TAMPA – Ignoring the one toss that cleared a bullpen fence, Allen Watson had a productive workout yesterday and firmly believes he is on schedule for Opening Day.
“I am ready,” Watson said following the 15-minute workout in which he cut it loose near the end and felt almost no sign of the inflamed bursa sac that has kept him out of games for 10 days. “I let it go and I felt great. I threw the change. I felt it a little bit when I threw my slider, but just a bit.”
Watson, who had a cortisone shot a week ago Thursday, is expected to throw to live batters tomorrow at the minor league complex. If that goes well, there is a chance he will pitch in a game Friday or Saturday.
Asked how many spring appearances he would need to be ready, Watson said, “One. I have already pitched three times. If I was a starter, it would be different.”
When Watson had an arthrogram on March 13, he was worried that there was tear in the labrum and feared his season was over before it started.
“I never felt anything like that,” Joe Torre’s second lefty said. “I couldn’t finish my pitches because of the pain.”
If the Yankees want Luis Sojo back they will have to make a deal with the Pirates. Two team sources said the veteran utilityman is likely to make the team over former Yankee Dale Sveum. Yankees hoped that Sojo would be released by the Pirates, which would allow him to rejoin the Yankees.
As far as the battle for utility players goes, Torre said Clay Bellinger is the favorite to land one of the two jobs. Rookie D’Angelo Jimenez was supposed to have one but his season ended in an off-season auto wreck.
“He can play all four infield positions and played center field at Columbus one year,” Torre said of Bellinger, who after 10 years in the minors made his major league debut last year.
Torre paid Derek Jeter the highest compliment a Yankee can receive yesterday.
“When you are talking about DiMaggio, Gehrig and Ruth, nobody can be as big as those people because of the history involved,” Torre said. “But when a number of years pass by [Jeter] will be looked at in the same type of category.”
