Archive for Andy Pettitte
Andy Pettitte and stolen base attempts
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Ah the pickoff. There’s nothing in baseball quite like it. When one of the good guys catches a runner napping and picks him off, there’s that rush of excitement that comes with stealing an out. At the same time, there’s almost nothing in the game more frustrating than watching one of your guys get picked off. I wanted to take a look at how often opponents were swiping bases (or tried to, anyway) against Yankee pitchers last year, but frankly the data was pretty boring and consistent with past seasons for everyone on the team who accumulated a usable sample of innings. Except for one guy, that is: Andy Pettitte.
In terms of stolen base attempts, Andy is a unique case. He’s a lefty, which has its own built-in advantage, and of course he has that great pickoff move. If you’re any kind of Yankee fan, you know that Pettitte’s move to first is world class, and if it’s not the best in the game, then it’s definitely in consideration for it. Pickoffs serve two purposes, the first obviously is trying to steal an out when a guy is napping. But throws to first also serve to hold runners close, muting the running game.
Unfortunately there’s no perfect way to measure a pitcher’s ability to hold runners … well, maybe there is and I’m just not aware of it. Anyway, because of this I’ll stick to the basics and look at how often opponents have attempted to steal bases off Andy throughout his career. We generally break stats down in terms of innings pitched for pitchers (K/9, BB/9, WHIP, etc); however, for this exercise I broke the data down using baserunners because all innings are not created equal. You can’t steal a base unless you first reach base, so looking at it any other way just wouldn’t make sense. The bigger the number the better, since that means more runners have to reach base before someone attempts to steal a bag. Here’s the raw data table (the second BR/SBA column is the league average, I forgot to label it), and the plot is below. Click to enlarge.
First off, elephant in the room, that 2000 season. I double checked the data, and for whatever reason baserunners just did not attempt to steal against Pettitte that season. Just eight (!!!) stolen base attempts by 303 baserunners in over 200 innings, and that includes the three guys he picked off. It wasn’t even one of Pettitte’s best years either. Yeah, he finished fourth in the Cy Young voting on the strength of 19 wins, but he had a 4.35 ERA (4.22 FIP) and a below average 1.56 K/BB ratio. Statistical outlier, I suppose.
As for the rest of the data, it passes the sniff test. Baserunners attempted to steal bases at a slightly lower than league average rate for the first four years of Pettitte’s career, and after that crazy 2000 spike they attempted to swipe bags at an even lower rate. Once Andy got to Houston (‘04-’06), it’s like they just stopped trying. We’re talking more than 20 baserunners for every one stolen base attempt. However, things changed once Pettitte returned to the Bronx.
Since coming back to the Yankees in 2007, opponents have been far more liberal on the bases against Pettitte than at any other time in his career. In fact, they’re the only three years of his 15-year career in which runners tried to steal bases at a rate higher than league average against the big lefty. The knee-jerk reaction is to blame the throwing and defensive deficiencies of Jorge Posada, but note that baserunners attempted steals at the highest rate of Pettitte’s career in 2008, when Posada was hurt and caught less than 25% of his innings.
I have no idea what is causing this, and I don’t have the tools to find out, either. It’s more than a matter of just looking at some numbers given the uniqueness of stolen bases and holding runners. Maybe after a dozen years in the bigs, the league finally caught on to Andy’s pickoff move and runners have learned when to pick their spots. Maybe it’s advancements in technology and scouting. Maybe it is Posada’s arm, who knows. For whatever reason, baserunners who reach base against Pettitte are trying to steal bases more often than ever before. Any theories?
Photo Credit: Kathy Willens, AP
The best fastball, curveball, slider, cutter, and changeup on the Yankees
Posted by: | CommentsOver the past couple of weeks we’ve started writing about the stats we use. One concept we saw in both current entries, UZR and wOBA, is linear weights. The idea might sound complex, but it is not. The idea is to assign a value to different outcomes and situations, so we can get a truer sense of how baseball players add value. During the 2009 season, FanGraphs introduced pitch type linear weights, which took the actual results of different pitch types, as provided by Baseball Info Solutions, and ran them through linear weight conversions by not only event, but by count. This gives us a decent idea of how a pitcher fared with his arsenal.
Let’s see how each of the Yankees fared. We’ll look at pitchers who spent a decent amount of time on the roster, 40 innings for relievers plus the starters. Then I’ll compare them to the league leaders, both for starters and relievers. These measurements will be on a per 100 pitch basis, as to put it in a rate form rather than counting form. Finally, for the secondary pitches I’ll weed out the short sample size numbers by noting only pitchers who threw the particular pitch at least 10 percent of the time.
Fastball
Starter: CC Sabathia, 0.64
Reliever: Phil Coke, 1.40
Some might be surprised to see Coke atop the list — some might even say it delegitimizes the stat. I believe it, though. It seemed that Coke got into major trouble when he overused his slider. We saw that first hand early in the season when the Twins, namely Morneau and Mauer, lit up Coke’s slider. He came back later in the series to face Morneau, and struck him out using just fastballs. It was certainly his most effective pitch, which probably explains why he had such spotty success. Relievers certainly need that second pitch. Also, for good measure, Phil Hughes’s fastball wasn’t far behind, at 1.22, and it rated higher on a counting basis.
What comes as no surprise is CC Sabathia’s fastball ranking highest among starters. A.J. Burnett is known for his blazing fastball and devastating curve, but in 2009 his fastball didn’t quite measure up. That leaves Joba, Sabathia, and Pettitte, and it’s pretty clear who had the best fastball among that group. Joba, in fact, had a pretty terrible fastball, ranking among the worst for AL starters.
AL leader, starter: Zack Greinke, 1.27
AL leader, reliever: Craig Breslow, 2.65
Credit: AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Slider
Starter: Joba Chamberlain, 1.29
Reliever: Phil Coke, -0.30
It seems Joba has good reason for loving his slider so much, as it appears a damn effective pitch. Overall it was worth 7.5 runs above average, an excellent mark, especially for a guy pitching his first full major league season. He kept shaking off Jorge Posada to get the three fingers, and he kept throwing it with effectiveness. If he can further harness the pitch this year and get his fastball back to 2008 levels, when it was at 0.79 runs above average per 100 pitches, he should have a wildly successful 2010 season.
As for Coke being the top reliever, that’s more a result of so few Yankee relievers using the pitch. David Robertson actually ranked highest, but he threw the pitch just 1.4 percent of the time, so we can discount the performance. Likewise, Burnett led among starters but threw the slider just 0.1 percent of the time. The Yankees bullpen, it appears, is more of a curveball/changeup crew.
AL leader, starter: Zack Greinke, 2.90
AL leader, reliever: Mike Wuertz, 2.75
Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Curve
Starter: A.J. Burnett, 1.47
Reliever: Al Aceves, 1.74
Though we saw it fall flat on a few occasions this season, Burnett clearly has the best curve on the team, and among the best in the league. His is a power curve, coming in something like a slider as it dips down and away from righties.
Aceves boasts a number of pitches in his arsenal, but none appears as effective as his curve. He’s a nice change of pace in the Yankees bullpen. While they have Robertson, Marte, and Hughes with strong fastballs, Aceves brings it down a tick, mixing high 80s heat with a slew of breaking and off-speed pitches that keep hitters guessing.
AL leader, starter: Tommy Hunter, 2.27
Al leader, reliever: Joakim Soria, 4.86
Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Change
Starter: CC Sabathia, 3.59
Reliever: Al Aceves, 3.10
Mike already wrote about CC’s changeup and how it devastates righties. So devastating, in fact, that it ranked best in league. Go CC. On the relief front, Aceves proves his versatility by not only ranking highest for curve, but also for changeup. He throws them with similar frequency, keeping hitters off-balance. Again, I love the change of pace he brings to the bullpen.
AL leader, starter: Sabathia
AL leader, reliever: Aceves
Credit: AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian
Cutter
Starter: Andy Pettitte, 2.50
Reliever: Mariano Rivera, 2.03
Neither of these comes as a surprise. Surprisingly, Hughes’s cutter ranked not far behind Mo’s on a rate basis, at 1.98, but clearly didn’t even approach it on a counting basis. Both of Hughes’s fastballs ranked well, with his curveball lagging behind. He probably needs to start throwing it more in 2010, though it appears he favors the four-seamer and cutter much more when pitching out of the bullpen.
Pettitte mixed his pitches well in 2009, going with healthy doses of four-seamers, cutters, curves, and changes. His cutter ranked the best, and his curve provided value as well. Those two pitches, I believe, help compensate for his four-seamer, which sits at 89 mph. Because he can go to the cutter and curve so frequently, he can keep hitters guessing, meaning they can’t jump as quickly on his four-seamer. His cutter, as you can see, ranked just below best in the league among AL starters.
AL leaders, starter: Scott Feldman and Jon Danks, 2.56
Al leader, reliever: Rivera (conveniently ignoring Lance Cormier’s slightly higher per-100-pitches mark, because Mo’s counting stat was far, far higher, and I’m biased and Mo is Mo)
Pettitte photo credit: AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Mo photo credit: AP Photo/David J. Phillip
By the Decade: The rise, fall and rise of pitching
Posted by: | CommentsWith 2010 upon us, it’s nearly time to wrap up our Yankees By the Decade retrospective on the aught-aughts. I’ll publish a summary of the series, but first, we have to tackle the Yankees’ starting pitchers.
For the Yankees, the 2000s was a tough decade of pitching. For the first four seasons, the Yanks thrived on pitching, and then, it all fell apart. After losing Andy Pettitte, David Wells and Roger Clemens following the 2003 season, the team struggled through some sub-par pitching performances from 2004-2008. Only last season with the arrival of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett did the Yanks’ pitching again bring the team a World Series win.
As the decade’s dust settled, the final Yankee starting pitcher tally reached 62. Nine players made just one start for the Bombers, and another seven drew the ball for two starts only. We’ll get to them later. Below is the table of all Yankee starters who made 10 or more starts as well as their overall numbers. Due to the limitations of David Pinto’s Day-by-Day Database and the Baseball-Reference Play Index, I couldn’t break out these pitchers’ starters-only numbers in any reasonable amount of time.
| Player | GS | G | W | L | IP | H | BB | SO | CG | SHO | ERA | ERA+ | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Mussina | 248 | 249 | 123 | 72 | 1553 | 1565 | 318 | 1278 | 12 | 8 | 3.88 | 114 | 166 |
| Andy Pettitte | 217 | 219 | 111 | 63 | 1362.1 | 1478 | 403 | 1013 | 9 | 2 | 4.10 | 110 | 113 |
| Roger Clemens | 144 | 145 | 69 | 32 | 915.1 | 859 | 308 | 851 | 2 | 1 | 3.88 | 117 | 96 |
| Chien-Ming Wang | 104 | 109 | 55 | 26 | 670.2 | 701 | 197 | 310 | 4 | 1 | 4.16 | 107 | 41 |
| Orlando Hernandez | 82 | 85 | 32 | 27 | 521 | 480 | 165 | 415 | 3 | 0 | 4.13 | 111 | 79 |
| Randy Johnson | 67 | 67 | 34 | 19 | 430.2 | 401 | 107 | 383 | 6 | 0 | 4.37 | 100 | 60 |
| David Wells | 61 | 62 | 34 | 14 | 419.1 | 452 | 65 | 238 | 6 | 2 | 3.95 | 112 | 45 |
| Joba Chamberlain | 43 | 93 | 15 | 9 | 281.2 | 266 | 121 | 285 | 0 | 0 | 3.61 | 121 | 27 |
| Jaret Wright | 40 | 43 | 16 | 12 | 204 | 238 | 89 | 118 | 0 | 0 | 4.99 | 89 | 18 |
| Kevin Brown | 35 | 35 | 14 | 13 | 205.1 | 239 | 54 | 133 | 0 | 0 | 4.95 | 89 | 19 |
| C.C. Sabathia | 34 | 34 | 19 | 8 | 230 | 197 | 67 | 197 | 2 | 1 | 3.37 | 127 | 18 |
| A.J. Burnett | 33 | 33 | 13 | 9 | 207 | 193 | 97 | 195 | 1 | 0 | 4.04 | 106 | 25 |
| Javier Vazquez | 32 | 32 | 14 | 10 | 198 | 195 | 60 | 150 | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 92 | 33 |
| Ted Lilly | 32 | 49 | 8 | 12 | 205.1 | 191 | 80 | 182 | 2 | 1 | 4.65 | 96 | 31 |
| Jeff Weaver | 32 | 47 | 12 | 12 | 237.1 | 292 | 62 | 150 | 0 | 0 | 5.35 | 82 | 28 |
| David Cone | 29 | 30 | 4 | 14 | 155 | 192 | 82 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 6.91 | 70 | 25 |
| Darrell Rasner | 29 | 36 | 9 | 14 | 158.1 | 182 | 52 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 5.06 | 88 | 20 |
| Philip Hughes | 28 | 72 | 13 | 10 | 192.2 | 175 | 72 | 177 | 0 | 0 | 4.20 | 105 | 19 |
| Jose Contreras | 27 | 36 | 15 | 7 | 166.2 | 145 | 72 | 154 | 0 | 0 | 4.64 | 96 | 26 |
| Jon Lieber | 27 | 27 | 14 | 8 | 176.2 | 216 | 18 | 102 | 0 | 0 | 4.33 | 104 | 20 |
| Carl Pavano | 26 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 145.2 | 182 | 30 | 75 | 1 | 1 | 5.00 | 86 | 23 |
| Shawn Chacon | 23 | 31 | 12 | 6 | 142 | 143 | 66 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 4.69 | 93 | 18 |
| Sidney Ponson | 18 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 96.1 | 125 | 39 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 6.63 | 67 | 14 |
| Denny Neagle | 15 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 91.1 | 99 | 31 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 5.81 | 83 | 16 |
| Kei Igawa | 13 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 71.2 | 89 | 37 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 6.66 | 68 | 15 |
| Ian Kennedy | 12 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 59.2 | 63 | 37 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 6.03 | 74 | 6 |
| Aaron Small | 12 | 26 | 10 | 3 | 103.2 | 113 | 36 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 4.60 | 94 | 13 |
| Sterling Hitchcock | 12 | 57 | 6 | 9 | 140.1 | 181 | 51 | 95 | 1 | 0 | 5.84 | 76 | 15 |
| Randy Keisler | 11 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 61.1 | 68 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 7.19 | 63 | 13 |
| Ramiro Mendoza | 11 | 133 | 23 | 12 | 259 | 259 | 59 | 162 | 1 | 1 | 3.82 | 119 | 27 |
| Al Leiter | 10 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 62.1 | 66 | 38 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 5.49 | 77 | 4 |
The bottom of this chart is a scary sight indeed. Al Leiter, Randy Keisler, Kei Igawa, Shawn Chacon, Sidney Ponson, Carl Pavano, Denny Neagle, Darrell Rasner and Jeff Weaver all made enough starts to give me nightmares today. The ninth and tenth slots — Jaret Wright and Kevin Brown — are illustrative of why the Yanks suffered through five years of postseason futility.
To find the true stars of the decade, we have to look at the top of the list. For a few years, Chien-Ming Wang was as good as it gets for the Yanks. Now he’s a non-tendered free agent trying to come back from shoulder surgery and a bad foot injury. El Duque and David Wells were both stand-out starters during their peak years, but the two made just 82 and 61 starts respectively this decade. Roger Clemens made 144 starts, and while his 117 ERA+ as a Yankee leads the list of those we’re considering, his total output doesn’t match that of those who lead the list.
And so we are left with two candidates for pitcher of the decade. Do we give the award to Andy Pettitte or to Mike Mussina? On the one hand, Pettitte won two World Series with the Yanks and gave us a 2009 to remember. Mike Mussina, through no fault of his own, captured zero World Series titles. On sentimentality and rings, Pettitte has the upper hand.
But numerically, can Andy take the cake? Outside of pick-offs — 36 for Pettitte against two for Moose — Mike’s numbers are seemingly better across the board. He has an ERA edge of 0.28 runs and leads in the ERA+ race 114-110. He struck out 7.41 per 9 IP while Andy K’d just 6.69 per 9 innings. His 4.02 K/BB ratio is better than Pettitte’s 2.51 figure by a significant amount. Mussina gave up nearly 0.25 more home runs per 9 innings than Andy, and Pettitte’s .638 winning percentage is slightly higher than Mussina’s .631 mark. Wins, though, aren’t exactly the best metric of pitching success.
So in the end, I’m left with a choice. Does Mike Mussina win on the strength of his 2001, 2003 and 2008 seasons as well as his relief appearance in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS? Does Andy Pettitte carry the decade on his World Series prowess and bulldog mentality? I might give the slight edge to Pettitte while recognizing that Mussina in his prime was a better pitcher, but it wouldn’t be wrong to do otherwise. As the new decade dawns, CC Sabathia and perhaps a young hurler named Joba or Phil could inherit this mantle. For now, the two old bulldogs can fight it out.
After the jump, a complete list of all who made nine starts or fewer for the Yankees this decade. Read More→
Yanks, Pettitte agree on one year, $11.75M deal
Posted by: | CommentsIn an entirely unsurprising move, the Yankees and Andy Pettitte agreed today on a one year contract to bring the lefty back to Bronx. After earning a $5.5M base salary and another $5M in incentives last year, Pettitte gets $11.75M guaranteed in 2010, with no incentives.
“Andy is unique in that he’s only interested in playing for one team,” said agent Randy Hendricks. “It limits what I normally do, but that’s Andy.”
The 37-year-old southpaw was on the mound when the Yankees clinched the AL East, the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series in 2009. He fell just short of his fifth consecutive 200+ IP season, finishing at 194.2. For the first time in three years, Pettitte allowed fewer hits than innings pitched, and he’ll presumably slot into the third spot in the rotation.
Following yesterday’s pickup of Curtis Granderson, the Yanks have about $182M committed to just 12 players in 2010. Most of the bullpen and bench will be made up of guys making close to minimum, so it’s more like $187M for 22 or 23 guys. The payroll is expected to be between $190-200M next year, meaning they have roughly $10M to figure out leftfield, designated hitter, and possibly another pitcher.
Signing Pettitte makes the off-season clearer
Posted by: | CommentsWhile I’m out at the Winter Meetings, I’m doing some work for the YES Network. It won’t be breaking any stories — as I overheard from a journalist this morning, “Ken Rosenthal and Buster Olney break all our stories.” –but it’s something. Andy Pettitte is atop the Yanks’ ledger, and I explain why he’s the logical place to start.
Updated: Did Pettitte reject Yanks’ first offer?
Posted by: | CommentsUpdate (11:54 a.m.): Despite earlier reports to the contrary, Mark Feinsand says that the Yankees have not yet made an offer to Andy Pettitte. Indications are that the team will make him a one-year offer some time today in excess of the $10.5 million he earned in 2009. “They don’t intend to low-ball him,” Feinsand’s industry source said.
Update (7:22am): Buster Olney says that Pettitte has decided to pitch in 2010, and of course his preference is the boys in the Bronx.
7:12am: Via Joel Sherman, Andy Pettitte has rejected the Yanks’ first offer, a one year deal believed to be worth about $10M. He’s the only player the Yanks have made an offer to since the end of the World Series. Sherman basically says the deal will get done at some point, and the Yankees believe Pettitte wants to return next year. After incentives, Pettitte pulled in about $10.5M in 2009, though it’s not clear if this new proposal contained any such escalators. He’s certainly earned a raise over his $5.5M base salary. Sherman also mentions that the Yanks have told the Blue Jays to stay in touch about Roy Halladay, though no proposals have been made.
Rumor du jour: Yanks interested in various agent starters
Posted by: | CommentsVia MLBTR, the Yankees have expressed interest in some free agent starters. Like a whole lot of them. John Lackey, Rich Harden, Joel Pineiro, and maybe even Randy Wolf too. Of course, their first priority is retaining Andy Pettitte, and surely they’re stay in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes until the bitter end. The point is, the Yankees are clearly on the prowl for someone to shore up the middle of the rotation.
I’m not a fan of Lackey given his recent elbow issues and presumed exorbitant contract demands, and both Pineiro and Wolf should be nothing more than last resort options for the Yanks given their complete inability to miss bats in recent years. Harden’s a fine candidate as long as he comes on a short (one or two year) contract. That said, I’d rather have Ben Sheets on a one or two year deal than any of them.
Yanks order of operations starts with Pettitte
Posted by: | CommentsThis isn’t too much of a surprise, but as word gets out about the Yanks’ off-season plans, the team is going to focus first on Andy Pettitte. According to a Mark Feinsand report, “getting Andy Pettitte back in the fold” is “the team’s first order of business” this winter. After securing Pettitte’s services, the Yanks will turn their attention to Johnny Damon and the left field vacancy. Hideki Matsui, meanwhile, seems to be the odd free agent out.
As far as strategies go, this is a sound one. If Damon heads elsewhere, he won’t sign until after Jason Bay and Matt Holliday have their deals. The Yanks have some calendar leeway in that regard. By focusing on Pettitte first, the team will know what pitcher cards they hold heading into 2010. If Andy opts to go home, the Bombers brass can turn its attention to John Lackey, Roy Halladay or a plethora of other pitchers. If Andy sticks around the Bronx for another season, the team doesn’t have to worry about securing a mid-rotation starter in a market low on good pitching.
Where I disagree with this approach though is in the hunt for a designated hitter. Numerous comments by team officials over the last few days suggest that Joe Girardi will use a rotating DH to rest his regulars. Thus, a utility player will have to be in the lineup everyday. Unless the Yanks sign a versatile Mark DeRosa-type who can also hit, their offensive production, as I explored last month, will suffer. Still the winter is young, and there are still many, many moves to make.
Arbitration decisions will foretell off-season plans
Posted by: | CommentsAt certain points in the off-season we learn something definitive about a team’s plans. A week and a half ago teams had to protect players not on their 40-man rosters from the Rule 5 draft. We learned then that the Yankees valued certain players. Today the Yankees must decide whether to offer arbitration to their three compensation-eligible free agents: Johnny Damon, Andy Pettitte, and Xavier Nady. We’ll soon learn what they’re thinking in regards to those players, and perhaps the whole market.
The Yankees surprised many last winter when they declined to offer arbitration to any of their free agents. This meant that they would not collect any draft picks when Bobby Abreu, a Type A free agent, signed with another team. From the Yankees perspective, however, it meant that they had no obligations to these players. Abreu and Pettitte both earned $16 million in 2008, and that would have essentially added $32 million to the 2009 payroll. They decided those funds would be better used towards contracts for CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett (and later, Mark Teixeira).
Pettitte and Damon this year are different than Abreu and Pettitte last year. After his incentives, Pettitte earned around $10 million this season. The Yankees could offer him arbitration and work with that as a starting point, rather than $16 million. Unlike Abreu, it appears the Yankees would like Damon to return, or are at least considering the option. There’s a far greater chance they’ll offer him arbitration than it was for Abreu, whom they didn’t want back in the first place.
By offering Damon arbitration, the Yankees are accepting that he’ll accept. That wouldn’t be a completely bad thing, as it gives him and the team a couple of options for a 2010 contract. They could work out a one- or two-year deal, or they could go to an arbitration hearing. If they choose the latter, they’d end up with one year of Johnny Damon for, say, $15 million. It’s not ideal, but it’s not terrible for a one-year solution.
Scott Boras does not advise his players to accept arbitration under most circumstances. If Damon declines, the Yankees get a first round or second round draft pick if he signs elsewhere. That reward might not be worth the risk of offering arbitration to a player you don’t want back, but if the Yankees want Damon back it’s probably worth it. With Boras, chances are he declines anyway.
All winter we speculate about what a team might do. Today we get to find out something that they actually do. It’s one of the cooler parts of the off-season. The Yankees will reveal to us a little of what they think when they announce their decisions later this afternoon. The talk about Halladay and Holliday is fun and all, but this is the Yankees actually doing something.
What do we think the Yankees will decide? Mike and I weigh in on the RAB Radio Show later today. You can check back at 3:30, or have it automatically sent to iTunes or your RSS reader.
Waiting for Andy, again
Posted by: | CommentsYankee fans know the waiting game. We’ve played it before with Andy Pettitte, and we’ll play it again. This year, though, there is seemingly some urgency to it as Pettitte’s decision could impact how the team plots its off-season.
Last year, the Yankees were content to wait for Andy Pettitte. They had bigger fish to fry, and after landing both CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, Brian Cashman knew he had the upper hand in negotiations with Pettitte. Although Andy had expressed his desires to return to the Bronx or retire, the Yankees weren’t going to overpay initially. The witnessed Pettitte suffer through an injury-plagued second half in 2008 and gave him a $5.5 million guaranteed salary with innings options.
In the end, Pettitte made over $10 million in 2009, and everyone was happy. He made 32 starts; he threw 194.2 innings; he went 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA; and he won the game that clinched the AL East, the game that clinched the ALDS, the game that clinched the ALCS and the game that clinched the World Series. For a member of old Yankee guard, it was quite the superfecta.
After the World Series, Andy Pettitte again said he was unsure of his future plans. Speaking on the David Letterman show, he talked about his desires to spend time with his family and children as they grow up. He turns 38 next year, and his oldest son recently celebrated his 15th birthday. No one, obviously, is getting any younger.
But Pettitte isn’t ready to make up his mind, and the Yankees, says Mark Feinsand, do not expect a quick decision. Yankee manager Joe Girardi has talked to Pettitte about 2010, but the left-hander has yet to announce his intentions. “I’m sure he’ll take his normal amount of time,” Girardi said. “I don’t ever ask guys right away. I think you need time to get away, to talk to your family. I think you need a good month, then you can make your decision.”
Brian Cashman will touch base with Pettitte soon, but the Yankees may not have the luxury of waiting “a good month” or more. Last year, Pettitte did not sign with the Yanks until January 26, just three weeks prior to the start of Spring Training, and this time around, he will have to come to terms with his future sooner than that.
The problem, as the Yanks know, comes about if Pettitte decides to stay home next year. With Pettitte, the Yankees have three veterans to anchor the front of the rotation and two rookies as well as numerous other options for the final two spots. Without Pettitte, the Yanks’ pitching staff looks awfully thin. CC and A.J. would hold down the fort, but the Yanks would be relying on Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and, well, take your pick. Thus, Pettitte must give the Yanks an answer sooner rather than later so the Yankees know if they have to go after a bona fide pitcher via trade or free agency.
I would be quite happy welcoming Pettitte back to the fold. He said his arm felt great this year, and as the season wore on, he learned to rely on his command and the movement on his cutter and slider rather than on his diminishing velocity. If his elbow and shoulder can hold up, I expect more of the same from him in 2010. Without him, we’ll hear more about John Lackey and Roy Halladay, and as the Hot Stove League warms up, the Yankees will need to solidify their plans and their future with or without Andy Pettitte.
