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.

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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…

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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.

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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.

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Today marks Hideki Matsui’s 34th birthday (and my mom’s birthday too), and in honor of the Japanese star’s big day, Go Go Curry is offering up a birthday special, the always-entertaining and amusing Midtown Lunch blog reports. Customers stopping by their store on 38th St. between 7th and 8th Aves. will get a coupon for three free toppings. So if you’re still undecided on lunch today, why not, right?

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My Baseball Bias tips us off to this post at the Let’s Go Yankees Blog about Hideki Matsui’s knee. Let’s Go Yankees Blog sends us to an article on MLB.com’s Japanese affiliate. Got all that? There will be a quiz.

The article, according to Jessica Lee’s Taiwan-based blog, concerns Hideki Matsui and his road to recovery. While I tried to run it through Google Translate’s Japanese-to-English Beta translate program, the output included the following line: “Godzilla’s ass with a fire.” Clearly, that’s not Matsui’s problem right now.

Lucky for us, Jessica lives with a Japanese-speaking roommate who gave us this translation:

Matsui is going to go to USA 10 days earlier in order to check his right knee condition with the doctor in New York who help him operate his right knee surgery. He will then go to Tampa to check his right knee condition with Yankee Trainers again. This is not a normal action which go to USA earlier for Matsui. He usually trains with his formal Japanese team and then reports in spring training.

Right now, Matsui doesn’t feel pain about his right knee, but he can’t run. He is not sure he can run or not when he reports to Tampa. He understands he has to fight with Johnny Damon for left outfielder job and wants to do his best. That’s why he decides to go to USA earlier.

So basically, Matsui is coming back to the States earlier than anticipated because his knee may not to be responding to treatment as quickly as it should. He can’t run and doesn’t know when he’ll be able to run.

If this holds up through Spring Training, the Yankees will be trying to fill both their DH and 1B positions from a combination of injured, old guys - Jason Giambi, Matsui - and young role players not yet suited for prime time - Wilson Betemit, Shelley Duncan. Good thing the rest of the offense is so potent.

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It speaks volumes about your team when Aaron Rowand is the only hitter you think you need. But that’s what Giants GM Brian Sabean thinks as he is no longer interested in Matsui. I’m happy to see Matsui stay, but Sabean is delusional if he’s expecting anything more than a last place finish for the Giants next year. (And, yes, I know that there are going to be Yankees in the Mitchell Report. But until the report is issued, I’m not naming names.)

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…and his name is not Hideki Matsui. The Giants signed Aaron Rowand to a five-year deal today. I’m not quite sure how this would impact the discussions between the Yanks and Giants concerning Hideki Matsui. The Giants do still need a left-fielder, but Brian Sabean probably feels he has his bat in Rowand.

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According to George King, Matsui may be amenable to waiving his no-trade clause. I’d rather not see the Yanks ship out Hideki unless they can get some offensive returns in place. Counting on Jason Giambi to carry the DH spot will be a big mistake.

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While I’m not a big fan of the Hawkins signing, I’m definitely of the mindset that we could have done worse. For example, by signing Vizcaino for three years. That’s simply unnecessary; some team is going to do it and regret it. Not because Vizcaino is bad, per se, but because he’s bound to have at least one very poor year out of those three, and the other two are toss-ups. It’s just not worth the commitment. At least with Hawkins, we know we can wave goodbye to him after 2008.

My main problem with him, though, is the inconsistency. As I’ve mentioned, he doesn’t strikeout anyone anymore, so his success is based how many guys he walks and how many hits he allows. He’s kept his walk rate at a reasonable level, so we can be comforted at that level. But since he allows a ton of contact, we can reasonably expect a fluctuation in his hits allowed. For a quick example, he allowed a .264 average on balls in play last year (though that might be low, since I calculated it myself…anyone know it for sure?), but allowed a .325 average on balls in play with Baltimore. So we’re getting a guy who, if lucky, can be solid. But we don’t know.

This looks like the last free agent move the Yanks will make, unless they deal one of the guys projected onto the 25-man roster. Yes, I’m talking about Hideki Matsui. Those talks will either heat up or die this week. Brian Sabean is also considering a Tim Lincecum for Alex Rios swap, which could also affect the situation.

Now, I don’t expect Cashman could pry away Lincecum or Cain at this point. Any deal would have to involve both Matsui and Ian Kennedy, plus a bit more, I’m sure. There’s a modicum of sense in a Matsui-Kennedy-Duncan for Lincecum or Cain swap. It would give the Giants two bats, plus an arm to replace the departing one. They get somewhat weaker in the pitching department — though Kennedy would probably fare rather well at AT&T Park — and add two bats to an anemic lineup.

The problem, of course, is that Matsui is 34 years old and is coming off knee surgery. Duncan is 28 and has little major league experience. So while their bats will certainly upgrade the Giants lineup, it’s tough to judge to what extent.

However, I think it makes a bit more sense than a Lincecum for Rios swap. It’s straight up, so your pitching is measurably worse. And while your lineup gets better, we once again get to the question of how much better. Rios is a good player who brings speed to the table, but you have to wonder if he’ll outperform Matsui over the next two years — those two years being the last two on Hideki’s contract and the years prior to Rios’s free agency. While you could turn around and sign Rios to a long-term deal afterwards, you could realistically do that after the 2009 season; I doubt the Blue Jays are going to have the budget to re-sign him.

If I’m Brian Sabean, I’m not sure what I do. Well, I’m sure that I don’t do Rios for Lincecum, but if the Yanks are coming at me with two bats and an arm, I’d find it hard to turn down. Then again, that could be my Yankees bias talking and my desire to see Lincecum in pinstripes.

On the other hand, if the Yankees are willing to accept a lesser package, they could take lefty strikeout artist Jonathan Sanchez, who can both start and come out of the bullpen. Brian Sabean could still do Rios for Lincecum and add the two bats to his order that he desires. But his pitching would be in the shitter.

Either way, you have to expect nothing to happen here. But it’s fun to think about.

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