Gaudin to start Yankees' exhibition opener

TAMPA, Fla. - Joe Girardi has settled on his rotation for the first 11 exhibition games, and Chad Gaudin will get a chance to make the first impression. He'll start Wednesday's opener against the Pirates.

The identity of the first-game starter was the only question. Girardi said earlier in the week that CC Sabathia would start the second game, against Roy Halladay and the Phillies Thursday in Clearwater.

Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves, the other two long-shot candidates for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, will follow Gaudin to the mound Wednesday. The two primary candidates, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, will go Friday against Tampa Bay, with Hughes getting the start. A.J. Burnett's first game comes Saturday against the Blue Jays and Mitre will start Sunday against the Twins in Fort Myers. Andy Pettitte will stay back that day and throw a simulated game.

"That's an awful long trip, in a sense, to Minnesota,'' Girardi said of the trip to Fort Myers, which takes two to 21/2 hours. "Andy in the past has had some back issues, so we're just kind of protecting him. And that way we can split it between Sergio and Chad again.''

Javier Vazquez will pitch for the first time March 8 in a split-squad game against the Phillies. Aceves will start that day against the Pirates in Bradenton.

CC pushed back

While not comparable to what New York has dealt with in recent days, ugly weather - heavy rain and temperatures in the mid-40s - came through Tampa Saturday morning, pushing the majority of the workout indoors. Sabathia was supposed to throw his first live batting practice, but it was postponed until today.

Extra bases

Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte will throw their first bullpen sessions Monday. . . Chan Ho Park should be in camp by today. The Yankees will have to make a move on their 40-man roster to create room for him . . . First-base coach Mick Kelleher's mother died at 91 Saturday and he will tend to family matters in California until Tuesday.