ARLINGTON, Texas — Other than a bruised ego and a sore bottom, Lance Berkman is ready to go tonight in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series.
After taking a hard spill on the Yankee Stadium warning track during Game 5, Berkman said yesterday that he was sore but he took batting practice, fielded grounders and ran the bases and will be at first base tonight.
“My feet slipped right out from under me and I sat down real hard,” Berkman said. “It didn’t feel good.”
It has been a rough week for Berkman, who sliced his left thumb with a pair of scissors a few days ago.
“I almost sliced the tip of my thumb off,” Berkman said, holding up the injured digit.
Berkman was cutting a credit card up when the scissors slipped and got his thumb.
“It was gushing blood,” he said.
That injury has not affected Berkman at all, and he is using superglue to patch up the cut during games.
His neck, back and rear end got sore after he wiped out while chasing a foul ball from Ian Kinsler on Wednesday. Initially, it looked like Berkman hit his head on the ground and the fear was that he had a concussion. But he remained in the game.
Berkman’s role for the Yankees grew Tuesday night when Mark Teixeira was lost for the postseason to a strained right hamstring.
“I just do whatever they ask me to do,” Berkman said. “With Mark going down, now I’ve got to play first base. I’ll be in there every day instead of just being a DH against right-handers. That’s the situation that I’m in. When I came over here I knew that was a possibility if anything happened to Mark that I was going to be in there. I’ll just go in there and do the best I can.”
After a rough season that began with the Astros, Berkman has been swinging a hot bat in the playoffs. He’s hitting .308 with four RBIs in the postseason. He has had some hard-hit balls that just went foul or ended up as outs, too.
“I think I’m having better at-bats than I’ve had all year,” Berkman said. “I definitely feel good. I feel like I’m seeing the ball. I feel like my swing is where it needs to be.”