Foot injury lands Damon in DH spot

When you're the little kid trying to get in the football game with the big kids, there's little room to sit out with a twisted ankle or a sprained wrist or any type of contusion. When you're the starting center fielder on a baseball team with an outfield decimated by injuries, there's even more pressure to stay in the lineup, no matter what shape your right foot might be in.

That's where Johnny Damon is, on his second trip to Fenway as a member of the Yankees, in the unenviable position of trying to maintain his spot in center field despite a foot injury that might fell a player with less of a pain threshold -- or less of an ability to convince his manager of his need to play every single day.

``You just get used to it," Damon said. ``You didn't want the older kids to see you quit, so you just kept going. Believe me, some days it's just so bad you just want to say, `Is it worth it today?' But it always is."

Though not as bad as the concussion he sustained after colliding with second baseman Damian Jackson in the 2003 American League Division Series or the dislocated pinkie in 2004, there is certainly a great deal of pain associated with this injury, in which one of the two bones beneath the big toe on his right foot has broken in half.

``I'm able to run at a good speed," said Damon, who said he has declined pain medication. ``It's just slowing down and cutting. By the time the game's over, it's swollen and whatnot. I think running on it funny makes everything else off-balance. Ankle starts to hurt. Calf starts to hurt.

``Maybe [it affects] my jumping ability off my right foot or my push off to get to a top speed. It's something that's just going to be irritating. I don't think you necessarily need it all that much, but it does get painful and it does make you walk on it a little different. I don't see it as too much of a big thing. I know during the offseason I'll get rest."

He'll get a measure of rest here in Boston, too. With the arrival of Terrence Long -- and the potential reappearance of Gary Sheffield -- Damon is expected to land in the designated hitter spot throughout the Yankees' stay. Last night's New York outfield was Bernie Williams in center, Long in left, and Melky Cabrera in right.

His speed, said Damon, is not affected by the foot injury, which occurred when Damon smashed into the wall in Toronto April 18 and was aggravated when he again made contact with a wall May 10 against the Red Sox. He feels it most acutely when rounding the bases, say on a double or a triple.

But those have been few and far between for Damon, who has just two doubles -- only one since the second wall meeting -- and no triples in May. After building a .312 average with 3 home runs and 13 RBIs in April, Damon slumped to .244 with 1 homer and 10 RBIs, as of last night. Despite the production slowdown, Damon hasn't left the lineup. While part of it comes with the territory for Damon, who also played through an injured shoulder with the Red Sox last season, part of it comes from necessity.

``I want to get Johnny Damon out of center field for a couple of days," said manager Joe Torre. ``That foot is bothering him. I want to send you guys in there to talk to him about not playing at all. See if you can get any more impressed than I am. I knew that wasn't going to be an option. But we'll try to get him out of there for a couple of days, sort of give him a half a day."

For the Yankees to win amid all the defections to the disabled list, they'll need all the production they can get out of Damon.

Especially in Boston. Not only is it his old team, but it's the team looming above New York in the standings. So he'll take the DH spot -- even though it means hearing the boos once again. Because, in Boston, returning Yankees, injured Yankees, superstar Yankees, all get the same treatment.

``You know what?" Damon said. ``I'm always going to get booed, regardless of what stadium I go to. Fans know what I can do. I can help change the outcome of a game whether it's in the field, or at the plate, or with my legs. When you do get booed, it means you're a decent player. Bad players don't get booed."