YANKEE NOTES
PORT CHARLOTTE – In order to take the next step in his comeback from what continues to be called a minor left-elbow problem, Andy Pettitte will board a bus headed to Lakeland tonight with the rest of the Yankees.
Pettitte, who came through a 12-minute bullpen session Tuesday night with no discomfort, will toss batting practice before tonight’s game against the Tigers.
“What I will do is throw five minutes [in the bullpen] and then sit for five to 10 minutes and throw BP,” said Pettitte, who hasn’t pitched in a game since pulling himself from his first start on March 7 after one inning and seven pitches when the elbow stiffened between the first and second innings.
Taking every precaution, Pettitte isn’t planning on throwing his signature cut fastball even though he said the strain on the elbow throwing that pitch isn’t as bad as the curveball. “Right now I am little more hesitant to do it,” Pettitte said.
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Yesterday’s 8-6 win over the Rangers was the Yankees’ third straight and fourth in five games. Jeff Juden’s slim chances of sticking became slimmer when he walked the bases loaded in the sixth only to get out of the mess.
Ruben Mateo, the Rangers’ top prospect, displayed his power by hitting a game-tying, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth off Darren Holmes.
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Yankees continued to talk to Don Nomura, the agent for 17-year-old Dominican free agent outfielder Willie Pena, yesterday. As of 4:30 p.m. they hadn’t made an offer to Nomura. Pena, who was signed illegally by the Mets and Marlins, has attracted interest from eight teams. Nomura says he has received three “serious offers.”
With rumors swirling that Pena could pull down a $5 million deal, the Yankees aren’t prepared to go that high. However, they would be interested if a deal can be cut in the $3.3 million area.
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Don Zimmer will miss Darryl Strawberry’s first left-field action tonight in Lakeland in order to undergo follow-up tests for a bleeding ulcer that surfaced in December. Zimmer will spend close to four hours in the hospital.
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Minor league catcher Jaime Torres underwent thyroid cancer surgery yesterday at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Torres, 28, had a total thyroidectomy and the surrounding lymph nodes were removed.
The surgery was termed successful. Torres, who was slated to be the starting catcher at Columbus (Triple-A), can begin running in a week and resume everything baseball-wise in two weeks. Torres will be released from the hospital today and will remain in New York through tomorrow for follow-up tests and be back in Tampa Saturday.
In six weeks Torres needs to have a follow-up exam which will require him to spend three nights in a hospital where he will receive precautionary radioactive iodine injections.
