YANKEE NOTES
Mike Mussina said he feels good enough to pitch tomorrow night, but he still has some reservations.
“We’ve done some nice things, and I just don’t want to mess it up,” Mussina said before last night’s 12-9 victory over Baltimore.
After a final bullpen on Monday, Mussina said his right elbow tendinitis was “much better; it’s not even close” from when he went down on Aug. 29.
He didn’t feel any discomfort while throwing, and his command was better even though he only threw at 60 to 70 percent. Still, there was uncertainty in his voice.
“When you come back and you haven’t pitched in a while, you’re not sure how it’s going to go,” he acknowledged. “No rehabs, no chance to get back up to 100 pitches.
“I’m going from not throwing to pitching.”
Mussina will be on a pitch count of about 80 pitches in the series finale against Baltimore.
“This is as good as we could’ve hoped for up until this point,” he said.
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If Mussina and Jaret Wright come back healthy, the Yankees will have six starters down the stretch.
Joe Torre indicated Shawn Chacon would pitch Friday versus Toronto, and Wright would pitch Saturday if he recovers from an injured elbow.
Torre seemed like he didn’t want to use six starters for the rest of the season, but he’ll consult pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre.
“I don’t know that answer,” he said. “I wish to hell I did.
“Because, first off, we want Randy [Johnson] to pitch every five days. So if you use six starters, somebody is going to wind up with seven days somewhere.”
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Yankee pitchers took batting practice before last night’s game to stay sharp in the event of a deep playoff run.
Jason Giambi went 1-for-4 and is now in a 3-for-22 skid. The Yankees are a season-best 24 games over .500.
Aaron Small, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, is the fourth Yankee to begin his career with nine straight wins. Nick Cullop (1916) Whitey Ford (1950) and Tommy John (1979) are the others.
Gary Sheffield’s 10th career grand slam was the sixth by a Yankee in 2005.