Pettitte feels great after second bullpen session

CHICAGO - It was another good day in the bullpen for Andy Pettitte Sunday, but the lefthander said two more weeks is about the quickest he can return to the rotation.

"That sounds about right as long as we don't have any setbacks," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Sunday morning. "That's realistic."

The intent of Pettitte's 35-pitch bullpen session was to duplicate the intensity of Friday's session. But it turned out to be more intense, Pettitte said, a significant step forward.

"I went out there planning on it being kind of nice and easy like I did the other day, and it ended up being a little more intense and it felt really good," Pettitte said. "It was good today. I felt really good today."

Pettitte, who figures to throw another bullpen session Tuesday or Wednesday, said the last 20 pitches he threw closely approximated a regular bullpen session he'd throw between starts.

"I really didn't try and force it," said Pettitte, who originally strained his left groin July 18. "It's just after I spun a couple curveballs and I sat back on my back leg like I do [on that pitch] and it felt good, it gave me the confidence to feel pretty good with going a little bit harder."

Because he hasn't been able to run the way he usually does, Pettitte joked, "I feel like I've put on five pounds." But the most important part of him feels strong.

"It bounced back quick," Pettitte said of his arm after Friday's session. "I don't know how my stamina's going to feel, but my arm felt great today. If I'm trying to grade it, I'd say my arm felt like a nine today."

Girardi said that when Pettitte is ready to return, the Yankees could build him up in the big leagues - have a start last 75 or 80 pitches, for example - instead of the minors, because those seasons are coming to an end. "There may not be any minor-league games in two weeks," Girardi said. "So the only game in town might be here, in a big-league park."

Tex sits

Mark Teixeira, who left Saturday's game after the second inning with a bruised right thumb, was a late scratch Sunday after being in Girardi's original lineup. "It didn't feel good," Teixeira said. "We just figured it would be best to let it rest and hope for the best [Monday]."

Teixeira said the thumb didn't feel "dramatically" better than it did the day before but said he isn't worried about the injury keeping him out long term.

"I'm definitely day-to-day," he said. "Hopefully, tomorrow I wake up and it feels really good."

Berkman to return soon

The way Marcus Thames has been hitting, the Yankees haven't missed Lance Berkman (sprained right ankle), who ran before yesterday's game and will report to Double-A Trenton Monday to start a two-game rehab stint.

"It's been feeling really good for a while," said Berkman, who expects to be activated Wednesday.

Extra bases

Girardi said Alex Rodriguez (strained left calf) plans to take batting practice Monday . . . From Aug. 2 of last year through Saturday's victory, CC Sabathia has gone 30-7 with a 2.85 ERA. That includes 2009 postseason numbers of 3-1 and a 1.98 ERA.