A new era for Masahiro Tanaka — one filled with held breaths

Masahiro Tanaka will never again be that guy. That myth. That old-school workhorse. That human counterpoint to modern baseball pitcher-coddling.

That movie closed for good right after its July 8 screening at Cleveland's Progressive Field.

The Tanaka Reboot opened Sunday in The Bronx, however, and while everyone reacted with more caution and deliberation, there also arose optimism: Maybe, just maybe, the 25-year-old right-hander actually can defy the odds — for a period of time, anyway — and pitch through the tear in the UCL of his pitching elbow.

"There [are] a lot of pitchers in baseball that have probably similar things that are asymptomatic," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said, after Tanaka pitched 5 ¹/₃ solid innings to lead the Yankees over Toronto, 5-2, at Yankee Stadium, ending his 74-day stay on the disabled list. "It's possible that he can get through this for quite a while. It's possible that it comes up and bites him and that's it. But we're hopeful that it's the earlier scenario and he's going to be fine and have a nice, long career with no problems."

"I was able to go pretty strong today," Tanaka said through his interpreter. "So yeah, I'm relieved."

The four-seam fastball averaged 90.3 mph and reached 93.3, as per Brooks Baseball; his prior average fastball velocity was 91.2 mph, as tallied by Fangraphs. His splitter accounted for two of his four strikeouts, and he didn't walk anyone as he gave up a run and five hits. His curveball also looked particularly sharp, as he threw nearly as many curves (11) as splitters (15).

"Pretty darn good," manager Joe Girardi said. "I kept asking Mac [Brian McCann], 'Was his stuff the same?' He said, 'Yeah, it was.' It's extremely encouraging. I was really pleased."

Girardi felt like he and his team had earned the right to smile and exhale.

"We haven't gotten a lot of good news lately," he said. "We got some today."

Even as his team's tragic number for playoff elimination fell to four, thanks to Kansas City's 5-2 victory over Detroit, and even as the Yankees put together a lineup without Carlos Beltran (right elbow), Jacoby Ellsbury (right hamstring) or Mark Teixeira (right wrist), they could at least ride the positivity generated by Tanaka and the final-bow surge of Derek Jeter, who put together his fourth straight multi-hit game and stole third base as if he were Don Ameche break dancing in "Cocoon."

The Yankees can celebrate and cheer on Jeter until their hands get sore from clapping, but since they badly want to end their October-free streak at two seasons, they're desperate to know whether they can count on Tanaka for next season and beyond, after committing seven years and $155 million to him earlier this year with the officially wrong wish that his epic workload in Japan had only made him stronger.

And they understand that Tanaka could wake up Monday feeling great and then pitch well again Saturday against the Red Sox at Fenway Park and start preparing for 2015 — and that STILL won't provide full peace of mind. A UCL tear is a UCL tear, no matter how you spin it.

When I asked Girardi Sunday whether he was particularly anxious when Tanaka got Blue Jays batters into two-strike counts, given the likelihood of throwing a splitter there, Girardi chuckled and responded: "I think there was probably a little bit of anxiety from the first pitch on." The count didn't particularly matter.

Tanaka described himself afterward as pain-free — "Obviously way better" than he felt in his July 8 loss to the Indians — and McCann, who contributed two homers on the offensive side, raved about his batterymate and his fastball location in particular.

Tanaka seemed to have the same mound presence that he exhibited during his honeymoon phase at the season's outset.

There will be no second honeymoon.

"We got through today, so let's get through tomorrow," Girardi said. "Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope he feels good tomorrow."

However, a gulf of reality exists between that old myth and the doomsday scenario. Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright is one pitcher who excelled for years with a tear before succumbing to Tommy John surgery. Perhaps Tanaka can follow that lead.

Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully once described Andre Dawson as "Day to day" and added, "Aren't we all?" Count Tanaka among the mortal now. Don't count him out altogether, though.

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