Pettitte says he's feeling better after Friday's setback

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Though frustrated, Andy Pettitte found one positive from the setback he suffered with his strained left groin Friday in Tampa.

"I feel like my strength and stuff in there is good today which, again I'm not a doctor, but I would think that if I hurt it yesterday or I aggravated something yesterday, I would feel terrible today, and I don't," Pettitte said before last night's game. "I feel really good."

Pettitte rejoined the team Saturday, flying to Kansas City from Tampa, where his simulated game didn't go well. "Immediately, I didn't feel like I could push off," Pettitte said. "If I tried to push off too, too hard, I felt like it was saying, don't do that."

Pettitte was evaluated by trainer Gene Monahan and will be re-evaluated when the team gets back to New York.

Joe Girardi said Pettitte, on the disabled list since July 20, will play catch Tuesday and he said a return to the rotation is probably at least two weeks away. The original prognosis was for Pettitte to miss 4-5 weeks.

"The frustrating part is I felt I was ahead of schedule and then I get on the mound and my groin, when I started to push off, said, you're not ahead of schedule," he said.

Pettitte's simulated game was supposed to take place Thursday but was pushed back because of tightness in his hip flexor, which has not bothered him since.

"They think maybe I pushed it too hard for the four days I was in New York," Pettitte said. "I was doing an awful lot of running and threw the two bullpens."

Girardi said it's time for the lefthander to take a break.

"We're going to have him take it easy for a couple days," Girardi said. "Just to make sure that he's all right."

A-Rod in DH spot

Alex Rodriguez got the start at designated hitter last night, something that will happen more frequently down the stretch, Girardi said.

"We need to do it or he's not going to be productive and we're going to wear him down," Girardi said. "Last year, he got worn down a little bit and we just can't afford to do it."

The move paid immediate dividends. A-Rod led off the sixth last night with a home run to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead, then added a two-run shot in the seventh to make it 6-3. He hit his third homer, a two-run shot, in the ninth.

Girardi also said Derek Jeter, hitting .353 with a .411 on-base percentage this month, will get some rest and probably DH soon.

Extra bases

RHP Alfredo Aceves (back) pitched two perfect innings Friday for Double-A Trenton, his second rehab appearance. Girardi said he'll make a third appearance Tuesday and, should that go well, "we'll make an evaluation." . . . LHP Damaso Marte (left shoulder inflammation) will throw a half-mound session Sunday, a first since he went on the DL on July 17.