Comments on: Pettitte’s back and an incentive-laden deal

By: Yanks homer their way to series victory | River Avenue Blues

Yanks homer their way to series victory | River Avenue Blues — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:00:45 +0000

[...] decision from a team standpoint. Clearly, that’s not what Andy wants to do. He’s got innings-based incentives in his contract. Combined with considerable pride, and you have a guy who is going to insist on [...]

By: Jaysun

Jaysun — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:59:33 +0000

Looks like the Case Tonight against the Rangers, asshole allowed 4 runs and 6 walks

By: LateInningRelief

LateInningRelief — Sun, 31 May 2009 18:36:27 +0000

You’re right. Wang’s a big boy. This will blow over & be long forgotten when Wang rebounds. But why kicck a guy when he’s down? That’s the question.

By: Benjamin Kabak

Benjamin Kabak — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:41:32 +0000

Organized baseball’s origins are in business, plan and simple. To think otherwise is to glorify nostalgia. I doubt Wang’s loyalty to the Yanks was lost because of one throwaway sentence from Cashman.

By: fred

fred — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:38:34 +0000

I only agree that “Cashman took a needlessly harsh tone with Wang on a matter where there was no reason for him to do so.”. Baseball origrins for fun, now a big business. Cashman’s words made it too much politics as well as lost Wang’s loyalty to Yankees.

By: LateInningRelief

LateInningRelief — Sun, 31 May 2009 13:42:47 +0000

It’s not an analogy, but an interesting parallel. And it has nothing to do with starter v reliever, but rather the way two different pitchers are being treated by the organization. On the one hand, Cashman took a needlessly harsh tone with Wang on a matter where there was no reason for him to do so. On the other hand, the team appears to be letting Pettitte decide whether he’ll make his next start, which it probably shouldn’t, for the reasons I outlined above.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 31 May 2009 03:57:24 +0000

Here’s the problem, even if Pettitte is not thinking about the money, he might be concerned about ulterior motives from the yankees management to limit his innings. Say the doctors truly think there is a problem but Pettitte might suspect that they just want him to miss his incentives. This could cause unnecessary tension in the organization.

By: Some call me...tim

Some call me...tim — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:14:47 +0000

I would love to see the roster in flux for a week…push andy back two starts instead of skipping his next. Throw Wang in against the weakest pitcher of the next three or four, then we get to see Wang rock or get rocked, give Andy a couple days, and finish up a 37 game win streak.

Anybody know of any blogs or sites that talk more about MLB or NYY sportsmedicine? I’d love to learn more about their treatment.

By: chriso

chriso — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:05:09 +0000

I wouldn’t get too worked about this “injury,” just yet.
Pettitte’s back tightened up on him. He had a spasm. That’s usually not a very serious thing at all.
It doesn’t mean he’s got a disc problem, or that he’s going to need time on the DL. If he had a significant injury, he certainly wouldn’t have been riding a bicycle today, because he’d have been too uncomfortable.
So let’s chill.
And the talk about the money seems kind of silly to me. Sure, a million bucks is a ton of dough to most people. But Pettitte already has many millions. I really don’t think he’d risk throwing it all away for another million. After all, if he winds up pitching for the rest of the season like he has, thus far, he’s going to throw 185-200 innings, win 14-16 games with an ERA at better than league average, have an opportunity to win another World Series, and get rewarded with another $10mil in 2010.

By: steve (different one)

steve (different one) — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:46:00 +0000

i agree with your point, BUT…there is also an argument that by not shutting it down last year, Pettitte was risking the entire rest of his career, however long that may be.

so, while he was “pitching for a contract”, he was also risking the prospect of never seeing another dime.