Rejoice for in this holiday season the prodigal lefty has returned. The Yankees have resigned lefty starter Andy Pettitte to a 1 year, $16 million deal. This also includes a player option for 2008. This rights a wrong that ruined the holiday season for Yankees fans three winters ago. This move is the highlight of the Yankees offseason.
The finances of the contract alone make it a smart deal. General managers across baseball have gone wild this offseason, giving five year deals to mediocrities such as Gary Matthews Jr. and Gil Meche. The $16 million salary that Andy will make is not that crazy in this market. A team like the Yankees can afford it without a problem. The big part of this deal is that it will tie the team down for at most two years. It promotes flexibility. If Andy’s blows out his elbow in 2007, the Yanks will not be on the hook for a long time the way they almost were with Jason Giambi before he regained his stroke in 2005. This helps to minimize any risk with the lefty’s balky elbow.
Said elbow has to be something of a concern. He did miss a substantial part of the 2004 season. That body part played into New York’s decision not to aggressively pursue Andy following the 2003 season. Despite all of this, with the benefit of hindsight few think letting Pettitte get away was good for the Yankees. He made 32 starts in 2005 and posted a 2.39 ERA. In 2006 he got off to a very slow start, but bounced back in the second half with a 2.80 ERA after the All-Star break. The man can still pitch well, and the elbow hasn’t stopped him from doing so over the past two seasons. Yes, these numbers were in the National League, but Andy has certainly proven that he can handle pitching in the American League East.
Pettitte is also a proven commodity in New York. A lot of pitchers don’t have the stomach to handle the pressure of pitching in front of the bright lights. Andy Pettitte does. Some pitchers shy away from taking the ball in big games. Andy Pettitte wants to be on the mound when everything is on the line. It is where he feels at home. The big games that Andy has delivered in the past are too numerous to count. Over the past few seasons, the Yanks have had short Octobers because their pitching has faltered. Starters let pressure get to them. Andy Pettitte does not have a perfect postseason track record. He has had some atrocious outings. However, he can be trusted to come through. If he doesn’t, it is because he get beaten, not because he succumbs to the pressure.
Andy’s presence also increases the possibility that another former Yankees starter will return to the Bronx, Roger Clemens. Roger likely will return at midseason 2007 under a similar arrangement to the one he had in 2006. The bidding will probably boil down to the Yankees and the Astros. Boston probably would be out unless Theo Epstein fires up his money-printing machine one more time. However, there really isn’t much in Beantown for Roger aside from being forced to view his friend Pettitte as an enemy. The Yanks now will be able to both offer the most money and the opportunity to pitch again with his best friend. This might make up for the perks that Houston can give him being close to home and not forcing him to travel.
Andy Pettitte’s clubhouse presence will also be valuable to this team. He is another piece of the dynasty days. He was brought up in an atmosphere where winning was all that mattered. No individual accomplishments were relevant. That thinking has eroded in recent seasons. Andy at least brings back a piece of that atmosphere conducive to winning. It will be a good influence to younger players in the clubhouse, some of whom he might take under his wing and bring into the workout regimen he learned from Clemens.
Andy Pettitte never should have been an Astro. The Yankees had every chance to lock him up before he hit the market in 2003. They did not make him a priority. New York failed to negotiate with him during a brilliant season. The Yanks didn’t contact him when they had an exclusive negotiation window in the offseason. When he asked the team for a 4 year, $52 million deal, the Yankees countered with 3 years, $39 million. Only the first 2 years and $26 million were guaranteed. That’s less guaranteed money than the Astros gave him. All of this came for a man who erased three different 1-0 postseason deficits for the team in 2003 with big performances in Game 2’s. All of this came for a man who pitched his heart out in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series, losing 2-0 to Josh Beckett because his vaunted offense disappeared. All of this came for a man who had pitched countless big games for the team, including a 1-0 win over Cy Young winner John Smoltz in the pivotal game of the 1996 World Series, which launched a dynasty. Instead, the Yanks made a malcontent like Gary Sheffield a priority over a homegrown hero. Three years later, the Yanks have realized their mistake. The biggest irony is that had the Yankees given Andy the deal he wanted, he’d be under contract in 2006 for $12 million instead of $16 million. Talk about a mistake.
The Yankees get more than a pitcher in Andy Pettitte. They get a man of integrity, one who is not solely motivated by money. Sure, finances played some role in his decision. However, he offered the Astros a hometown discount in both 2003 and 2006 because he wanted to be near his kids. He turned down a 4 year, $54 million offer in 2003 from Boston because he felt that he could never betray his fans and teammates like that. He reportedly turned down a 4 year, $66 million deal from Baltimore right before resigning with the Yanks because there were two places that he loved pitching, and he was going to be in one of them.
A great Yankee has returned to pinstripes to end his career. Aaron Guiel will have to give up number 46. The Donovan Osborne’s and Alan Embree’s of the world are gone. The rightful owner of the jersey is back. It gives the Yankees a much better chance to return to their accustomed spot as World Champions in 2007.
