For what it is worth, Tanaka’s start on Sunday afternoon against Toronto was still perplexing. The only value it produced was a first hand look for the Yankees to see exactly what they have in Tanaka. Examining what MIGHT be manageable regarding his partial UCL tear next season. It is true that as an organization you can never know exactly what condition a player is really in until they’re in the heat of Major League competition. For reasons that are largely inexplicable, no throwing program, bullpen session, or Minor league rehab start can fully simulate that experience. So it was on Sunday afternoon, with 5.1 innings pitched, 1 earned run, five hits, no walks, five strike outs, and a lone hit batsman. Not bad for a man walking a path few have traveled. A path that will still end in the same place, the operating room.
With fortune on their side Sunday, the Yankees breathed a sigh of relief. Tanaka over 70 pitches reported no unexpected discomfort, nor displayed any abnormalities in his pitching mechanics. In truth given his prognosis, Tanaka's outing Sunday did not provide any comfort. In modern baseball there is exactly ONE pitcher that has managed to endure this injury over multiple seasons successfully, the formidable Adam Wainwright. The cost for Waino was missing the end of 2010, and all of the Cardinals 2011 Championship season. Tanaka is walking the same high wirer, and the Yankees do not have much of an insurance policy to fall back upon. It is the reality of a partial UCL tear.
At present, the Yankees anticipate the strong possibility for a second Tanaka outing before the seasons ends on Sunday in Boston. By definition this plan exemplifies the Yankees pressing their luck. No different than one stretching their fortune by telling their dealer to “hit me” after drawing 20 in Black Jack. Tanaka’s injury makes one clear demand: It is not a matter of IF he will have surgery, but WHEN. If the Yankees manage to hit 21 going forward, they will cobble together an additional two seasons of very protected starts. If the club busts, they will be looking for Tanaka’s replacement by the spring. With Tanaka having only limited ammunition in his arsenal before surgery is necessary, which all superior medical knowledge corroborates, wasting him on games that do not translate into a championship is an utter waste.
*Image product of Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News
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