Pettitte has "a good day'' throwing off mound

After throwing a bullpen session off a full mound before Friday night's game, Andy Pettitte said he still feels ahead of schedule. "This was a good step," he said after throwing what he estimated was 35 to 40 pitches. "This was a good day."

Pettitte, 38, who threw off a half-mound last Saturday, said he feels his left groin strain, which landed him on the disabled list July 20, only when he runs at full sprint. He said nothing he does on the mound has bothered him in some time. "I'm not feeling it at all, in any of my work," he said. "And the day before yesterday, I was able to lift my legs with a little bit of weight for the first time . . . I'm now trying to build my strength back up in there and the stamina."

Pettitte said he "was a little cautious" Friday with the first 20 pitches he threw, so the next step - although he'd like to go straight to a rehab start - logically would be a bullpen session in which he doesn't hold back.

"My next bullpen, if I throw another, and I think I probably should, I probably need to push off every pitch," he said. "I think I need to throw a good, hard one probably and really find out where I'm at for sure."

If the Yankees go in that direction, a rehab appearance likely would follow. Although Pettitte said last weekend that he felt "about a week" ahead of schedule, his return still looks as if it will fall within the original prognosis of four to five weeks.

Extra bases

Jorge Posada didn't start Friday, though Joe Girardi said it wasn't because his left knee, which acted up in Cleveland, or anything else was bothering him. Francisco Cervelli, who caught Javier Vazquez's previous 15 starts after Posada caught the righthander's first five, caught Friday and Lance Berkman was the DH. "We've caught Jorgie three out of five days and that's what I'll continue to do," Girardi said. "And with Lance's arrival, he's going to DH a lot."

If Alfredo Aceves gets through his scheduled bullpen session Saturday, he'll make a rehab appearance Tuesday for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.