NEW YORK -- A day of rest and treatment did little to ease the concerns and pain of Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon, who said he could "barely walk" on Wednesday and was held out of the lineup for a rained-out contest against the Devil Rays.
Damon left the Yankees' Opening Day game after five innings on Monday, suffering from what were originally described as cramps. General manager Brian Cashman amended that diagnosis Wednesday to reflect a calf strain of an unknown degree.
"It's more than cramps," Damon said. "It felt like cramps [Monday], but I've got to go in and figure it out, [and] make sure it's something that could heal as I continue playing.
"I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I've really got to get it taken care of right now."
Damon spent about an hour on the trainer's table on Wednesday before the scheduled afternoon contest was washed out. The Yankees did not plan to send Damon for tests on Wednesday, though Cashman said it would be a possibility Thursday if Damon does not show improvement.
"The fact that he's still sore today would eliminate the word 'cramp,'" Cashman said. "He's probably got a little strain we're dealing with now."
This is purely speculation on my part but I don't anticipate his injury is serious enough to land him on the DL. Damon is a pretty tough guy and proved it last year when he played four months of the season with a broken bone in his foot.
On the contrary, since it is only April 4th -- it is certainly possible that the Yankees' medical staff could persuade Damon to sit for two weeks in order to make sure the calf injury doesn't linger all season.