Swisher expects to be back soon

The forecast for Nick Swisher, by Swisher's own reckoning a day after he strained his left hamstring, is a few days of "chill." He will not go on the disabled list, and he could return more quickly than even his manager expects.

"Me and Skip, we've got to get together and get a game plan. From the way I feel right now, I wouldn't say it would be a week," said the rightfielder, who was replaced in the starting lineup Monday night by Raul Ibañez with Eduardo Nuñez playing left.

Swisher, second in the league with 23 RBIs entering Monday night, said he tried to hide the tweak he felt during an at-bat Sunday. "I'm never going to be one of those guys who's going to take himself out of a game," he said.

He will take it easy for a couple of days and then reassess. He was relieved that an MRI showed nothing more than the remnant of a similar injury in 2007, suffered when he rounded third against the Orioles (he injured his ankle on the same play). Back then, he missed only six games and resisted going on the DL. "That's not my category, guys," he said.

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