Andy Pettitte’s fractured left leg is healing well according to recent checkups, and he continues to throw with increased intensity off flat ground. Prior to this afternoon’s game, Joe Girardi said that the club hopes to get the veteran left-hander back on a mound this weekend so he can begin an aggressive rehab program that will have him ready in time for a potential postseason series.
“Whenever he does get on a mound, the process is probably going to have to be accelerated a little bit just because of the time frame,” said the skipper. The minor league regular season ends early next week, though Pettitte could make a few rehab starts during the Double-A postseason like he did in 2010. The absolute latest he could come off the DL while still getting making two regular season big league starts is September 29th, so one month from today. It’s starting to approach crunch time here.