Can A-Rod Play Thru the Pain?

Hold your scalpels. A-Rod may not need surgery after all. In Brian Cashman's (WFAN has it) press conference this afternoon, he brought up the possibility of A-Rod trying to play through the pain.

A-Rod felt stiffness in his hip and was having trouble getting loose during his daily stretching. That led to further stiffness in his hip when he tried to bat. That's when the Yankees took an MRI, which showed changes from an MRI that was on done on the leg last season.

A-Rod had the cyst (one of significant size) drained of fluid, and had his range of motion measured before and after. The Yankees will continue to monitor A-Rod's range of motion, amount of pain, etc., as they determine whether or not to go forward with surgery.

"We're taking it one day at a time"- Brian Cashman discussing A-Rod's injury

You only have to think back to Jorge Posada last season to realize what a crucial decision this is. Posada tried to play through the pain in his shoulder, was unable to, and then missed the majority of the season.

Do you start the season with A-Rod playing and risk further injury? Do you take the hit early and go ahead with surgery or do you end up with a situation similar to that of Posada last year?

Brian Cashman, the medical, staff, and, of course, A-Rod have a lot of thinking and talking to do in the weeks ahead.