Yankees starters Mussina, Pavano go on disabled list

 

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano joined fellow Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang on the disabled list Sunday, further depleting New York’s already taxed pitching staff.
“Nobody wants that,” Mussina said after cutting short his throwing session because of pain in his injured left hamstring. “We don’t have a choice. You just find a way to get through it and deal with it. It’s unfortunate. … Nobody’s having surgery. A couple of muscle pulls, a strain, we’ll be fine.”
After a pair of extra-inning games Friday and Saturday against Oakland, the Yankees called up right-hander Chris Britton from Triple-A Scranton to give them a fresh arm in the bullpen for Sunday’s series finale against the reigning AL West champion Athletics.
New York manager Joe Torre said the club was discussing a couple of possibilities to take Pavano’s turn in the rotation Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. Left-hander Chase Wright was thought to be the leading candidate to be called up from the minors.
“It’s OK,” Torre said. “We’re above water. That’s the main thing. We’re holding our own. We’re going to get healthy. It’s not anything that’s going to debilitate anybody for a long time. We have to hang around.”
Pavano was scratched Friday from his scheduled start Saturday with tightness in his forearm, while Mussina has a strained hamstring that he injured three batters into the third inning Wednesday in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Mussina tried to throw off the mound Sunday morning but stopped after only seven pitches. Pavano didn’t throw his scheduled bullpen.
Mussina was able to do some light running and play catch.
“I can do everything else, it’s just getting down the hill trying to stop myself,” he said. “It was wearing down. It hasn’t been four days yet. I’m not disappointed.”
Pavano felt the problem in his pitching arm during his start Monday night and informed the Yankees afterward. He threw seven innings in an 8-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday, giving up six hits and two runs for his first victory since May 22, 2005.
He knows pushing it now might make things worse.
“It’s not something that’s going to get any better going out there and trying to be a hero,” Pavano said. “To take a step back like this is disappointing. It’s the right thing to do.”
The 38-year-old Mussina, who won 15 games last year for his most victories since getting 17 in 2003, isn’t sure whether he will need a rehab start before rejoining the rotation.
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes,” said Mussina, who will be able to throw on flat ground during his DL stint.