Cameron may have appendicitis; Ellsbury still hurting

RED SOX-TWINS REPORT
Red Sox lose ugly as they drop 8-0 decision to Twins
Cameron may have appendicitis; Ellsbury headed to DL?
Notes: Red Sox ready for some home cooking

By Sean McAdam
CSNNE.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- The injury bug has suddenly hit the Red Sox very hard -- especially in the outfield.

Center fielder Mike Cameron, who was scratched from Thursday's 8-0 loss to Minnesota two hours before game time, did not travel with the team on their charter back to Boston and will remain in Minnesota to be further examined by doctors.

The fear is that Cameron may have appendicitis.

In the meantime, Jacoby Ellsbury will be examined again Friday by the Red Sox' medical staff. He has not made much progress from the bruised ribs he suffered Sunday in Kansas City.

It's possible that both players could be headed for the disabled list when the Sox open a 10-game homestand Friday.

"It's sore,'' said Cameron. "It's unusual. I've never experienced anything like that. [Wednesday] when I was playing the game, I started feeling a little something, but you don't really think about it.

"But I got up today and it's kind of hard to walk. I'm not a doctor but most of the time, you know your body pretty well and when something hurts, you can kind of put a finger on it. But this is something I  couldn't really put a finger on.''

Ellsbury took some light swings off a tee Thursday morning, but couldn't exert much force. When Ellsbury collided with teammate Adrian Beltre Sunday in Kansas City, the expectation was that he would be able to play the following day.

But four days later, Ellsbury appears no closer to returning to the lineup.

"I still can't really take a deep breath without getting some sharp pain,'' said Ellsbury. "I'm sure there's swelling.''

Asked if he anticipated being placed on the disabled list retroactive to last Monday, Ellsbury said: "I hope not. The area where I got hit directly doesn't feel any better, but some of the surrounding areas feel better. I  guess there's improvement in that respect. But little things like taking a deep breath, I get a shooting pain in there.''

When Ellsbury was asked if he could imagine playing Friday night, he said: "The way I feel today, if I woke up and felt the same tomorrow? No.''

If the Sox need a callup from Pawtucket, they have a couple of options. Darnell McDonald, who has some experience in the big leagues, is capable of playing all three outfield positions. So, too, is Josh Reddick, but Reddick is struggling so badly at the plate through the first week that he was given Thursday off in Buffalo for what Pawtucket manager Torey Lovullo called "a mental health day.''

Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sean on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sean_mcadam