I think they want Betances to start the year in the minors, and I can't blame them for that. He's still young, and finally managed to stay healthy last season. I'd rather see Nova than Garcia, too, but I think the only way Nova doesn't get the shot is if Garcia outpitches him in ST and Pettitte comes back. And if that does happen, then it's not a bad thing for the Yanks. You know there's no such thing as too much pitching depth. I'm not expecting him to win the Cy Young or anything, but it's not a horrible addition, either. It's a minor league deal. He's been a solid - if recently oft injured - pitcher for most of his career. Here's the way I look at it: Is he likely to be a better starting option than Mitre? If so, then it's a good deal.
Again, Garcia put up very viable 5th starter numbers in a park similar to Yankee Stadium last year. Amazing some Mutts fans have any comment on it when their free-agent all-stars include Tim Byrdak and Chris Capuano.
Andy Pettitte will announce his retirement tomorrow, according to Michael Kay of 1050 ESPN radio in New York (on Twitter).
I don't believe you Andy. I think come late July you will be getting bored as fuck and a little antsy watching a pennant race and if the Yankees are close you will want back in. Either way it just needs to be April right now. Regular season hockey/ basketball just doesn't cut it and the NFL is a deadzone until the draft. And fuck this fucking weather.
That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is that - despite last season's performance - it shouldn't theoretically be that difficult to reproduce the production of a 39 year old Pettitte. He was very good last season, sure... but let's not also forget that he only started 21 games due to injury, and was going to be another year older. I don't think it's fair to expect him to reproduce last season's numbers. I mean, yeah, I wish he was coming back, too, but I don't think this is what makes or breaks the season.
You're right, but he isn't just a batch of statistics as you well know, there are certain intangibles associated with having a veteran pitcher in the rotation. A multiple World Series winning one no less. Now with Pettite gone, what will our rotation most likely look like at the start of the season?
For those who are missing Andy's retirement presser: -Andy said his body is ready to pitch, but his heart isn't looking to anymore. -And has said he knows he would need to do more than just pitch every fifth day for this team, and can't do that. -Andy said Clemens trail this summer has/had no effect on his decision. Oh, and Bernie Williams strolled in late :rofl: .
"OH MY GOOODNESS GRACIOUS! Andy Pettite is sitting in the owners box! He's coming back! Derek Jeter is smirking. He knew all along! Goodness gracious, Andy's a Yankee again!"
Okay, but the beneficial intangible qualities of a "veteran" pitcher are likely outweighed by the much more tangible negative qualities of a pitcher who is waaaay on the wrong side of thirty. I'm not saying Pettitte would've sucked this year. Or that he's not a good pitcher. But if I want him in the rotation, it's because he is capable of getting batters out. It's not because he "knows how to win." Josh Beckett supposedly "knows how to win" while "playing the game the right way" and yadda yadda yadda. He sucked last year. Besides, aren't Sabathia, Burnett, and Garcia veterans? Isn't one of the problems with the Yankees in general that they're getting a bit too veteran-y between A-Rod and Rivera and Jeter and Posada and all the other 30-year-old-plus players? CC > Hughes > Burnett > Garcia > Nova is my bet. Not ideal, but I'll take it. I'm more curious to see what happens if/when someone goes down with an injury or is ineffective. Will Banuelos/Brackman/Betances get a shot? Or will they seriously go to Colon?
Cashman is going to tap into his inner-Tanny and get us King Felix before the trade deadline! nah...probably not....
JeffFletcherAOL Eric Chavez signs with #Yankees, gets minor-league deal and invite (per @YankeesWFAN) #athletics
