johnny damon

Johnny Damon's injured left shoulder was wrapped tightly and the New York Yankees outfielder admitted to having some pills to dull the pain.

One day after he crashed into the left-field wall on one strange triple, Damon sounded resigned to the fact he might not be able to recover in time to prevent the first DL stint of his 14-season major league career.

Kevin Youkilis' drive squirted out of the webbing of Johnny Damon's glove and bounced up off the top of the left-field wall in the third inning of Friday's game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

And bounced. And bounced. The ball came to rest on top of the fence, which was shaking from the impact of the Yankees left fielder crashing into in it as he tried to make a leaping catch.

When Johnny Damon walked out of spring training early last year, he thought he was walking away from the game, SI.com has learned.

The Yankees explained Damon's absence early last spring as "personal reasons,'' and there was a lot of wrong speculation about something or other happening with Damon's family that would necessitate the time off.