The Hand of Fate

Being a superstar with a multi-million dollar contract does not necessarily mean that you won't be sidelined for a significant length of time with what might look - to us mere mortals - like an inconsequential injury. Kaz Matsui - who played his first game for the Mets yesterday - got the ball rolling, so to speak, with a split finger a couple of weeks ago. Then came the Phillies' Jim Thome, who fractured his middle finger during a workout on Friday in Clearwater and will be out for at least three weeks, and now the latest casualty is the Yankees' Gary Sheffield, who is now out indefinitely with a jammed thumb.

The Yankees are now going to be without Bernie Williams in center field and Gary Sheffield in right field for a significant period of time - the best-case scenarios for both players will see them both back in time for the start of the regular season, but nothing seems certain as yet. Joe Torre, who is on the verge of signing a two-year contract extension (and whose importance to the Yankees - says Buster Olney - can't be overstated), is going to have to start doing some creative managing to fill the holes in the outfield.