Friday a Bad Day for Yankees

For the second straight Friday, the Yankees have been faced with worrisome injury news. Last Friday, the Yankees announced that Joba Chamberlain injured himself while playing on a trampoline with his son, which was just a freak injury. I can't say anything bad about him because he was being a father who was having fun with his child.

Last night two new stories surfaced, both affecting the Yankees in the immediate future. RHP Michael Pineda felt soreness in his right shoulder throughout the game. He was yanking the ball in an effort to throw with more velocity. The carelessness displayed by Pineda is baffling. It's understandable that he does not want to miss time with an injury but when he keeps it to himself, he runs the risk of hurting himself even further in the future. I believe that the soreness that he felt has been around for some time. Initially, Girardi and Cashman were very concerned and fans everywhere were calling for Cashman's head. The results of the MRI came back better than expected today, only showing tendinitis in his right shoulder. The Yankees will place Pineda on the 15 day DL and shut him down for 10-15 days. Afterwards, he will begin the rehab process in an effort to join the Yankees rotation in early May, perhaps when Pettitte is ready to pitch.

In addition, Cesar Cabral, who was probably going to win a job with the Yankees, has suffered a left elbow fracture, and will be placed on the 60 day DL. A huge blow for Cabral, who said he didn't sleep nights believing that he would have gotten a job as a lefty specialist for the Yankees.

This leaves Clay Rapada as the likely man to win the second lefty job. Also, with Pineda's minor injury, the Yankees rotation is officially set. Freddy Garcia can breathe a sigh of relief.

The Rotation:

C.C. Sabathia

Hiroki Kuroda

Phil Hughes

Ivan Nova

Freddy Garcia

The likely scenario for the Yankees bullpen will be:

Mariano Rivera

David Robertson

Rafael Soriano

Cory Wade

Boone Logan

Clay Rapada
?------------------?

Adam Warren

The last spot in the bullpen is the kids' to win. David Phelps, Adam Warren, and D.J. Mitchell all have a chance to win the long-relief role. My personal favorite is Adam Warren. He has been very impressive this spring, with an amazing performance against the Red Sox "A" lineup last week.