ESPN

The money quote from Wally's story on Michael Pineda is:

"This is a massive decision gone wrong right now,'' Brian Cashman told ESPNNewYork.com on Friday. "So all scrutiny is fair.''

Click here to read the full article.

Here is my news story.

Here is the money quote:

"He can be back better than he has ever been in 10 months," Curt Schilling. "Maybe less, because he is younger. It is going to be 100 percent on him."

Schilling's doctor, Craig D. Morgan, ESPN injury expert Stephania Bell and ESPN analyst Mark Mulder are quoted in the story.

. . . if you'd like a primer on pitchers, like Michael Pineda, who've suffered torn labrums, and their checkered history of recovery, I suggest you read this story by ESPN's Jerry Crasnick from 2010.

In the wake of the Michael Pineda injury, the first reaction of a lot of Yankee fans has been that the Mariners put one over on the Yankees, that they know Pineda was damaged goods when they made the trade for Jesus Montero in January.

I'm not buying it because the Yankees routinely request all medicals on every available free agent as well as players they are interested in trading for. And before any deal is approved, all players must pass an extensive team physical designed to weed out such things. Remember that Hideki Okajima was briefly a Yankee -- until he failed his physical.

And yet, even those of us who should know better are wondering the same thing. For instance, this evening, I broke the news about Pineda to one of your favorite Yankees (and mine). It is only fair to keep his identity a secret because it wasn't an interview, just an off-the-record conversation.

The player's first reaction was shock: "You gotta be (kidding) me!'' he repeated several times.

Then, the fan in him kicked in. "Do you think we got him that way?,'' he asked.

So, conspiracy theorists, you are not alone. You have company in the Yankees clubhouse.

Here is the news story from my conversation with Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik about Michael Pineda's injury.

That's what everyone is wondering today after Joe Girardi announced he had no results from Pineda's MRI today in New york, because the pitcher and his agent, Fern Cuza, "had requested a second opinion.''

Nothing wrong with that, except that Cuza made the request on Saturday, before the Yankees had even gotten the first opinion from their team doctor, Chris Ahmad. It is just another strange turn in the puzzling saga of Pineda, who had been counted on to hold down a rotation spot for the Yankees but now may not pitch for a long time.

According to a source I spoke with, it is not unusual for players or their agents to request an exam with a doctor the player or agent knows and trusts, and apparently Cuza trusts Dr. David Altchek, the Mets team doctor, from the days when Pedro Martinez, another of his clients, played for the Mets.

But it does seem unusual for the request to be made before the results of the first exam have come back yet, raising the possibility that Pineda is hurt worse than the Yankees thought and shared that information with the agent and not the team.

It may be significant that over the past couple of days, the Yankees media notes have changed the designation of Pineda's injury from "right shoulder tendinitis'' to "right rotator cuff tendinitis.'' That could explain Pineda's lack of velocity in his last start for the Mariners last September, a problem that carried over into spring training, although I am told though another source that Pineda did not pick up a baseball all winter.

In any event, the full story won't come out until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest, if then. I wrote a news story with some more detail that will be on the website shortly.

Joe Girardi said that the dye-contrast MRI on Michael Pineda's sore pitching shoulder, originally scheduled for today in New York, would be performed tomorrow instead because of "scheduling conflicts."

Pineda was shut down on Saturday after experiencing pain and weakness in his shoulder after throwing 15 pitches in an extended spring training game, a setback Girardi termed as "significant." The manager said he would probably have a report on what the test reveals before the start of Tuesday night's game against the Rangers.

Is disaster too strong a word? OK. How about catastrophe?

In any event, "setback'' doesn't seem to do justice to the news that Michael Pineda felt what Joe Girardi termed ''weakness'' in the back of his pitching shoulder -- under prodding, Girardi admitted there was "pain,'' too -- after throwing just 15 pitches in an extended spring training game today in Tampa.

In fact, despite Girardi's attempt to deny it, what is troubling Pineda sounds an awful lot like what shelved Phil Hughes for most of the 2011 season. I chronicled an exchange I had with the manager about this three weeks ago in which Girardi tried to say they were not similar injuries.

Well, let's tote up the similarities: Shoulder tendinitis? Check. Shut down after first real throwing session? Check. Lo-V-lo? Check.

Now we'll just wait and see if Pineda's injury responds to rest and treatment -- Hughes missed three months healing his injury -- or if more drastic measures are called for. I asked Girardi today if Pineda would need another MRI. "My guess would be yes,'' he said. "But I can’t tell you what the doctor would want to do. It could be more than that, who knows?''

More than that meaning what? Additional tests? Surgery? A lost year?

We'll wait to see what the next examination of Pineda, scheduled for Monday, reveals. But in the meantime, know that while Jesus Montero hasn't set the world afire in Seattle -- he, too, missed some time with an injury -- he has at least been somewhat productive, batting .261 with two HRs and seven RBIs.

Pineda, meanwhile, has given the Yankees absolutely nothing so far. That is not his fault, but it may well be the Yankees' problem. Now, it becomes essential for Hughes and Freddy Garcia, neither of whom has pitched well this season, to get their acts together pronto, and for Andy Pettitte to make it all the way back from his 18-month retirement.

The team that had too much pitching in January suddenly doesn't seem to have enough in April.

The word for that is "mess.''

The Yankees have shut down starter Michael Pineda after he felt pain in his shoulder during his first minor league rehab assignment. After a spring training in which his velocity was down throughout, the Yankees put Pineda on the disabled list with tendinitis before the season began. He had not thrown in a game until Saturday.

“Not good,” Joe Girardi said of the news.

Pineda – who was brought over in the blockbuster deal for Jesus Montero this offseason – felt weakness in the back of his shoulder again after throwing just 15 pitches in Tampa on Saturday. In an email, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that Pineda will see a doctor on Monday in Tampa to figure out the extent of the problem.


UP NOW: Full news story
Wally's Rapid Reax is right here.

Andy Pettitte will throw around 60 pitches for Single-A Tampa against Daytona on Friday, Joe Girardi said. Pettitte could be in the majors somewhere around May 5-10.

Michael Pineda will throw another bullpen session and then could be in a minor league game by the weekend.

"Our hope is he can get into a game after this next bullpen, but we'll have to see," Girardi said.

From the date of his first minor league start, Pineda will likely need at least three weeks, probably longer, before he could be major league ready.

After Andy Pettitte's four scoreless innings, Joe Girardi said Pettitte needs four more starts before he will be ready for the major leagues. So Pettitte, conceivably, could return to the big club in about three weeks.

Pettitte is also expected to appear as a witness in the Roger Clemens trial. Jury selection for the trial begins on Monday.

Meanwhile, also on Monday, Michael Pineda is scheduled to throw his first bullpen since he was put on the DL with shoulder tendinitis. Girardi said he will have a better idea of where Pineda stands after the 'pen. Girardi said it is possible Pineda could basically need a full spring training worth of starts (six) to be ready. So there is no telling at this point when he will make his Yankees major league debut.

GM Brian Cashman said Pineda could throw in a minor league game by this weekend, but Cashman did not have an exact date yet.

Michael Pineda will long toss on two of the next three days, an indication that he is making progress in his rehabilitation of some shoulder tendinitis suffered in his last spring training start. The Yankees still have not said when he will throw a bullpen or offered a plan for any rehab starts. Pineda is eligible to come off the DL on April 15, but is not expected to pitch for the Yankees until May . . . Boone Logan said he was ready to pitch on Friday, but late in the game, Joe Girardi got Clay Rapada up in the pen, a clue that Logan was not quote recovered from the back spasms he suffered earlier in the week. "He said he felt good yesterday, but I figured I''d give him one more day,'' Girardi said. "We all remember what he looked like Wednesday."'' On that day, GM Brian Cashman had called Logan "The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' . . . backup catcher Chris Stewart, the Yankees newest acquisition, will get his first start of the season either in Sunday's finale against the Rays, or in the opener of the three-game series with the Orioles in Baltimore on Monday, because he is familiar with both Phil Hughes, starting Sunday, and Ivan Nova, who goes Monday. "He’s caught Phil and Nova in AAA,'' Girardi said. "And he caught both their bullpens. I think he caught two of Nova's, so he knows them pretty well.''

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise but Joe Girardi acknowledged today that Michael Pineda, on the DL with shoulder tendinitis, probably will not return before the end of the month.

"I think that's safe to say,'' Girardi said. "It's already the sixth. It's gonna be pretty close.''

Pineda's DL stint is retroactive to March 31, which means he can come off on April 15. He played catch on Thursday and again this morning and according to Girardi, "felt better,'' but there is still no timetable for him to begin a serious throwing program.

Pineda will remain with the team for the series against the Rays, and then return to Tampa for extended spring training when the Yankees leave for next week's series in Baltimore.

"I think it can help because he can observe what goes on here in the next three days, to see what’s it like to be a Yankee,'' Girardi said. "Spring training was obviously different for him than what he was accustomed to and in the season it picks up a little more.''

Here are seven thoughts at 11 as we go into the Yankees' season opener.

1. We just spent seven weeks trying to judge spring training and I think it further illuminates CC Sabathia's greatness. Forget Sabathia's 5.00 ERA during the spring, but focus instead on his ability to make things right in the bullpen. Toward the end of spring training, Sabathia had trouble locating his fastball. Afterward, he said that he will need to work on righting his mechanics in his bullpen sessions. This ability to fine-tune from start to start is what separates the good from the great. Who doesn't expect Sabathia's fastball location to be there today? It is one of the reasons Sabathia is averaging nearly 20 wins a season in his three years as a Yankee (59 wins).

2. The Derek Jeter debate should begin again at some point this year because he turns 38. This spring, I saw a guy who looked like the second-half-of-2011 Jeter instead of the first-half Jeter. He didn't look like the slow, old man we saw before DJ3K, but more like the spry guy after he came off the disabled list.

3. Our colleagues at "Numbers Never* Lie" have a cool video where they say Jeter is highly replaceable based upon his 0.7 WAR (wins above replacement). Great quality production, but I think their reasoning falls short. In the first half of last year, Jeter wasn't a very good player, but if you looked at all the shortstops in the majors, he still was probably in the top half even before the All-Star break. The position is not that deep. After the break, when he started hitting, Jeter was a pretty good player. Still, though I don't agree with the "Numbers Never* Lie" video, it is worth a watch for the cool drawing video alone.

4. A few leftover thoughts from the spring: An overlooked storyline was Manny Banuelos' camp. It was disappointing. Banuelos is still a top prospect, probably the best pitching prospect the Yankees have. Only a year ago, Mariano Rivera told me Banuelos is the best pitching prospect he has ever seen. So greatness still very well could be in his future. Still, continuing what plagued him last year, Banuelos could not throw his fastball consistently for strikes and he was out of camp very early.

A scout called Banuelos' brief time in camp "disappointing" and said that compared to last year, when he lit up spring training, Banuelos' pitches "didn't have that same snap."

The kid is only 21 so there is plenty of time to develop -- he just might not come as quickly as some thought. Gene "Stick" Michael told me during the winter meetings that after he saw the pitcher last spring, he thought Banuelos might become a Yankees major leaguer last year. At this point, unless Banuelos really improves right away, he probably won't be a major Bronx contributor until next year, at the earliest.

5. As disappointing as Michael Pineda's spring turned out, it could be the best thing that happens to him in the long run. There is another transition when you become a Yankee -- even longer seasons. Pineda's lack of fastball velocity could have been a byproduct of his first major league season.

As a Yankee, you almost always have to pitch into the postseason, which adds years to an arm. That is another reason that Andy Pettitte's durability (for the most part) has been amazing.

Even with Pineda out right now, it would not be surprising if he were in the playoff rotation. He may benefit from starting his season a little bit later.

6. I know everyone loves the Rays this year, but I don't think they are going to hit enough. Their pitching looks amazing, but I don't think they are going to score enough.

7. Spring training doesn't mean much, especially a team's record. However, the Blue Jays are talented, and their spring success could be a toxic mix for the rest of the AL East. They were the Grapefruit League champions at 24-7. On Thursday, they started their season with a rousing 16-inning win in Cleveland. The Jays are extremely interesting. At the very least, if they play well against AL East rivals New York, Boston and Tampa Bay, the Blue Jays could mess up the division's chance to have two wild cards (or even one).

While the rest of the Yankees were getting in one final workout at Tropicana Field prior to tomorrow's season opener, Michael Pineda picked up a baseball for the first time since going on the disabled list (retroactive to March 31) with shoulder tendinitis. Brian Cashman said Pineda played catch in Tampa today, making 25 throws without incident. Still no plan on when Pineda might resume throwing bullpens or when he might be able to return to action after he comes off the DL on April 15 . . . Joe Girardi said the plan is for Andy Pettitte, who threw a scoreless inning in Wednesday's spring fnale against the Mets, to now assume a normal starting pitcher's routine. Girardi said he expects Pettitte to throw a side session tomorrow and make a start in Tampa on Monday . . . Boone Logan was standing upright in the clubhouse and said he felt "much better'' than he did when he showed up with back spasms Wednesday morning. Logan continues to say he will be ready to pitch in Friday's opener but Girardi, as usual, took the cautious approach. "I'm sure he'll be day-to-day,'' the manager said . . . Girardi's plan to give his aging regulars rotating DH days could begin as early as Saturday when LHP David Price goes for the Rays. Girardi said the second game of the year could mark the season's debut of Eduardo Nunez as either Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez serve as the DH. "I'm not waiting a month this year,'' Girardi said. Nunez did not start his first game until April 28 last year.