YANKEE NOTES
As Johnny Damon chased down Juan Uribe’s deep flyout in the sixth inning yesterday, cramps flared up in both of his calves.
Damon was removed from the Yankees’ 14-3 drubbing of the White Sox in the seventh, although he insisted he’s fine and can play today. The center fielder hobbled back to his position after the second out of the sixth, and Bubba Crosby replaced him to start the seventh.
“It started in like the third inning,” Damon said.
Damon broke his sesamoid bone in his right foot when he crashed into the wall at Toronto on April 18. He didn’t start the final four games in the first half because of an oblique strain, but felt fine after resting up over the All-Star break.
He downplayed the cramps.
“Check out these calves,” he cracked. “There’s no margin for error.”
After further joking eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney wished he had those calves, Damon said of the cramps, “Unfortunately, sometimes it happens. I stayed hydrated. I took my vitamins and drank a lot of water. It’s OK. I’m not concerned about it.”
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Randy Johnson indicated there wasn’t any serious problem with his right rib cage, which he grabbed during the seventh inning on Friday night.
“I’m pitching Wednesday,” he said.
Joe Torre, who visited the mound after the incident, said Johnson seemed to be fine and nobody on the training staff said anything about it yesterday. He related it to a situation Kyle Farnsworth had earlier this year, which didn’t debilitate Farnsworth at all.
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Robinson Cano is unlikely to play during this homestand, Torre confirmed. The Yankees hope to get him in a rehab game sometime next week.
Cano, who has been on the DL with a strained left hamstring retroactive to June 26, won’t be back on the roster until at least the next road trip to Toronto and Texas, the manager indicated.
“I don’t think it’s anything that’s gone backwards,” Torre said. “It’s just that this thing won’t totally get out of there.”
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Sidney Ponson already has opened the eyes of pitching coach Ron Guidry with a bullpen session Friday.
“He was sharp, he threw all his pitches,” Torre said. “He was impressed by the quality of his stuff and the variety of his stuff.”
