Damon makes some progress
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- July
- 16
This from Tampa via the AP:
Yankees left fielder Johnny Damon could hit off a tee on Friday and hopes to rejoin the team by late next week.
Damon is on the 15-day disabled list with an injured left shoulder, which was hurt when the outfielder ran into the fence attempting to catch a ball on July 4. He underwent treatment only Wednesday at the Yankees’ minor league complex.
“Friday could be a big day,†Damon said. “It feels a lot better today. It feels much better not doing the drills.â€
Damon, who is hitting .319, is on the DL for the first time in his career. He was first scheduled to hit off a tee Monday, but that was moved back because of shoulder soreness.
Left fielder-designated hitter Hideki Matsui ended his rehab program for a sore left knee in Florida on Wednesday to return to New York to be examined Friday. It’s possible Matsui will need season-ending surgery.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to anticipate at this point,†Matsui said through a translator.
Matsui took batting practice on Saturday and Sunday, but was shut down Tuesday due to swelling in the knee.
“To a certain extent, I’m a little disappointed by how things have progressed,†Matsui said. “But I’m still hopeful that I can make it back this season. I believe in that.â€
Notes: RHP Phil Hughes (broken rib) threw his third bullpen session. … Free agent RHP Victor Zambrano continues working out at the Yankees’ complex and had his second bullpen session.
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on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 3:15 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Nothing a little HGH couldn’t fix.
Getting Damon back by next week would be a huge offensive lift
so when Damon doesnt do anything, it doesnt hurt. makes sense.
i want him back asap, and they need him back asap, but he shouldnt come back until he’s 100%. otherwise, an injured an ineffective Damon doesnt help.
“i want him back asap, and they need him back asap, but he shouldnt come back until he’s 100%. otherwise, an injured an ineffective Damon doesnt help.”
Problem is that you know he’ll come back as soon as he can convince Girardi that he can play through it and be sapped of his power for the rest of the season. The rationale will be that 75% of Damon is better than 100% of Justin Christian.
So what type of moves do the Yankees make? They need a bat and a lefty reliever clearly Colorado with Fuentes and Holliday look like a good fit as does Nady and Marte but the asking price is too high right now. Any suggestions?
“The rationale will be that 75% of Damon is better than 100% of Justin Christian.”
Think the rationale might be 75% of Damon is better than 132% of Brett Gardner. I’d think Gardner’s the odd man out rather than Melky when Damon does come back.
“Any suggestions?”
Ask Bowden about Austin Kearns’ availability.
just rotate christians melky and garnder, they all stink. but one of them will pick it up
we just need cc and tex in the offseason. hal needs to get the cash together, and hand it to hank, and let him go shopping like the little brat he is in a toy shop. CC and tex will be the bridge between the vets and the upcoming prospects. it will be the perfect storm of destruction. the dynasty will be reborn. (maybe resign abreu, i dunno) or trade for a rf now. We WILL dominate
Damon is a great player on the downside of his career. Though I am a Sox fan I can’t find it in myself to wish anything bad on him, other than being on the front end of a lot of Jeter DPs. Fenway fans who boo him for taking the Yankee dollars should revere him for game 7 in 2004, and be thankful that he spent his best years in Boston.
What is the deal with people wanting Austin Kearns? The guy never lived up to all the hype that surrounded him in Cincinnati, he’s hurt all the time, he’s another non-power threat in the OF which the Yankees don’t need. Don’t let that buffoon Joel Sherman get you over-excited, Kearns stinks.
good news for Damon. i was really starting to wonder if we’d see either of matsui or damon for the rest of the year.
i’d assume justin christian goes down when damon is ready to come back… but who knows, maybe they’d rather keep the righty.
I’m also afraid that Damon is going to talk his way off the DL and not be healthy.
He’s done this before to this team (refusing to be DL’d when injured) and we don’t need 1/2 of Damon to fix this offense.
He needs to be as close to 100% as possible.
And for the record if the only thing Cashman can do at this point in the season is sign DFA’d players to help this team, he sucks as a GM.
If he tries to pass off Sexson (if he comes here) as his new acquisition I hope someone throws a pie in his face.
Trade a fricking pitcher for a bat already.
Whats scary then Sexson is having both Rasner and Ponson for another month will kill this team.
And with Hughes(the next Pavano),Kennedy(Overrated),MIlton(EDwar Ramirez but a starter) and Zambrano(8 Era in a AAA team in the N.L. !!!!!)
Yeah Cash is working the phone because we “Have” to not maybe “Have” to go into the postseason in the last year in Yankee stadium.
“They need a bat and a lefty reliever clearly Colorado with Fuentes and Holliday look like a good fit as does Nady and Marte but the asking price is too high right now. Any suggestions?”
Go read the Holliday thread from a couple hours ago.
It’s a little early to be calling Hughes the next Pavano, considering that none of Hughes’ problems have been with his arm. Pavano has a history of arm trouble a mile long, just because Hughes has gotten hurt in his first 2 years of major league experience doesn’t mean he’s doomed to be on the DL his entire career. Especially considering the fact that he’s still only 22.
Also, Kennedy was overrated because everyone wrote his name into the rotation in ink based on a lightning-fast rise from Single A and 3 starts in September last year. But, the expectation for him was always back of the rotation-type. He still could be in the back of the rotation this year and end up pitching better than Ponson or Rasner, but at this point that’s a big if–still, though, not all 5 starters have to be dominant ace-types.
I think Kennedy and Hughes needed more time in AAA.But Cash got to greedy and threw the kids in the fire of a $200 million team.
Yeah lets get future prospects but we needed insurance and Cash free agents prevents that.
Yeah, I agree with the fact that they were rushed. I think Hughes’ rushing seems to stick out more in the fact that his body might not have been ready for what’s required of a full major league season–but then again, I’m not Will Carroll, or a doctor.
The bottom line for this thread, though, is that Damon is coming back at less than 100%, and I think that could just keep the offense in a swoon, as opposed to bring the desired spark they’re looking for in getting him back in the lineup. Still, though, everyone knows he’s going to come back too early, and it won’t matter, because the team won’t tell him no stay in Tampa longer and he won’t tell them I’m not ready 100% or ask out of the lineup once he’s back in it.
With Matsui gone and Damon being not 100% causes guys like Betiemit and Melky to be in the line-up too much.The good thing is they don’t need a major player.Ibanez or David DeJesus type player is all that is needed.
A pitcher like Garcia is all that is needed to just get too the post season.They don’t need a reliever we have enough of them in the system.Cashman needs to bring out he’s ACE from he’s sleeve.