Hideki Matsui made his long-awaited, triumphant return to the Yankees line-up last night. Starting as the designated hitter—and batting in a very unfamiliar number eight slot—Matsui went 4 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. He even threw in a walk.

When leftfielder Matsui and rightfielder Gary Sheffield went down around the same time in May, it looked like it could be a devastating blow to the Yankees chances of winning the A.L. East, or even the wild card for that matter, with three good teams battling it out in the Central division. But the Yanks didn't panic—this is not their first time in the rodeo. GM Brian Cashman and the front office know it's a loooong season, and panic moves— trades for established stars—will screw you down the road and wipe out your farm system. Instead they brought up Melky Cabrera (see post below) to play left, and used a combination of Bernie Williams and Aaron Guiel in right until someone became available at a reasonable price. That someone was Bobby Abreu, who last night drove in seven runs and upped his combined RBI total for the year to 96.

Back to Matsui. The additions of Cabrera and Abreu solidified the Yankees, and added young blood and an experienced RBI bat to the lineup. The Yanks were complete, and ready to win a championship. But wait! Here comes Hideki! The Yanks offense is so insane now, it's almost unfair. Torre has so many options, he can mix and match, pinch hit, rest players, play the hot hand. And it's not over yet—Gary Sheffield is waiting in the wings, chomping at the bit to get in there and contribute.