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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Damon has hairline fracture in tip of finger; will keep playing

Posted Apr 22, 2011 by Roger Mooney

Updated Apr 22, 2011 at 03:52 PM

BY ROGER MOONEY
TORONTO – Johnny Damon revealed this afternoon he has a hairline fracture at the tip of his left ring finger, an injury he sustain when getting hit by a pitch April 17.

Damon returned to the lineup Thursday and had a single in four at-bats.

“The break is at the tip, that’s why I’m able to play,” he said. “If it was further down I wouldn’t be able to move it. Right now it’s super numb. I can actually squeeze, which is good, without putting too much pressure on it.”

He said he tried to keep the break a secret because he wasn’t sure how the Rays dealt with that type of injury, because he didn’t want to go on the disabled list.

Damon said the finger is sore and will be for another four weeks until fully healed, but he plans to keep playing.

Throwing will be a problem, Damon said, because he needs to grip a baseball with more force than he uses to grip the bat.

“I was throwing the ball better than a ever did coming out of spring, but I know that’s off a little bit because I just can’t squeeze it the way I want,” he said. “If I ding this up it will be very irritating. There are sometimes when I swing the bat and you see me grimace, you know I got stung.”

Damon said he is willing to DH fulltime during the next four weeks.

“That’s fine with me. Sammy’s too good out there anyway,” he said, referring, of course, to Rays left fielder and leadoff hitter Sam Fuld.