Sabathia to undergo knee surgery Friday

SAN FRANCISCO - CC Sabathia will undergo arthroscopic surgery Friday to repair a small meniscus tear in his right knee, the Yankees announced Wednesday, but the procedure isn't expected to impact the lefthander's preparation for spring training.

Sabathia, who has said he typically takes a little more than a month off before throwing after a given season ends anyway, is expected to be able to begin his regular routine 3-6 weeks after the surgery.

The procedure will be performed by team physician Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Sabathia underwent a similar surgery on Sept. 29, 2006, when he was with the Indians and was fine by spring training. He was even better in the regular season, winning the 2007 AL Cy Young Award.

Sabathia, a strong candidate to win his second Cy Young after going 21-7 with a 3.18 ERA in the regular season, didn't have the same success in the postseason.

Though Sabathia, who logged 2372/3 regular-season innings, won two of his three starts, he had a 5.63 ERA and walked seven.

The lefthander was the star of the rotation in the Yankees' run to the 2009 World Series title, going 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in five postseason starts, with two of them coming on short rest.

Girardi deal today? There was no announcement on a new contract for manager Joe Girardi - talks continued Wednesday - but one could come as soon as Thursday . . . As general manager Brian Cashman indicated Monday, the Yankees declined to exercise the options on Lance Berkman ($15 million), Nick Johnson ($5.5 million) and Kerry Wood ($11 million). Of the three, Wood is the one the Yankees would be most interested in bringing back but his option, and the fact he'll likely land a closer's job elsewhere, was prohibitive. Berkman got a $2-million buyout and Johnson got $250,000. The Yankees did exercise their option on pitcher Andrew Brackman, who had a standout second half of the season for Double-A Trenton.