CC Sabathia says he’s pitching Friday

Although Manager Joe Girardi remains cautiously optimistic about CC Sabathia returning to the New York Yankeesrotation this week, the pitcher insisted he would be starting next weekend in Cleveland.

“I’m pitching on Friday,” Sabathia said after a bullpen session.

Reminded that Girardi had not committed to that date, the left-hander repeated, “I’m pitching on Friday.”

Sabathia, who reluctantly was put on the disabled list Aug. 9 because of elbow inflammation, threw 23 pitches in the bullpen session and declared himself healed. He will throw 38 pitches in Tuesday’s bullpen session and be re-evaluated.

“It felt good to be able to go out and even just play catch the last couple days and feel really good, and be able to throw some pitches and not feel [anything] back there,” Sabathia said, adding that he had been doing “a lot of stretching and a lot of treatment during the games and at home, so the range of motion has gotten better.”

Sabathia is 12-3 with a 3.56 earned-run average in 20 starts. The All-Star has won 17 games or more and pitched at least 230 innings each season since 2007.

Rockies’ Carlos Gonzalez is put on bereavement list

Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was put on the bereavement list by the Colorado Rockies because of the the death of his grandfather in Venezuela.

Gonzalez will be eligible to rejoin the team in New York on Tuesday. The maximum time allowed on the bereavement list is seven days.

Gonzalez, selected for his first National League All-Star team this year, is hitting .320 with 20 home runs and 79 runs batted in.

The Rockies recalled outfielder Charlie Blackmon from triple-A Colorado Springs to take Gonzalez’s spot on the active roster.

Blackmon hit .303 with five home runs and 34 RBIs in 59 games in triple A.