Joe Torre has said time and again that the Yankees will go as far as their pitching will take them. Today, the Bombers struggling starting rotation is expected to get a huge boost when lefty Andy Pettitte comes off the disabled list and makes his first start at the Stadium this season.

The Yanks had placed Pettitte on the 15-day DL with a strained oblique muscle, but yesterday Pettitte pronounced himself fit for duty in today’s 1:05 p.m. tilt with Minnesota.

“I’m ready to go. It’s exciting. I haven’t gotten to pitch here at all this year, and we’ve been playing for a month. It will be exciting … taking to the mound,” said Pettitte, who inked a three-year, $24-million contract in January but has pitched only once this season – taking the loss in a 7-5 defeat at Seattle.

“We got the deal done, and the expectations were so high. Obviously it’s been frustrating to not get out there and pitch. But it’s something that happens. I’m just trying to get out there and pitch.”

Pettitte played catch Monday and yesterday, and seemed encouraged by his last bullpen session. But the injury could take a toll on his stamina, and he admits it’s a fear he’ll have until he goes deep into today’s game and proves his endurance is what it once was.

“[I’m worried] a little bit. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But they said two weeks, and it took a little longer than they thought. It should be healed now and I’m ready to go,” said Pettitte, no stranger to being saddled with early-season injuries. His first – and only – spring training start last year was cut short by a strained left elbow. Then came a second trip to the disabled list last April with a sprained right ankle. But he says this time it won’t hinder his progress.

“Last year I felt so far behind everybody, after missing two weeks with an elbow from spring training; but that was different,” Pettitte said. “I was struggling getting command of the two-seam [fastball]; now I feel as in control as I was after spring training. My command of the changeup was there the other day when I was throwing it.”

The Yankees went into last night’s game with Minnesota 12-6, and admittedly not playing their best baseball. Torre had said flatly, “If we don’t pitch, we don’t win,” and up to this point, their pitching has been solid but unspectacular.

They were third in the AL with a 4.50 ERA, boosted by a dominant bullpen. Orlando Hernandez has clearly emerged as the Bombers’ ace, but other than El Duque, the rest of the staff is 2-6 with a 6.17 ERA. The Yanks managed to go on a seven-game winning streak despite that shaky starting pitching, and Pettitte figures they can get back to their old dominant ways now that he and third baseman Scott Brosius are back.

“I hope so. We went on a seven-game winning streak without me and Brosius. We were looking at each other saying, ‘Wow, we see how much they want us back.’ But I couldn’t wait to get back, to feel like I’m contributing, to feel like a part of the team. Hopefully it’ll be a lift for everybody.”

With Pettitte’s return, righty Darrell Einertson or 24-year-old lefty Ed Yarnall the likely suspects to be demoted today. Allen Watson – whom Yarnall replaced on the roster – is also a lefty, which would mean Yarnall could find himself staying in The Bronx for awhile if Torre is convinced he can perform out of the bullpen.

Yarnall, a starter who threw 60 pitches in his last four-inning Triple-A outing on Friday, seems to have rebounded from a horrid spring. He was 1-3 with a 22.18 ERA in the spring to blow a chance at the fifth spot in the Yankee rotation, but he’s 1-0 with a 3.17 ERA so far at Columbus to get another callup.

“Obviously it’ll either be Yarnall or Einertson. If Yarnall can pitch out of the bullpen, that’s a plus for him. That will give us that second left-hander; or do you want a true reliever?” Torre said. “You want to make sure Yarnall doesn’t lose what he’s gotten back so far, innings, etc. That’ll be a consideration. Mel [Stottlemyre, pitching coach] and I will have to sit down and have a meeting. I don’t think it’ll be a revelation, just a decision to make.”