5-3

That's the final score of tonight/last night's Sox/Y***ees game. It means the Sox took two of three at the Stadium, three of four for the season series so far. Still, it's just one game in May and nothing to get too happy about, right? Why is tonight different from all other nights?

Because Hideki Matsui broke his wrist in the first inning, following Gary Sheffield onto the disabled list for at least three months. He's having surgery tomorrow.

The play he broke the wrist on looked fairly ugly, scoring a 5 out of a possible 10 on my Theismann scale of sports-injury videos. For a comparison, Kenny Lofton dislocating his shoulder sliding into first in 1999 is a 3, Robin Ventura shattering his leg in 1997 is an 8.

Now, of course I don't actually wish an injury on any athlete, not even a Y***ee. However, since injuries are part of the game...and the Sox will probably have their share before the season is over...and Matsui just KILLS us! KILLS US!!!...I am not entirely unhappy about this news.

Even so, I'm nervous because this starts us down an incredibly slippery slope. What slope, you ask? Follow me, folks.

Losing Matsui is trouble for the Y***ees in a big way. They've lost two thirds of their starting outfield. Bernie Williams can't even play the guitar every day at point, let alone right field (Uh-oh! There it is, Bernie!). Their options are Bubba Crosby and Melky Cabrera. You may know Melky Cabrera, but only if you're a resident of Columbus, OH. The upshot of all of this is that the Y***ees really need outfielders.

Where will these outfielders come from? They don't have prospects to trade in order to get them. They can't afford to trade away any pitching at this point--it's possible that they need starting pitching help as much as they need outfielders. They still have money, but it'll take more than money to swing a mid-season deal for a decent bat.

So the uber-potent Y***ee offense is now merely ultra-potent. They may not be able to get significant help before August. (Does anyone see where I'm going with this?) It is now only a matter of days before we hear about Brian Cashman having a long lunch with Randy Hendricks, the agent of one Roger Clemens. It may end up being Cashman's most expensive lunch in years.

So, if the Y***ees end up with Clemens, will I still think Matsui getting injured was a good thing? (It's objectively bad, but good from a baseball perspective--OK? I get schadenfreude.) I'm not sure yet. Let's wait and see.

If only we could get Mariano Rivera out in left field for a few games...