Notes: Wang warmly welcomed back

Notes: Wang warmly welcomed back

Another catcher injured; Mussina set for final tune-up

By Dawn Klemish / MLB.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- One chair away, Mike Myers cracked jokes. Alex Rodriguez walked across the clubhouse, broke through the crowd, and offered a bear hug and an "I love you, man." One thing was clear on Monday: The Yankees were glad Chien-Ming Wang was back.

The right-hander completed his return on Tuesday when he was officially activated from the disabled list prior to his start against Tampa Bay.

Wang had been mending a strained right hamstring, an injury sustained while running on March 23 and one that doctors guessed would sideline him anywhere from three to six weeks. Seeing Wang on the mound on Tuesday, then, was a best-case scenario for manager Joe Torre.

"We feel physically he's fine, and they say his stuff has been really good," Torre said. "You'll know in the first couple of innings, just by pitch count alone, how he's doing. Normally, he's probably the best on our ballclub in economics, throwing the fewest number of pitches.

"We feel good about it, and I know he's anxious to get back out there."

Wang won 19 games last season for the Yankees and posted a 3.63 ERA. He has made two rehab starts in the Minor Leagues this year but hasn't seen action with New York.

To make room for Wang on the roster, Kevin Thompson was sent to Triple-A Scranton. The right fielder hit .250 with New York. Both hits were doubles, and he also drove in two runs.

"It probably wouldn't hurt [Thompson] to get at-bats," Torre said. "He was filling a gap for us, and he did a good job. He had a lot of tools. Again, he just needs to go play. He's a phone call away if we [need him]."

You're kidding, right? Yet another injury presented itself to the already-afflicted catching corps on Tuesday. Bullpen backstop Mike Borzello suffered what is believed to be a broken middle finger on his catching hand while working a session with injured starter Mike Mussina.

X-rays were taken, but the results were not available before the game.

This is the third injury to Yankees catchers. On Friday, starter Jorge Posada bruised his left thumb while catching Andy Pettitte. The injury forced him to miss two starts. On Sunday, backup catcher Wil Nieves dislocated the same thumb, but trainers were able to put it back into place, allowing him to catch through the eighth inning.

"There's a certain test we have to go through for this," Torre said. "Chances are, if it's broken, we'll just have to use more tape."

In other news: Mussina threw a bullpen session on Monday and will pitch for Double-A Trenton on Friday as a final tune-up prior to rejoining the Yankees in Texas. "I think I'll be fine," Mussina said. "It feels fine, considering it was only [13] days ago." ... Relievers Scott Proctor and Jose Vizcaino were given a day off in the bullpen.

Up next: New York returns to Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, where the Yankees play host to Toronto for two games. Pettitte (1-0. 1.78 ERA) will make his fourth start (sixth appearance) for New York. The Blue Jays will counter with righty A.J. Burnett (1-1, 5.57). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.

Wang to start season on disabled list

Wang to start season on disabled list

Right-hander out until late April with right hamstring injury

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Yankees will begin the season without the services of ace right-hander Chien-Ming Wang, who suffered a Grade 1 strain of his right hamstring while performing conditioning exercises on Friday.

Wang, who turns 27 on March 31, is expected to miss at least the first three weeks of the season.

"I don't look for him to touch our Major League roster until sometime in late April," general manager Brian Cashman said.

Wang was running sprints following fielding practice at the Yankees' Legends Field complex when he said he felt a "pop" in his right hamstring. The right-hander was sent for an MRI exam on Friday evening, which revealed the strain.

Wang said he hopes to be able to return to a mound in "hopefully 10 days," which may be optimistic thinking. The Yankees plan to place Wang -- who said he was "very, very sad" -- on the disabled list retroactively at the conclusion of Spring Training.

"I want to come back 100 percent," Wang said. "I hope it gets better."

A candidate to pitch on Opening Day on April 2 in the Bronx, Wang was the runner-up in last season's American League Cy Young Award voting.

The hurler tied Minnesota's Johan Santana for the league lead in victories, finishing 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 34 games. In four starts this spring, Wang was 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA.

"You don't want stuff like this to happen, but unfortunately, this does happen," Cashman said. "It's in front of you; you deal with it. This won't be the first and it won't be the last, unfortunately."

Cashman said that Wang's injury will open up a roster spot for another pitcher currently in Major League camp. The team still intends to carry 12 pitchers.

Right-hander Jeff Karstens would appear to be a leading candidate to join the rotation. The 24-year-old has been a standout in Spring Training, compiling nine scoreless innings before he allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings to the Blue Jays in his last start Monday.

"We have depth and we have choices," Cashman said. "We have people who have impressed this spring. It's a short-term issue that you're dealing with. We'll wait until we get Wang back and then, in the meantime, someone else will get that opportunity."

The injury is the second this week for the Yankees, who also sidelined left-hander Andy Pettitte with back spasms. Pettitte felt the injury while performing squat exercises on Monday and has been receiving continued treatment.

"It's definitely still a little sore, but I'm a lot better," Pettitte said Friday.

The 34-year-old had originally been scheduled to pitch on Friday, but the southpaw instead was only permitted to throw softly and stretch with the team at Legends Field. He said he has been "feeling better every day."

"I've been told it's just back spasms," Cashman said. "Nobody has told me to worry about Andy, so I'm not going to worry about it right now. Obviously I'd like to see him back on the mound and throwing well, but all in due time."

Because of the scratched start, Pettitte will likely have just one more Grapefruit League appearance before the Yankees open the regular season.

He said that he would not mind pitching in a Minor League game if need be, saying that the most important thing would be to head north with the team on April 1.

"I just want to make sure I get out of here," Pettitte said. "Tampa is not the place to be."

Notes: Wang on pace to pitch opener

Notes: Wang on pace to pitch opener

Another solid outing has righty looking good for Opening Day

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Yankees have not officially decided on their Opening Day starter, but Chien-Ming Wang continues to appear as likely a choice as any.

Wang was efficient in a five-inning performance Friday against the Houston Astros, allowing one run and four hits in the Yankees' 4-3 loss.

The right-hander said he was especially pleased with his changeup and slider, and he had good command for most of the effort -- Wang threw 46 of his 61 pitches for strikes, with just a momentary blip in the second inning when he left fastballs up on doubles to Carlos Lee and Luke Scott.

"Every time, better and better," Wang said.

One season after tying Minnesota's Johan Santana for the American League lead in victories, Wang is generally regarded as the Yankees' ace and the likeliest candidate to lock heads with Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir on April 2.

Through four Grapefruit League appearances -- including the Yankees' Grapefruit League opener on March 1 against Minnesota -- Wang has compiled a 2.54 ERA, allowing four runs and 12 hits in 14 innings.

"He's getting there," manager Joe Torre said. "He's not all the way there yet. He's not as sharp as he's going to be, but he's not having any problems."

Of importance is Wang's improving slider, which Torre said has come a long way from his debut season in 2005. It made a great leap last year and has been a focal point of Wang's sessions in Spring Training, making him more likely to tap it from his arsenal in a tight spot during the regular season.

"If you have the pitches, the more comfort you have with them, the more likely you are to use them," Torre said.

Torre said that the team has not yet set any plans for the season opener, with Wang, Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina in the running for the assignment.

"We just want to make sure these guys get through their next start or two," Torre said. "The most important thing for me is that, any one of the three of them that you decide, the other two of them won't take exception."

Bobby swings: Bobby Abreu (strained right oblique) took 55 swings in an indoor cage at Legends Field on Friday, The Associated Press reported.

Torre said that he hadn't heard any updates from the Yankees' camp during their game in Kissimmee, Fla., which the manager took to be a good sign. No news is good news, he reasoned.

"All systems were go today," Torre said. "He had a pretty good look on his face this morning."

Without any further setbacks, Torre suggested that Abreu could make his Grapefruit League debut on Thursday at Sarasota against the Cincinnati Reds, the day following New York's lone off-day of the spring.

That would give Abreu 10 exhibition games to round into shape for his projected Opening Day assignment at Yankee Stadium, which Torre said was realistic. Abreu was injured while taking batting practice in Tampa on Feb. 26.

No liftoff: Roger Clemens kept his fastball and splitter in his back pocket on Friday, instead tossing lob batting practice to his children on Field 4 of the Astros' Spring Training complex.

Clemens also kept to himself and did not speak to reporters, 10 days after he made an appearance at Legends Field to watch good friend Pettitte pitch.

Torre said he did not intend to seek out Clemens for another informal chat, but said that he believed Clemens already knows whether or not he intends to pitch in 2007.

Clemens and his representatives have continually maintained that if Clemens decides to play this year, it would only be for the Yankees, Astros or Red Sox.

"Just knowing Roger the way I do, in the event he decides to play again, he's certainly going to be ready to do it," Torre said. "That's part of his lifestyle. ... I think Roger has it all figured out anyway."

Bernie a topic: In discussing the talents of outfielder Bronson Sardinha -- who is batting .345 this spring after an 0-for-4 collar Friday -- Torre couldn't help but mention Bernie Williams' name.

The 23-year-old Sardinha has made great strides after working with hitting coach Kevin Long last season at Triple-A Columbus, and Torre said he was one of the biggest surprises of camp.

That said, Torre would prefer a more veteran presence as a fifth outfielder, if the Yankees intended to carry one. That prompted the manager to bring up Williams, reiterating that "Bernie at least had a chance to be a part of this ballclub, coming off the bench."

Torre said that his two recruitment calls to Williams, urging him to consider accepting the Yankees' standing non-roster invitation to Spring Training, went unreturned. Torre said that he would be surprised if Williams latched on with another team in 2007, but also handicapped the 38-year-old outfielder's chances on reappearing with the Yankees.

"I think it would be a very, very long shot," Torre said. "Spring Training would have been important for him and for us, too, just to try to put things together."

This and that: Torre said right-hander Darrell Rasner will pitch in a Triple-A game on Saturday. ... Right-handers Chris Britton and Scott Proctor will pitch in Minor League games at the Himes Field complex on Saturday.

Coming up: The Yankees travel to Clearwater, Fla. to see the Phillies on Saturday, facing off at 1:05 p.m. ET. Pettitte is scheduled to start for New York, with left-hander Jamie Moyer going for Philadelphia.

Right-hander Carl Pavano is scheduled to pitch four innings after Pettitte pitches the first five, which will be Pavano's second time facing the Phillies in Clearwater this spring. Philadelphia plans to use left-hander Matt Smith, right-hander Geoff Geary and right-hander Ryan Madson in relief.