Yankees' Johnny Damon cuts caffeine

NEW YORK - The "fluttering eye" ailment affecting New York Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon may be related to his caffeine consumption, MLB.com reports . Damon is now avoiding caffeine on the advice of the Yankees' medical staff to see if his eyes stop fluttering.

Damon said he typically drank three cups of coffee or three energy drinks in a day.

"With the way the game is, being an older player, I definitely need a few more energy drinks than the young kids," the 35-year-old Damon said.

He has now been off caffeine for several days, and reported waking up Saturday morning with a headache -- a common side effect of caffeine withdrawal .

Damon's eye issue kept him out of Friday's Subway Series opening game against the New York Mets. He returned for Saturday's game, despite the headache, but had no hits while he was at bat . According to MLB.com, Damon has been in a hitting slump for his past six games, with his batting average dipping from .327 last month to .285.

Damon initially expressed concern that his eye troubles were related to a concussion he suffered in 2003 when he collided with Damian Jackson on the field. "I was worried about that. It was definitely a vicious hit," Damon said. "I think everything's fine. We're going to start with laying off the energy drinks and the caffeine and all that stuff, and hopefully the twitch will go away."