Rays left fielder Carl Crawford has a "testicular contusion"

[C-A-T-S]

BALTIMORE -- Rays left fielder Carl Crawford was knocked out of Tuesday night's 11-10 13-inning loss to the Orioles in the first inning when an errant pickoff throw to first base from Baltimore right-hander Jake Arrieta struck Crawford in an -- ahem -- sensitive area near the groin.

Tampa Bay called Crawford's injury a "testicular contusion." The outfielder was transported, via ambulance, to the University of Maryland Medical Center where a series of tests showed no serious damage.

The team is listing him as day-to-day, though both Crawford and Rays manager Joe Maddon indicated that it was likely the outfielder would be out of the lineup Wednesday in the series finale against Baltimore..

"[Arrieta] caught me square," Crawford said after walking gingerly through the Rays clubhouse following the defeat. "He couldn't have hit it in a better spot. It just took the wind right out of me."

Crawford, who was tagged out on the play by Orioles first baseman Ty Wigginton, writhed on the ground in pain for several minutes after he was struck by the ball. Maddon and the team's training staff attended to him and he eventually left the field under his own power, though in great pain.

Matt Joyce replaced Crawford in left field, while shortstop Jason Bartlett took his place in the order after the injury.

"[Carl's] as good as can be expected. All of us males can understand that," Maddon said.

Crawford said he was not wearing a protective cup on the play and that he hardly ever has.

"I make too many different kind of moves to wear one," he explained. Crawford is, of course, one of baseball's true speedsters, and he prefers the extra mobility not wearing a protective cup provides. He has 33 stolen bases this year, and, other than an injury-marred 2008, he's notched 46 or more steals in every season since 2003.

Despite the painful blow, Crawford said he has no intention to start wearing a cup.

"That won't happen again," he said, referring to the fluke nature of the play. "I'm still not gonna wear a cup."

His optimism doesn't figure to lessen the pain of the blow in the meantime.

"When I played football [in high school], I got hit hard," Crawford said, "but I never felt anything like that."

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/07/21/carl-crawfords-injury-on-fluke-play-is-mans-worst-nightmare/

The words testicular and contusion should not be within the same paragraph of each other!:confused: