CHICAGO (AP) -Slumping New York Yankees designated hitter Jason Giambi might have a solution for his aching left heel.
He went to an orthopedic specialist in Los Angeles on Monday to get some new shoe inserts to alleviate the pain caused by a bone spur in the heel.
“I got some more orthopedics made just to cover all my bases,” Giambi said. “He gave me a different pair to try on for my shoes to see if they would help out a little more.”
Giambi expects to have the inserts by Friday and was given some temporary ones that are different from the ones he had been using.
“They’re hoping that they can, with the orthodics, alleviate some pain and I can get rid of the pain in my spur,” he said.
“I’ve never really had a problem with the spur, up until lately. I think my heel is inflamed because of everything that’s gone on.”
Before Tuesday’s game against the White Sox, Giambi was hitless in his last 18 at-bats. He said the heel was affecting him at the plate.
“I’m just not getting that good push that I need on my back foot to really drive through the ball,” he said. “That’s why I’m not really driving the ball right now. But hopefully we’ll get that under control.”
Manager Joe Torre elected to keep Giambi out of the starting lineup Tuesday with the Yankees facing lefty John Danks of the White Sox, but hoped that the orthopedics would help Giambi.
“He could probably play, but I told him to test it tonight,” Torre said. “We’ll sit him against the left-hander and if we need him later I can use him. He’s got some orthopedics now that are going to help his foot.”
Despite the optimistic outlook, Torre conceded that a stint on the disabled list was a possibility for Giambi, who is batting .278 overall with five homers and 18 RBIs.
“We’ll see how this works,” Torre said. “It’s in a very tough spot. When you’re feet are uncomfortable, it’s tough to be comfortable. … If it continues to be a problem, we’ll have to look at it.”
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