Banged-up for buck: Yankees hurting

NEW YORK -- Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who missed the Sox series because of a bruised right thumb, is expected back this weekend, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced before the game that slugger Gary Sheffield will require surgery to repair a torn ligament and dislocated tendon in his left wrist. The Yankees had hoped rest might be sufficient for Sheffield; instead, he'll be out until September, joining Hideki Matsui, who also had wrist surgery and probably is lost for the season.

``You can't replace guys like Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui," Cashman said. ``But then I've got to take a step back and realize I have a Giambi, I have a Cano, I have a Jeter, I have an A-Rod, I have a Posada, I have a Johnny Damon. Match these guys up at their positions around the game of baseball and it's hard to find people who are better.

``I think we're running out a strong offense, anyway, just not as strong."

The assumption, of course, is that the Yankees will add another big bat. The Phillies, with rookie Shane Victorino playing well, almost certainly would move Bobby Abreu or Pat Burrell, while ex-Yankee Alfonso Soriano is hitting home runs at a pace second only to Albert Pujols and might be had from Washington.

``I'm not putting out any APBs," Cashman insisted. ``If I run into something that makes sense, that's one thing, but I'm not actively calling everybody around.

``I said at the beginning we needed to find out if we didn't have the answers here first. Actually, we're finding out that maybe some guys are indeed the answer, we hope. Who can hold the fort."

One of the New York reporters noticed a tear in the lining of Cashman's sports jacket. ``Like our club," he said, ``I'm falling apart."