Pettitte's Has No Major Shoulder Damage

From Tyler Kepner:

Almost lost in the curious case of Mariano Rivera’s shoulder is the news on Andy Pettitte, who was relieved when a second M.R.I. revealed there was no major damage to his shoulder. He pitched down the stretch with an inflamed rotator cuff, but there is nothing worse, meaning Pettitte still has a decision to make on his future.

“It would have been really easy if they’d said I needed surgery,” Pettitte said. “That would have been it.”

“I want to be able to pitch the way I know I can pitch without hurting,” Pettitte said. “I know I can go out there and pitch with it bothering me a little bit. But sometimes it’s a little bit tougher to get it done.”

“I’ve just got a lot of stuff I need to think about, a lot of stuff I need to weigh,” Pettitte said. “There are a lot of good things to think about coming back. Obviously there’s the new stadium, there are obviously guys on the team we want to try to win a championship with. Now, you’re just looking forward to getting through these two games and getting home and hopefully getting some decisions behind me.”

Hopefully a decision from Pettitte comes sooner than it did last off-season. The Yankees need to know what they will be working with next year before the trading season begins, and before free agents start signing with other teams.