My reference to Billy Joel is pointed.  I figure that since I am tipping my hat to Upper-deki, I might as well pay tribute to his recently discovered love of America’s favorite 80′s pop rock icon from Long Island.  (He has mysteriously changed all of his at-bat songs from Beatles to Billy this season — “Big Shot,” “Only The Good Die Young,” and “I May Be Crazy.”  If I had to, I’d bet that Girardi gave him a greatest hits box set for Christmas.)

But back to my original point, which was about honesty — such a lonely word.  Especially for a ballplayer with an injury.  Oftentimes in baseball, if you admit to being hurt you run the risk of looking like you’re not fully invested. Or, worse yet, like you’re in defiance of the Pavano Principle.  We like our ballplayers to be gritty, to want to get out there come hell or high water — bruised, battered, appendages dangling off their bodies.  Still, while it defies the nature of anyone with a truly competitive personality, I have always believed that the most responsible thing that a player can do is fess up when something’s a little amiss. To take that one or two days off — when necessary, those one or two weeks off — to prevent that little injury from turning into a season-ending injury.

Last year, I went for a run like any other day.  Except, unlike any other day, out of nowhere, I developed a crazy painful burn in my heel every time it made contact with the ground.  The sane thing to do would have been to not run until I had fully recovered from my injury. But, genius that I am, I went with another approach.  I discovered that if I continued to run, the first mile tended to be excruciatingly painful, and then I adjusted and it was fine.  (Until after the run.) Now, a year later, I walk with a limp and run a mile that’s about thirty seconds slower than it was before.  If I was a ballplayer, my approach might qualify me as a gamer, but it would also have dramatically decreased the quality of my game.

This is all to say that Hideki Matsui may just have it right.  On Tuesday, he tells the trainers for the Yankees that his right hamstring is sore.  Wednesday, he sits out the game. Last night, he hits a solo home run in the eighth to lead the Yanks to a 3-2 victory over the Jays.  (An outstanding outing from CC didn’t hurt.)  After the game, Upper-deki told reporters, “I took a day off and my leg was feeling much better.”

(There are unverified reports that he also said, “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.”)

So, to the other guys in the clubhouse, take note.  Honesty may be a lonely word, but it’s mostly what we need from you.