TAMPA – With an eye on starting next Friday or Saturday against the Rays at Yankee Stadium, Andy Pettitte will throw in the bullpen today and face minor league hitters when he faces Scranton-Wilkes/Barre Sunday.
“We will see how it goes,” said Pettitte, who hasn’t pitched in a game since March 17 because of back spasms. He missed a start five days before that with a tender left elbow.
Pettitte originally was slated to start the second game of the season Wednesday against the Blue Jays, but that was nixed earlier this week. Pettitte originally felt the spasms driving in a car on March 20 and slowly the problem has been decreasing.
“I feel as good (yesterday) as I did (Wednesday) and that’s a good sign,” Pettitte said, who has logged just eight innings of spring work and will have been idle for a dozen days when he faces the Yankees’ Triple-A team.
There is a chance Pettitte could open the season on the disabled list in order to give the Yankees a roster spot until April 5. If the Yankees go that route, Pettitte can be backdated to March 21 and wouldn’t be eligible to pitch until April 5.
“That won’t be a deciding factor but we could,” Joe Girardi said, regarding putting Pettitte on the disabled list.
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Despite being rocked in his previous outing against the Pirates, Jeff Karstens began yesterday as the leading candidate to be Girardi’s long man in the bullpen. When the 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh was over Karstens likely was headed to the disabled list with a right groin injury.
“He will have an MRI (exam today),” Girardi said. “He said he felt something in his groin, not a pop but not what you want to see. I don’t think he is healthy enough to go with us.”
It’s the second straight camp in which Karstens suffered a late injury that denied him being on the 25-man roster. Last year, he had a right elbow problem. During the season he fractured the right fibula in late April, keeping him out until August.
“He was in consideration for the long man and he got hurt,” Girardi said. “Now we have to make some decisions.”
Because it would be a surprise if left-hander Billy Traber isn’t one of Girardi’s 12 relievers, there are two spots open. With Karstens out of the picture and Kei Igawa pitching ineffectively yesterday (four runs, five hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings), the Yankees could eschew the long man and go with Brian Bruney and Ross Ohlendorf, pitchers who are built for solo innings, at the beginning of the season.
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After missing two of the previous three games because of the flu, Johnny Damon was the DH yesterday and went 0-for-3.
“I will DH and then play the field the next two games,” the Yankees’ left fielder and leadoff hitter said.
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Shelley Duncan won the James P. Dawson Award. The honor goes to the best rookie in camp. Duncan hit .364 with three homers and 14 RBIs.