Pettitte ready to take mound at Fenway

BOSTON - The stomach butterflies are no longer there, but Andy Pettitte still can't tame the restlessness that surfaces on the eve of every first start to a season.

After a trying spring training in which his schedule was disrupted consistently by rain, the Yankees veteran is anxious to get his 16th season under way with a strong performance against the Red Sox Wednesday.

"Good or bad, however I start out the season, it's not going to be because of spring training," said Pettitte, who gave up seven hits, a walk and no runs on 78 pitches over 41/3 innings Friday - his longest outing of the spring. "It's a matter of if I'm making my pitches, and if I'm controlling myself out there and getting the ball where I need to get it."

Doing so is easier said than done, of course, when facing the Red Sox - and Pettitte knows it.

"They're patient, they work you. Even when you make a good pitch, it's nothing for them guys to foul off a couple of good pitches in an at-bat," he said. "The pitch that I throw and I'm like, 'That's a ground ball,' or 'That's a strikeout,' they just foul it off. And it's like, 'All right, now where do I go?' because that was supposed to be my pitch. Stuff like that makes it tough to go through this lineup."

Heading into his tuneup on Friday, Pettitte had pitched only a combined five innings and thrown 63 pitches in "real" games. But it appears that today's forecast of balmy weather will finally work in his favor.

Pitching coach Dave Eiland said he's confident the 37-year-old lefty will be on his game despite Pettitte's lack of "live" opportunities.

"He's been throwing the ball well all spring," Eiland said. "It's been coming out of his hand real well so we feel good about where he's at right now. I expect Andy to pitch well and pitch to the mid-to-late innings of the game."

Pettitte, who was 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA last season, said he has no concerns about his stamina and is ready to put spring training behind him.

"I petered out a little bit in my last start there [in Tampa], probably toward my last 10 pitches or so," he said. "Hopefully we'll keep the pitch count down and not be in too much trouble where I have to use too many pitches early in the game. It is what it is and I'm ready to pitch. I'm looking forward to getting that first start and getting it behind you."

He's also looking forward to pitching in front of the Fenway fans.

"When you walk out of that dugout and the fans start booing, just the energy of this ballpark, it always makes it a little bit more entertaining for us than other places," he said. "It's always a little bit of a playoff feel even though it's just our second or third game of the season. There's just a lot of energy in this ballpark when you play the Red Sox."