As far as I know, there isn’t a tradition for baseball players to give a gift to their team on their birthday. I don’t even believe it’s a Japanese tradition. But in the case of Hideki Matsui, his 34th birthday was last night and he delivered a big gift to his Yankees team.

The bases were loaded in the sixth inning. Derek Jeter got himself on base with an infield hit. Blanton then walked Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez. There were zero outs. It was the perfect opportunity for a home run, which Matsui turned into a grand slam.

Just hours earlier, the Japanese media, which has a tradition of giving gifts, brought Matsui a large strawberry shortcake birthday gift. He graciously accepted the gift, blowing out the candles, but declined eating a peace of the cake with his game coming up. Talk about focus.

But that focus paid off with a gift of his own to a team very much in need of a win over the Oakland A’s. Andy Pettitte also contributed with a strong performance, allowing one run and five hits in eight innings. It’s his sixth win this season.

When all is said and done, I don’t think that a birthday had anything to do with the win. Matsui simply got a great opportunity to do something great, and he delivered.

Let’s hope for more great moments this season. To make sure that you don’t miss these great games you’ll want to buy your Yankees tickets online here.

Alex Rodriguez feels great. But the doctor is still telling him that he’s not ready to hit the field quite yet. This is not the news that Joe Girardi was hoping for, but one that they must accept.

The Yankees have gone 5-8 without the big slugger at bat. Which means that they’d like him back on the offense as soon as possible. But they certainly don’t want him back before he’s truly ready, risking his presence for the long term.

They learned this lesson the hard way. The injury occurred back on April 20th. He sat out of for 3 games, returning for 4, aggravating the injury and making it worse. They’re not bound to make the same mistake twice, erring on the side of extra caution.

The injury was initially diagnosed as a Grade 2 tear. It’s now being called a Grade 1 injury, which means it’s an improvement. It’s healing and moving in the right direction. Just not nearly as fast as everyone except the Yankee opponents would hope for.

The Daily News quotes Rodriguez:

“I don’t feel it. I think it’s more precaution now than anything else. It’s frustrating, but everything happens for a reason.”

It’s looking like he may be able to play in a pair of rehab games this weekend, with the hope to see him back in the lineup on Tuesday next week against the Orioles.

Yankee fans who hope to see the dynamic MVP in action again can purchase their future NY tickets online with a little more confidence.

Woody Allen said, “80% of success is showing up.” This may be Alex Rodriguez’s motto. When asked recently what his goal was for the season, he said it was the same as every season—to play in every single game.

An article by Kevin Kernan at the New York Post explains what this means. He quotes Rodriguez as saying, “I want to be out there for my teammates every day. That’s the thing I take the most pride in, being a team player and being in the lineup, whether you are banged up or not.”

Kernan interviews A-Rod’s high school coach, Rich Hoffman, who explains the reasons for this star’s success. He explains that most players with his talents and accolades get lazy. But Hoffman explains, ”I gave him a compliment, he tried harder, he tried to make the compliment look good, and it gave him some confidence, a lot of guys if you praise them like that, they’ll coast.” Rodriguez is a player not about to go on cruise control.

A-Rod fits well into the strategy employed by new manger Joe Girardi, who’s bringing a stronger emphasis to conditioning. Training has always been integral to Rodriguez’s success. After having one of his best years, Kernan reports that he’s working even harder in his training. It’s an inspiration, and just another reason to buy NY Yankee tickets this season.