Pettitte Retires
Michael Kay announced that Andy Pettitte is deciding to retire. According to Jack Curry, he is going to meet with team officials today and make it formal. Ken Rosenthal says that a formal announcement will come Friday. Obviously, this is not a shock at this point, Pettitte has been sending signals that he didn't want to pitch in 2011 for most of the offseason.
It's a blow to the 2011 Yankees, but not as big as some people think. Pettitte was held to only 21 starts in 2010 and while they were very good starts, his ERA was the lowest it had been since 2005 when he was with Houston. Considering his age (39) and track record, it seems probable that Pettitte would have probably given them around 150 innings with an ERA over 4.
But, his retirement leaves a very big question mark in the rotation. The Yankees have plenty of candidates who could fill his spot, but no one they can count on to produce the 150 innings with an ERA around 4 that Pettitte would have. Perhaps a Brackman, Banuelos or Phelps steps up, but we won't know the answer to that for awhile. The key for the Yankees is to stay in contention until July, they can then make adjustments from there.
Comments
Watching him at his peak was as much fun as watching Mussina in his good years - and on a par with Mo. They throw stuff that looks so easy to hit but ... nada.
The guy deserves his "easy" retirement, I wish him well.
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
February 3, 2011 01:14 PM
|
Peter, how can you say it seems probable that he'd post a 5+ ERA? He was 1.72 below that last year and has never had an ERA 5 or over.
Sounds a bit like sour grapes to me.
Posted by: Andy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
February 3, 2011 10:35 PM
|
Meant to say 4, but thanks for the kind words.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
February 4, 2011 12:00 AM
|
Well 4 is a bit different that 5. That I can agree with. Even a 4 to mid 4 ERA for a pitcher with the Yankees line-up is good.
Personally, I'd try to find a lefty (or more) from the scrap heap and see what he can do. A Bruce Chen would have bene interesting (I think he signed elsewhere).
Posted by: Andy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
February 4, 2011 04:23 PM
|