Derrek Lee pleads his case to stay off the DL

For now, Derrek Lee is not going on the disabled list and he is pleading his case with Buck Showalter to keep it that way. But Lee did reveal today that he has had some discomfort in his left oblique for a while now, but it got much worse during the game in Boston on Monday and he was removed from the lineup in the third inning. "It happened a few weeks ago and the last game it happened and it stayed," Lee said. "Kind of made me nervous honestly and I told the trainers about it. "It hasn't been a constant thing, just every once in a while I feel it. Whereas the other night it happened on my first swing and it was constant throughout the game and it made me nervous," Lee said. He doesn't feel he will need 15 days to heal the injury and has asked Showalter to give him another day or two before making any disabled list decision on him. "That is what I am asking for (a day or two)," Lee said. "I don't feel like I'll need 15 days to be ready. We still haven't decided yet (on the DL). I'm leaning towards no. Hopefully it works out where I don't have to go on the disabled list. It feels better today. I'm just going to rest it for now and let it calm down. Maybe test it tomorrow or the day after that." Lee is aware that the club just dealt with an oblique strain with J.J Hardy and he missed a month. "I think J.J's situation is making us be more cautious about it," Lee said. "He felt better, then he came back and that's when he really hurt it. So, just want to make sure it's okay before you go out there and pow, you are out a month or something." Lee's injury comes at a time when he was starting to get a few clutch hits for the team. He currently has a six-game hitting streak and has knocked in ten runs over the last 14 games. "You always want to be on the field," he said. "Even the possibility of the 15-day disabled list is no fun to think about. You never want to come off the field."