Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Squawker Jon and I are thankful for all of our great readers. And I'm also thankful that my Texas Longhorns carved Texas A&M up like a holiday turkey last night. Hook 'em Horns!
One thing I was thankful for last year was Andy Pettitte returning to the Yankee fold. But this year, there is a troubling story that he might not be back as a Bomber. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that Pettitte has been talking to Joe Torre about becoming a Dodger.
Pettitte was my favorite Yankee of the dynasty era. But when he left for Houston after the 2003 season, I infamously proclaimed that he was dead to me. When he rejoined the Yanks for the 2007 season, Pettitte became undead to me, the first time I had ever removed anybody from my list! I brought out my Pettitte autographed photo, which had been in mothballs for three years, and restored it to a place of honor. And I bought a new #46 t-shirt in honor of him (my previous Andy shirt ended up in the trash after 2003.)
But Andy's in danger of becoming dead to me again, and his shirt entering the dumpster for the second time. If the Yanks make him an offer he does refuse, and he moves out to L.A. (or any other team, for that matter), he will be dead to me forever. And that autographed photo will be sleeping with the fishes.
Granted, it's possible the Yankees might pass on signing him again, in which case I can't blame Andy for going elsewhere. But if the Yanks do pursue Pettitte, he owes it to them to stay in pinstripes.
It's not just that he had such a lousy second half last year. And it's not just that he looks ridiculous in anything other than Yankee pinstripes (I still have nightmares about him wearing that horrid Houston uniform.)
It's that the Yanks stuck by Pettitte through the whole Mitchell Report debacle - the report, the testimony before Congress, and the spring training controversy. Remember when he spoke to the media last spring, and his Yankee teammates showed up at the press conference in a show of solidarity? Well, it's time for him to repay that loyalty, and return to the Yanks.
True, Pettitte is not the pitcher he once was. But I still want to see him as a Yankee. If that makes me a sentimental old fool, so be it!
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One other thing I am thankful for this year:
That A&E is sponsoring this terrific DVD giveaway contest to kick off our new blog location. Click here, or scroll down on the page, to read the details, and to enter the contest.
What do you think of Andy Pettitte? Tell us about it!
Lisa, hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving! I'm scratching my head over the slow start for this free agent market. It seems ages since the Yankees made their offer for Sabathia, and the longer this goes on, the more likely it seems that he ends up on the West coast somewhere. Worst case scenario for the Yankees would be that none of the big pitching free agents sign, leaving a rotation of Wang, Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy, and some fifth starter. I don't see that being very likely as currently the offers on the table are unreasonable for anyone (c'mon, Burnett for five years - not likely for the Yanks after Pavano and especially for any team after the disaster that Mike Hampton turned out to be), but it'll take some time for things to shake out financially. Given that, bringing Pettite back may not be too bad if he could be had at a bargain. His second half last year certainly didn't make a case for a high offer. (Granted, it's not as silly as Boras' demads for Varitek's services - the money that Posada got was after a season of career highs, not a stupendously crappy season!)
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ReplyDeleteNo true Yankee fan will ever forget Andy's contributions to this franchise (OK - not a lot of love for game 6, 2001 World Series), but he has now become BP Pettitte, or in other words "Batting-Practice-Pettitte" when he pitches. The Yankees need to move on and give Hughes or Kennedy or even Aceves a shot in the rotation. We don't need another "last year of David Cone" from Pettitte if we want to get to the playoffs. Let Pope Josephus sign him and give our best wishes.
ReplyDeleteThe yankees are slow-playing pettitte, which is an injustice to him. If he signs elsewhere, it'll be because yankee ownership took him for granted.
ReplyDeleteLove Andy P, yes he DOES need to stay in pinstripes :)
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