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PHILADELPHIA -- The man who hit the go-ahead homer for the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series will almost certainly not be starting Game 3.With the shift to the National League park and the loss of the designated hitter, it would seem a stretch for the Yankees to put Hideki Matsui in the outfield. Because of his knees -- he underwent surgery on one and then the other the past two winters -- Matsui has not played the field since June 15, 2008.
"If I wanted to play the outfield," Matsui said, through interpreter Roger Kahlon, before the Yankees' off-day workout Friday, "I believe I could. The only thing is, I haven't had a chance to be in the outfield this year. Could I play the outfield the way I always played, with the situation with my knees? I really don't know until I test it out."
Matsui stopped even practicing outfield play in August, resuming just Tuesday during batting practice.
Manager Joe Girardi said he's committed to Johnny Damon in left field, and leaving right field or pinch hitter for Matsui.
"I'm going to look at some things today," Girardi said, "watch a little bit, see how he moves around and see if we think that it's physically possible for him to do it. It's something that we have to look at, and if we can't do it, we'll use him in a role to pinch-hit when we feel that he can be most valuable to us. It might be a situation where you might think about a double-switch at the right time, but you don't want to lose his bat. As productive as he's been for us this year, you don't want to lose his bat."
Matsui is 10-for-36 (.278) with a .422 on-base percentage this postseason, with six RBI -- tied for second on the Yankees with Mark Teixeira.But chances are he'll get at most three plate appearances total the next three days.
"Our club is not necessarily built to come into this ballpark," Girardi said, "but our club is able to handle it."
Said Matsui: "I'm not frustrated at all. You just can't help the situation. Those are the rules of the game."
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