i hope everybody here and their sons get the right advice before they do further damage or end up changing their mechanics.
regarding the slap tear, it is still a fairly new diagnosis from what i gather. i went a long time with mine, didn't see the right doc. but i played though it and got away with it because i play 2nd. but what i ended up doing was compensating and trying to relieve the pain in my shoulder and almost short arming the ball and using more elbow action in my throws. not good at all. but since it truly didn't effect any other part of my daily life or even my swing i just dealt with the pain when i had to make a hard or long throw.
i didn't know what my issue truly was until i asked a new doc(sports specialist) about getting a cortisone shot(my 3rd), he was against it for all the right reasons, i just wanted to finish my playoffs. he did some tests and pretty much knew right away it was a slap tear, but you need to get an MRI with dye. its the only way to confirm.
he also told me that no amount of physio will repair a torn labrum. surgery is the only option to repair it.
so i waited until after the following season due to wait times, had it done the end of oct 2011.
sling for approx 5 weeks. then PT starts. to be honest its very painful for at least the first 2 months. but you have to be very strict with PT. i started hitting after 4 months but made sure i was careful. i started throwing after approx 6 months. very slow process and made sure i didn't over do it. i am still under a year since my surgery but i feel like my arm is much better/stronger and i am glad i had it done. and i don't expect to be able to throw like i used to until at least until next season. so please keep that in mind for pitchers.
ps. everybody will heal at their own pace. i followed dr. walter lowe's throwing program
good luck