NEW YORK (AP) _ Mike Mussina is set to rejoin the New York
Yankees' rotation Thursday in Texas.
Sidelined since April 11 by a strained left hamstring, Mussina
pitched a simulated game at Yankee Stadium on Friday before New
York played the Boston Red Sox. Forced indoors by wet weather, he
threw about 60 pitches and planned to work on fielding Saturday.
``Everything went as planned. I feel good and I'm looking
forward to tomorrow when I have a chance to do some of the things I
didn't do today because of the weather conditions," Mussina said
through Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo.
Yankees manager Joe Torre said his tentative plan is to have
Phil Hughes make his second major league start Tuesday and be
followed by Andy Pettitte and Mussina.
For now, Kei Igawa has been relegated to the bullpen to work on
his consistency, with pitching coach Ron Guidry given the task of
overseeing the Japanese left-hander. Igawa, 1-1 with a 7.84 ERA in
four starts, has struggled to throw breaking pitches for strikes.
``I think he'll get straightened out more in the 'pen working
with Gator than to think it's a magical situation, that he's going
to come out of the 'pen and find himself," Torre said. ``I think
he's going to have to work some side sessions."
Igawa was passed over for Saturday's start against Boston in
favor of Jeff Karstens. Igawa plans on studying video of his
mechanics from Japan in order to regain his form.
``I've been skipped over in Japan, too, so I was not surprised.
In Japan, if you're not doing well, they usually skip starting
pitchers," Igawa said through a translator, adding that he had to
work on the mental part of the game. ``I understand the Japanese
batter, how they bat, but I have a hard time with what major league
batters are thinking when I throw my pitches. I don't know how
they're going to react to my pitches."
Carl Pavano, out since April 9 because of forearm soreness,
threw on flat ground and is feeling better, according to Torre. The
next step would be for the oft-injured right-hander to throw off a
mound.
There is no timetable for Pavano's return, leaving Torre with a
rotation of Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Mussina, Hughes and
Karstens. While Hughes allowed four runs in 4 1-3 innings in losing
his debut to Toronto on Thursday, the Yankees thought he threw
well.
``When I took the ball from him, I said: `We'll see you out here
again,"' Torre said.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
