Pettitte to return for 2008

[26 Reasons to Hate Us]

Dec. 3, 2007, 7:39AM
Pettitte to play for Yankees in '08
Agent confirms veteran's decision to choose Bronx over retirement


By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

NASHVILLE – Andy Pettitte, who contemplated retirement this winter, has told his good friends, a few former Astros teammates and some current Yankees teammates that he will return to the Bronx for the 2008 season.

Through people close to Pettitte, the Chronicle has learned that the veteran lefthander has told family members and teammates that he has decided to return to the Yankees in 2008.

Last month Pettitte declined his $16 million player option for 2008 because he wasn't ready to commit to another season. But Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner told Pettitte they would wait for him until February, if necessary, so he could take his time to make a decision.

That wait is over, and the Yankees have been informed of the decision by Pettitte’s agent, Randy Hendricks.

When reached by telephone this morning, Hendricks, who was in route to Nashville for the start of baseball’s winter meetings today, confirmed that he has advised the Yankees that Pettitte will play for them in 2008.

“Many teammates have called urging Andy to return as well as manager Joe Girardi,” Hendricks said. “It’s well known that the Yankees have publicly stated that they were ready for Andy when Andy was ready.”

Pettitte, who was 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA in 2007, played the first nine years of his career with the Yankees, winning four World Series titles while becoming the all-time leader in postseason victories by a lefthander. After those nine years in the Bronx, he played three seasons with his hometown Astros from 2004 through 2006, helping the Astros reach the World Series for the first time in franchise history in 2005.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5347088.html

[jacksonianmarch]

this is HUGE

[das11209]

Sucks - he is the only guy I feared last year in the Yankee rotation.

On the otherhand - Hank might just stick to his stupid deadline now that don't really need Santana that much.

[He Hate Me]

Originally Posted by das11209

Sucks - he is the only guy I feared last year in the Yankee rotation.

On the otherhand - Hank might just stick to his stupid deadline now that don't really need Santana that much.

I'm hoping so. Santana would be awesome but at this point, I think the Yanks need to just move on to Bedard (assu,ing the Os trade him within the division) or Haren, who were comparable with Santana the last ocuple of years (Bedard at least). This Santana thing has gotten to the point where you almost have to move Melky now.

[Mr Crunchy]

petitte will give them an inning eater but his days of being feared left long ago,about the same time they ordered george the felon to wear the hockey helmet 24/7.
i can almost remember the day and time it happened
it was a late october saturday nite in 2003

the reality is petitte is a solid starter
if they pay him 16M theyre out of their fucking minds but he is a guy who can help them for sure

[He Hate Me]

Originally Posted by Mr Crunchy

petitte will give them an inning eater but his days of being feared left long ago,about the same time they ordered george the felon to wear the hockey helmet 24/7.
i can almost remember the day and time it happened
it was a late october saturday nite in 2003

the reality is petitte is a solid starter
if they pay him 16M theyre out of their fucking minds but he is a guy who can help them for sure

our genius FO is paying ARod 100M more than any other team was going to offer him. Would you really be surprised if we don't sign Andy for 3 years $45M?

[Mr Crunchy]

no and based on what theyve paid out hes a bargain.
they paid carl pavano 40M,moved on jarret wright and gave kei igawa similar money.
i dont think they need to do that to get petitte in the bronx
2/28? with playoff incentives?
i dont know
i do know they'll give him and his thieving cunting agents whatever they ask for

[jacksonianmarch]

Couple things that get totally overlooked on pettitte...

He threw 17 games with 6 or more IP and 2 or less runs last yr, exactly half his starts. Of those, he won 10 of them, getting either a loss or a ND in 7 of those games. With a team like the Yankees, that is incredibly unlucky. AND, he had a terrible 2 start stretch that totally skewed his numbers. The games were on July 1st and 6th, which totalled 6.2IP and 15ER. Without just those 2 starts, his season ERA drops by half a run. Add in the fact that he was absolutely money down the stretch (11-3 post AS break) when we were still climbing back into the race, and you have a clutch pitcher who was still one of the better pitchers in the game last season. If he had any stroke of luck with our offense, he might have had an outside shot at 200IP.

But what he offers us is a proven playoff pitcher. The guy is dynamite when it matters and he showed it again last yr vs the Indians with his 6+IP shutout performance. Do I think he still has 3 or 4 yrs left in him? Not at that level, but having him around for 1-2 more seasons should be absolutely beneficial. This has the added benefit of adding 200IP to the staff and subtracting the need for Mussina to be in the rotation. As much as you may want to demean Pettitte Sr. Crunchy, this is a big move for us and one that has a stabilizing effect on a tumultuous pitching staff. With Pettitte back, we can technically "take the hit" of not getting Santana. We'd still have 2 guys at the top of the rotation who together should combine for approx 35-40 wins and over 400IP. Thus taking the heat off the kids and making their transition much smoother.

[TheKilo]

Good move for the Yanks (begrudgingly admit this).

But is this some kind of joke?

Originally Posted by He Hate Me

I'm hoping so. Santana would be awesome but at this point, I think the Yanks need to just move on to Bedard (assu,ing the Os trade him within the division) or Haren, who were comparable with Santana the last ocuple of years (Bedard at least). This Santana thing has gotten to the point where you almost have to move Melky now.

a. What makes you think Bedard and Haren can be had for less than the package offered for Santana? If anything, it will cost the Yankees more to get them.

b. Saying Bedard and Haren are comparable to Santana really is laughable at best.

[He Hate Me]

Originally Posted by TheKilo

Good move for the Yanks (begrudgingly admit this).

But is this some kind of joke?



a. What makes you think Bedard and Haren can be had for less than the package offered for Santana? If anything, it will cost the Yankees more to get them.

b. Saying Bedard and Haren are comparable to Santana really is laughable at best.

a. what point did I say that they can be had for less? I said it's time to move on.

b. Dan Haren and Bedard were both at one point or another faves for the CY Young race this year. I'd say that's comparable.

[TheKilo]

Originally Posted by He Hate Me

a. what point did I say that they can be had for less? I said it's time to move on.

Logic.

If the Yanks won't give up the big prospects for Santana, what makes you think they'll do so for lesser pitchers?

b. Dan Haren and Bedard were both at one point or another faves for the CY Young race this year. I'd say that's comparable.

[He Hate Me]

Originally Posted by TheKilo

Logic.

If the Yanks won't give up the big prospects for Santana, what makes you think they'll do so for lesser pitchers?

maybe I think that there's just some people in the wolrd that you can't do business with. maybe I meant that the Twins are just using the Yanks to make a play for the Sox prospects. maybe I simply meant it's time to move on to someone else. If the Twins don't think Hughes + Cabrera wows them maybe the Os do or the As do. Anywayz, thanks for the "logic"

As for the second point. they're comparable players. Johan is better but not to the point where he's Superman compared to Joe Schmo.

[yankees228]

Originally Posted by He Hate Me

maybe I think that there's just some people in the wolrd that you can't do business with. maybe I meant that the Twins are just using the Yanks to make a play for the Sox prospects. maybe I simply meant it's time to move on to someone else. If the Twins don't think Hughes + Cabrera wows them maybe the Os do or the As do. Anywayz, thanks for the "logic"

As for the second point. they're comparable players. Johan is better but not to the point where he's Superman compared to Joe Schmo.

If you think the Twins are making it difficult, then I suggest you do not even bother with Dan Haren.

[TheKilo]

Originally Posted by yankees228

If you think the Twins are making it difficult, then I suggest you do not even bother with Dan Haren.

Or McPhail/Angelos

[He Hate Me]

Originally Posted by TheKilo

Or McPhail/Angelos

ugh forgot about Angelos.