Translating

If you were reading, watching, or listening to the news, you might think that you learned new information about Joba Chamberlain's injury yesterday. You are, however, most likely mistaken about that. Don't feel bad, though, as there are many people who mistook the Yankees' announcement that Chamberlain has "rotator cuff tendinitis," for actual information, since it sounds like a real diagnosis. However, that "diagnosis" is based on the MRI Chamberlain had a couple of days ago, and there's no way to see tendinitis on an MRI. Thus, this diagnosis can't be anything but a guess. Granted, it's an educated guess made by two highly regarded physicians, but it's not terribly different from what was guessed when Chamberlain left Monday's game.

That said, there is a little bit of information to be deduced from this announcement. Even though the Yankees have been notoriously misleading when talking about injuries, it's reasonable to assume that the Yankees wouldn't make this announcement if doctors had seen anything on the MRI. That means that Chamberlain almost certainly doesn't have a full thickness tear in his rotator cuff, which is good news. He could still have a partial thickness tear, the aforementioned tendinitis, or something else entirely. Until he actually tests the injury by throwing a ball, there's no way to know what it is or when he'll be back with the Yankees.