Hideki Matsui moved one step closer to a September return, taking live batting practice on Wednesday for the first time since fracturing his left wrist nearly four months ago.

Matsui took about 35 swings in the indoor batting cage at Yankee Stadium, reporting no problems following the session. He is expected to take BP every day and could play in Minor League rehab games sometime next week.

"Everything was good; I didn't have any pain, and swing-wise, I felt pretty good," Matsui said through his interpreter. "My swing and my mechanics aren't too bad right now. I think it's more that my timing is a little off."

While the Minor League regular season ends next Monday for most teams, the Yankees will likely have one or two teams playing in the postseason, so Matsui could rehab by playing in those games.

"Live batting practice ... [may] be a little more physical than he's used to doing," manager Joe Torre said. "It's just a matter of how much BP he needs. We'll see what we can do after that."

"If it were to happen today, I'm sure I could play in a game," Matsui said. "I'll follow whatever I'm told to do."

Torre and general manager Brian Cashman haven't decided whether Matsui will play in any Minor League games, as Torre called it "a little premature" to discuss that. However, the manager said that scenario is "not out of the question."

If Matsui isn't ready to play in Minor League games before they are over, he would likely take part in some simulated games before returning to the Yankees.

Neither Torre nor Matsui seem concerned about the possibility of reinjuring the wrist by playing the outfield, but Matsui will likely serve as the Yankees' designated hitter upon his return, leaving Melky Cabrera as the starting left fielder.

"Just to get his feet wet," Torre said. "I think it's the safest thing to do, just so he's not diving for any balls out there."

"I should be fine," Matsui said, "as long as I don't do the same thing I did a couple of months ago."

Hideki Matsui took batting practice on the field with his teammates before Friday's game, hitting several balls out of the park.

Matsui could begin a rehab assignment early next week when Double-A Trenton begins its postseason, making a return by the end of next week a realistic possibility.

"If I had to play now, I think I could play," Matsui said through his interpreter. "When they tell me it's time to go for rehab, that's what I'll do."

"The fact that he's hitting on the field is a step closer to being on the field," Torre said.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman decided on Wednesday that right-hander Carl Pavano would be shut down for about two weeks while his two fractured ribs heal.

The latest news in the saga of Pavano, who has two years and $20 million remaining on his contract, came shortly after the pitcher was examined by team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon, who prescribed the rest in a conversation with Cashman.

Pavano tried to talk Cashman into letting him pitch through the injury, which he did during three Minor League rehab outings following his car accident, but the GM had no intention of letting Pavano pitch.

"He wants to pitch through it; he thinks it's something he can deal with and that he's been dealing with," Cashman said. "I'm choosing, based on the discussions with our team physician, not to allow that. I don't need one problem causing another problem."

Pavano's injury is forcing him to cut his delivery short, and that has resulted in tightness in his right shoulder. Pavano underwent MRI exams on both his shoulder and his elbow, both of which came back clean.

Despite Pavano's desire to pitch through the injury, Cashman believes that shutting him down until his ribs heal is the right move.

"The easy thing would be to say, 'This is embarrassing for everybody involved, so you're just going to go out there, toe the rubber and get through it, because none of us want to deal with the alternative,'" Cashman said. "The alternative might be a little more embarrassing to go through with, but it's the smart play."

Pavano, whose last start for the Yankees came on June 27, 2005, has missed the entire season with injuries to his buttocks, elbow and now the ribs. He suffered this latest injury after crashing his Porsche into a truck on Aug. 15, though he didn't inform the club of the accident for almost two weeks.

The incident has caused a lot of hard feelings inside the Yankees' clubhouse, where several players have questioned his desire to pitch for the team at all. On Wednesday, copies of the back pages of Tuesday's New York tabloids featuring the headlines "Crash Test Dummy" and "Crash Dummy" were taped into Pavano's locker by one of his teammates, causing a laugh among some of the players.

Cashman acknowledged that Pavano will have to mend his relationship with his teammates when he returns to the team, but said that the issue will have to be addressed at another time.

"There's no doubt that with the fans, the front office, his teammates -- everything is about earning respect on a daily basis," Cashman said. "Clearly, he's been a member of this team for two years and he's been unable to help us because of legitimate reasons; but stuff like this, hiding injuries, it loses credibility and respect.

"He's got a mountain to climb to get back into the fold," Cashman added. "That's on him; like any person, you're going to want to earn that back and fight for it."

When Pavano will have that opportunity, however, is unknown. Cashman wouldn't rule out the possibility of the righty pitching for New York in 2006, but he also said that the pitcher could be done for the year.

"I'm not saying he won't pitch for us this year, but I'm not saying he will, either," Cashman said. "I want him to help us at some point; I wish it would be in '06, but I can't guarantee it is."

There has been speculation that the Yankees will try to void the remaining two years of Pavano's contract, but Cashman said it is far too early to talk about that. The team's internal investigation into the accident has not been completed, and Cashman declined to discuss possible penalties until he has collected all of the facts.

"We don't have any facts on anything that has happened," Cashman said. "We're certainly investigating, and if there's something for us that's worth disciplining, we're going to pursue that to discipline. That's as far as I'll go on that."

According to Cashman, fractured ribs take three to six weeks to heal, giving Pavano another one to four weeks of recovery time. Pavano needs to be "free and easy, without restriction" before he will be permitted to take the mound again, though Cashman said he will throw on flat ground to keep his arm loose.

"Two years into this thing, it hasn't worked out," Cashman said of Pavano's contract. "I have two years left -- and he has two years left -- to salvage it and make good, so it makes no sense to jeopardize anything going forward."

Gary Sheffield could be a week away from taking batting practice, making a September return a realistic goal for the outfielder.

Sheffield has been out since undergoing surgery in early June to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist, missing the Yankees' past 84 games. He visited Dr. Charles Melone, the hand specialist who performed the surgery, this week and was told to continue his current program for another week.

"It's about getting the strength I need to be the player that I'm capable of being," said Sheffield, who has been swinging a bat underwater as part of his rehab. "That's what I'm working on now, getting my stamina and power."

Unlike Hideki Matsui, who progressed from hitting off a tee to doing soft-toss drills before taking BP, Sheffield plans on jumping right into batting practice when he is cleared to hit.

"Like I told [the doctor], 'Once you clear me, I have to be able to do it all -- or don't release me to do anything,'" Sheffield said. "I can either do it or I can't; we established that early."

"I think once he starts, it's going to be a knife-through-butter type of thing," manager Joe Torre said. "He's been champing at the bit."

Once Sheffield starts taking batting practice, it's not unreasonable to expect him to return to the Yankees shortly thereafter. Sheffield never picks up a bat during the winter, but he needs just 30 spring at-bats or so to get his timing in order. By the time he is ready to play, the Minor League season will be over, so there will be no rehab games for him to play.

"Once I start taking BP and all goes well," he said, "I can jump on the field pretty quick."

"When the doctors turn him loose he's going to have to try it somewhere," Torre said. "If there are no other games left to play, [then] we're the only game in town."

Sheffield hasn't targeted a specific date for his return, as he doesn't want to be disappointed if he's not ready to return by that day.

"I'm not going to do that to myself," Sheffield said. "I know how I am when I get close -- I want to get out there and contribute. When that date comes up soon, you get excited and start rushing things."

Sheffield stressed that he won't return until his wrist is 100 percent healed, as he is about to hit the free agent market this fall. The Yankees hold a $13 million option on Sheffield for 2007, but he has said that he plans to play three more years before retiring.

"My career is at stake here. It's one thing to go back out there knowing you have four or five years on a contract, but this is it for me," Sheffield said. "I have to make sure [the wrist is solid], because if I'm not going to be here, I have to look beyond that."