With the Yankee offense already hobbled by the loss of Nick Johnson and a subpar performance from Jason Giambi, the team received more bad news on Thursday. Centerfielder Bernie Williams has torn catrtilege in his left knee and will likely undergo arthroscopic surgery and miss 4-6 weeks. Williams had really been struggling the past few days; 0-for-21 to be exact, putting a capper on a dismal .197 AVG/.567 OPS month of May.

Juan Rivera will be recalled from AAA, slotting into leftfield while Matsui moves over to centerfield (you were expecting Charles Gipson to hold onto the job?). Rivera was hitting .327/.371/.420 at Columbus. The 24-year-old is walking more frequently than last season (once per 14.5 PA in 2003, compared to once per 18.4 last year) but showing very little power thus far. Still, except for his golf cart avoidance skills, Rivera looked ready for the majors last season, even starting in the Yanks short-lived postseason. So like the Almonte/Jeter situation, the Yanks get a chance for a long look at the future — even if that future only means the July 31 trading deadline.

Williams’ injury also gives the Yanks an opportunity to see how well Matsui handles center; with the Yanks already 13th in the league in Defensive Efficiency (converting balls in play into outs), this might stir thoughts down the road of reorganizing the outfield to compensate for Bernie having already lost a step.

But those minor silver linings aside, this is another blow for the Yanks. This team started out hot enough to withstand the loss of one of their offensive cogs in Jeter. But with Williams joining Johnson on ice as the rest of the lineup slowly cools off, they’ll struggle for runs unless the likes of Giambi, Matsui and Rivera pick up the slack. The Yanks better hope that happens, or they’ll be shopping for a bat (preferably a lefty one) to go with that bullpen helper soon enough.