him…

The Yanks got some good news yesterday, as Hideki Matsui’s knee showed signs of improvement after having it drained over the weekend. Joe Girardi even says that he might take BP sometime this week, which would indicate a better-than-expected forecast for the DH. He’s eligible to come off the DL on July 8, so you can count on him staying there until at least after the All-Star break. He’ll have to prove he can run on it first, and the Yanks figure to remain cautious in dealing with this.

Last weekend, a visibly hurting Hideki Matsui limped down the stairs of the Yankee dugout after grounding into a double play against the Reds. Today, we hear that Matsui may land on the DL. The Yankees have to make a bunch of roster moves on Friday prior to Sidney Ponson’s activation, and one of them could include a shelving of Matsui, retroactive to Monday. Expect Shelley Duncan — a bat — to take the place of the DH. Brett Gardner, your day will come.