Bruney knew of injury in spring training, hid truth from team

• (Newsday): "The Yankees' struggling bullpen suffered another blow yesterday when the team learned that Brian Bruney's stint on the disabled list might be significantly longer than 15 days.

Bruney said he needs at least another two weeks to recover from a strained flexor muscle in his right elbow that landed him on the DL on April 25.

• He said he pitched with elbow pain throughout spring training...

• Bruney admitted it "probably wasn't smart"

• to pitch through the injury during spring training,

and that a team doctor warned him of possible repercussions if he continued to throw. "The doctor said I was rolling the dice, that I could have blown out my elbow," he said.

• Manager Joe Girardi essentially shrugged off Bruney's lack of candor about the injury in spring training. "..."Yankees' Bruney will need more time on DL"

What did Bruney gain from this? Millions of dollars of

• media adulation

• for something

• he was not:

a reliable bridge to Mariano Rivera. (sm)

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