Pineda Continuing To Progress

(When is somebody going to get a shot of one of Pineda's flat ground sessions?  Courtesy of the AP)

Michael Pineda still has a long uphill battle to fight to get back on the field, back to full or as close to full game shape as he can be after his labrum injury, and back into the good graces of the Yankee fan base, but the updates on his comeback progress continue to be positive.  Brian Heyman of LoHud had the latest details on Friday, including information on Pineda's latest follow-up visit with team doctors, confirmation that he's been on his flat ground throwing program for about 2 months now, and a quote from Brian Cashman on Pineda's arm action in the throwing session looking good and that "he’s in great physical shape in terms of body weight."

All of those are positives for Pineda, who got himself in trouble early in ST last season for reportedly coming into camp in less-than-ideal physical condition.  But has this latest round of updates changed the planned return timetable for him?

The Reality Of Ichiro

It's no secret that I'm not on the "Yankees should bring back Ichiro" bandwagon.  I think he's a fraction of the player he used to be in his prime; I think the .322/.340/.454 tripleslash he put up in a third of a season's worth of plate appearances with the Yankees is not nearly as true an indicator of his current talent level as the results he put up in the previous season and two-thirds worth; and I think if they made slightly more of an effort than they have so far, the Yankees could find a much better all-around option for a starting right fielder next season.  I also think the Yankees are pretty set in their way for how they're going about this offseason and I think Ichiro's performance in a Yankee uniform this season did enough to put him on their radar for 2013.  And the more time that passes this offseason, the more I think Ichiro becomes a fit for what the Yankees are looking for.