New York Yankees: 10 Reasons Andy Pettitte Holds AL East’s Fate in His Hands
January 3, 2011 · Chris Sbalcio · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
When Andy Pettitte walked off the mound and headed towards the dugout after recording the final out of the seventh inning of Game 3 of the ALCS, he may have been wondering if he had just thrown the final pitch of his major league career.
If you’re a Yankees fan, you’re probably thinking something along the lines of, “He better not have!” or “No way! He’ll be back!” If you’re a Red Sox fan, then you’re probably just laughing happily while wearing your new Carl Crawford or Adrian Gonzalez jersey. If you’re a Rays fan, then you probably don’t care, seeing as there’s not really that much hope for your team this season.
Anyway, the Yankees went on to lose Game 3, 8-0, their offense completely stymied by the very same man that would go on to break their hearts this offseason, Cliff Lee. They would also lose Game 4, then win Game 5 before packing their bags and heading home following a loss in Game 6 of that ALCS versus the Texas Rangers.
Every Yankees fan then got his or her wish as Lee imploded in Games 1 and 5 of the 2010 World Series, the ultimate glory eluding him for the second time in as many years, as the San Francisco Giants celebrated atop the baseball summit, just as the 2009 Yankees had the year prior.
Yankees fans then smiled and thought to themselves, “There’s no way he blows next year’s World Series when he’s got our pinstriped Empire behind him.” After all, there wasn’t even a question of who would offer the now-free agent Lee the most lucrative contract this offseason when it was seemingly going to be a bidding war between the Rangers and Yankees.
The Yankees made their offer, by far the biggest, and waited for Lee’s decision.
As they waited, other free agents, such as Crawford, Jayson Werth, and others, disappeared, signed to massive contracts of their own.
Then Lee delivered his news.
He had chosen to sign with the …. Phillies? That’s right, he had spurned the Bombers, as well as the Rangers, and taken a shorter, lesser deal because he “liked it in Philly.” Well, he should be thankful he won’t be visiting Yankee Stadium at all during the regular season, and if the two teams do meet in October, he better tell his wife to stay home, because EVERYONE will be trying to spit on her this time.
What Lee’s long, dragged out rejection of the Yankees did for them was throw them into desperation mode for the 2011 season. As of right now, the Yankees’ rotation consists of CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, and … Ivan Nova? Great, an ace, a kid, Mr. Inconsistency, and another inexperienced kid. Wait, that’s only four? Oh, sorry … and an empty slot. As a Yankees fan, I think I speak for all of us when I say WE DON’T LIKE THAT!
A month ago, we all viewed Pettitte as a possible luxury that would make our rotation as incredible as, well, the current Philadelphia rotation. Now, he’s a necessity without which the Yankees will have quite a rough time this season. Pettitte is not going to sign with another team, that much is clear. He will either rejoin the Yankees or hang up the spikes forever. There’s no doubt that Pettitte still has more than enough gas in his tank to enable him to pitch well for the Yankees, but family is important to him, and he might choose them over baseball. However, there is also no doubt about what kind of an impact Pettitte’s decision will have on the entire outlook of the AL East. So, here they are, ten reasons the fate of the AL East, and maybe all of baseball, lies in the hands of Andy Pettitte.
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