By MARK HALE
Posted: 3:44 am
July 6, 2008
If Johnny Damon doesn't feel better today, he figures he'll be placed on the disabled list.
Damon is in injury limbo. The Yankees leadoff man believes how he feels today will determine whether he heads to the DL. Damon has a bruised and sprained AC joint in his left shoulder, a result of colliding with the left-field wall at Yankee Stadium trying to catch a Kevin Youkilis triple Friday, and though he felt better yesterday, he could still be DL-bound.
"If I wake up and I'm feeling the same, then I think they're going to DL me," he said after the Yanks beat the Red Sox 2-1 yesterday. "But if I'm improving, they'll try to keep getting me ready."
One of Damon's problems is that he can't throw and won't be able to throw anytime soon.
"I'm thinking that's probably at least 10 days before I even think about throwing," he said. "Or maybe after the All-Star break."
Damon, who never has been on the DL, said if he improves today, however, it's possible he could try to take some swings on Tuesday (the Yanks are off tomorrow), and he admitted it's possible that if he can at least hit, he could remain on the roster.
Manager Joe Girardi agreed.
"We'll see how he is [this] morning and make a decision. He was pretty sore [yesterday]. He had a ton of treatment [yesterday]," Girardi said. "I'm not leaning towards anything but you have to be realistic. We'll see in the morning."
Before the game, Damon said he was "pretty sore" and admitted that his shoulder was lacking strength. In fact, the injury isn't just an on-field issue for him. Damon has needed help getting dressed, adjusted the way he drives his car and has been limited in what he can do at home with his children.
"There's certain movements that I don't feel like I can do, like pushing things out. But I'm not bench pressing on the field or anything," he said. "There's certain moves you can't do, but I think the toughest thing is not being able to pick up your daughter at home.
"It was pretty tough to put on my clothes coming to the ballpark. Driving with my right arm now instead of my left, it is different."
When he got hurt on Friday, Damon said he likely would not be ready for the start of the Tampa Bay series on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by George King.
