Posts Tagged ‘Andy Pettitte’

The Yankees are the World Series champions for the 27th time in their storied history and there’s no better time to take a look at the upcoming offseason than the day after the season ended. As the team vies for title number 28, all signs point toward Joe Girardi changing his uniform number from 27 to 28 (Yankees don’t want to stay at #27 for long) for 2010 as that’s the next goal of this franchise.

The last time the Yankees came off a World Series championship they made minor adjustments. The biggest move they made between 2000 and 2001 was the free agent signing of Mike Mussina. The Yankees won’t make a big splash in this year’s free agency because there are no major superstars in this year’s free agent class (led by Matt Holliday) and there’s not many placed the Yankees can upgrade (they are the champs for a reason).

The Yankees will start in-house with three guys that could hit the free agent market. They need to make a decision on what to do with 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, catalyst Johnny Damon, and gritty veteran pitcher Andy Pettitte. It doesn’t seem likely the Yankees will bring back both Damon and Matsui. Damon can still run and play the field but Matsui is a pure hitter and will always hit no matter how bad his knees are. Both players have said they would like to return to the Yankees. If they aren’t retained, retirement is not on the minds of Damon or Matsui. The fact that the Yankees have some aging stars under contract would lead you to believe the Yankees are less inclined to retain Matsui as their DH. As for Pettitte, it would make sense for the Yankees to bring him back in 2010 after the season he had in 2009. The question is whether Pettitte wants to come back. He could ride off into retirement as a winner with five rings if he decides his career is over.

Th next order of business, which we may already know the answer to, is what to do with Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. It is almost certain they will both start the season as starters but if the Yankees land a veteran starting pitcher, one of them, more likely Hughes, could land back in the bullpen. This is an unlikely circumstance and expect to see both players preparing to be starters in 2010.

The Yankees went hard after free agents CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira last offseason because they knew this year’s free agent class didn’t have many marquee, superstar names. The Bombers can never be counted out during free agency but they won’t be signing three top tier free agents like last year. A middle ground starting pitcher could be somewhere to look at, as well as a corner outfielder.

The 2010 Yankees team will look similar to the 2009 World Series champion team.

The Yankees 2009 season started with a trip to the pool hall on an afternoon during spring training. It ended with a World Series championship. The new Yankee Stadium’s inaugural season started with a Boston fan named Gino Castignoli burying a Red Sox jersey under the structure. It ended with champagne and the Commissoner’s Trophy. The 2009 season started with an A-Rod press conference and ended with A-Rod coming up clutch in big postseason at-bats. February was a long, long time ago.

The Yankees needed everyone to win the championship. Not everyone had Hideki Matsui numbers in the World Series but it took a complete team effort to get to October and get through the ALDS and ALCS. Phil Hughes had a tough postseason but was a big reason why the Yankees had such a strong regular season. Robinson Cano didn’t have many hits in the postseason but batted .320 in the regular season.Then there’s Damaso Marte who had an injury plagued regular season and became Girardi’s go-to-guy with outstanding pitching in the postseason.

There’s also the guys that are consistent; The “Core Four”. Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte were good all season and their postseason experience shined in 2009. Rivera was the only closer in the postseason not to blow a save. Pettitte was the starter in each of the Yankees three series clinching games. Posada came back from an injury riddled 2008 season and led the pitching staff and clubhouse. Jeter was Jeter. What else can be said about the Yankees captain.

On to the newcomers. Sabathia, Burnett, Teixeira, Swisher. The Yankees don’t make it to the World Series without acquiring these guys. Sabathia was incredible in the postseason. He went 3-1 in five starts with a 1.98 ERA in the postseason. Teixeira led the AL in home runs during the regular season with 39. He also had two big postseason home runs. Remember back to the first month of the season and Nick Swisher kept the Yankees going when A-Rod was out with injury and the bats were as cold as the April and May weather.

Finally, A-Rod. He was clutch. Nobody can say he chokes in October anymore. He put his critics to rest. He batted over .360 in the postseason with six home runs and 18 RBI. A-Rod was a big reason why the Yankees won number 27.

The Yankees broke in the original Yankee Stadium with a World Series championship in 1923. In 2009, the Yankees broke in the new Yankee Stadium with a World Series championship.

The Yankees have two chances to win the World Series in the Bronx starting with game six Wednesday night. Andy Pettitte takes the mound for the Yankees on three days rest against long-time Bronx nemesis Pedro Martinez. The Yankees have played seven home games this postseason and have lost only once. That was game one of the World Series. In game two of the World Series, facing Pedro, the Yankees got an outstanding pitching performance by AJ Burnett and beat the Phillies 3-1. In game three, Pettitte gave up four runs on five hits in six innings but gave up two solo home runs to Jason Werth.

Where does the momentum lay heading into game six? Do the Phillies have it after holding off a Yankees late inning rally and hitting the ball hard in game five? Do the Yankees have it now that they’ll be playing in front of their home crowd and have the postseason’s all-time winningest pitcher on the mound for game six followed by CC Sabathia in game seven if necessary?

The advantage has to be for the Yankees. Obviously the Yankees need just one more win and the Phillies need to win both games at Yankees Stadium. The starting pitchers in games six and seven favor the Yankees. So does the fact that they’re playing at home. Pedro pitching on four days rest compares to Pettitte pitching on three days rest because Pedro has been pitching over long layovers. Sabathia has to be heavily favored over anybody the Phillies put out there in game seven. The Yankees lineup goes back to full strength having a DH at home Posada behind the plate.

The nerves of Yankees fans have never been the same after 2004. They’ll never take any series lead for granted. Fans can’t help but be a little nervous about Pettitte pitching on short rest after he told some players he didn’t have much left in the tank game three. The Pettitte-Pedro matchup should be a good one but not a pitchers duel.

Cliff Lee and Chase Utley combined to beat the Yankees in game one of the World Series. They were back at it again in game five. Utley hit his fourth and fifth home runs of the series, tying him with Reggie Jackson for most all-time in a World Series. Lee had another impressive performance against the Yankees although they got to him in the 8th inning. Lee’s line doesn’t exactly show how well he pitched. He gave up five runs on seven hits.

Yankees’ starter AJ Burnett pitched two plus innings and was blasted. He gave up six runs and four walks. The 6-1 Phillies lead after three innings was too much for the Yankees to overcome and the bullpen couldn’t hold the Phillies down either.

New York hitters didn’t put on their best display against Lee until the 8th inning when A-Rod knocked him out with a two-run double off the glove of a diving Raul Ibanez. The Yankees weren’t able to put their best offensive team out there with the pitcher batting and Jose Molina catching for Burnett. The Yankees lineup will be at full strength, minus the injured Melky Carbera, in game six at home but they’ll most likely rely on Andy Pettitte to pitch on three days rest.

The Yankees tried to put together a comeback in the 9th but the Phillies weren’t having it. With runners on the corners and no outs, Jeter grounded into a double play that killed the rally. Damon singled with two outs, giving Teixeira a shot to tie it or at least get A-Rod to the plate but he struck out to end the game.

We go back to the Bronx for game six with the Yankees leading 3-2 in the series.

Veteran Andy Pettitte knows how much money the Yankees spent on two starting pitchers this past offseason. He knows he’s not a young hurler anymore and that his career is winding down. He also knows how to grind out starts and give it his all when it’s his turn to start. He’s not the Yankees ace anymore but he had another gutsy postseason performance in game three. Pettitte ran into trouble in the first and second innings but he stayed composed and earned his all-time record 17th postseason win. If this is Pettitte’s last stint with the Yankees and in the big leagues he is not leaving anything on the table. Pettitte has now had four gritty performances this postseason and you can bet if he starts another game that he’ll do it again.

The momentum has shifted in the Yankees favor during the last two games after Cliff Lee dazzled the Yanks in game one. After the Yankees tied the series with a huge outing by AJ Burnett, the Yankees won game three in Philadelphia by a score of 8-5 behind some big home runs and a gutsy pitching performance by Andy Pettitte.

Yankee bats awoke from their slumps as A-Rod, Damon and Swisher all came up with big hits. Even Andy Pettitte helped his own cause with an RBI single. A-Rod hit a two-run homer to get the Yankees on the board after they were down 0-3. The original call on A-Rod’s home run was a double but replay clearly showed the ball hitting a camera that was over the fence. The umpires reviewed the play and made the right call. Pettitte’s single tied the game and Damon had a two-run double that put the Yankees up 5-3. Swisher, who went 2-4 in the game, hit a solo home run that gave the Yanks a 6-3 lead. Posada had an RBI single in the 7th and Hideki Matsui, coming off the bench as a pinch hitter, hit a solo home run in the 8th in his only at-bat. The Phillies added to their three runs with two solo home runs in the late innings.

The Yankees are feeling good heading into game four. They have their ace on the mound and a 2-1 game advantage in the series. It was only a matter of time before their bats woke up. They still have some guys struggling like Cano and Melky. This series isn’t over by any means but the Yankees have things set up and the advantage going into game four.

Neither team has confirmed their starters throughout the entire series but here are the probable starters. Game one starters have been confirmed by both teams.

Game 1 Wed, Oct 28. Cliff Lee @ CC Sabathia (Phillies won 6-1)
Game 2 Thurs, Oct 29. Pedro Martinez @ AJ Burnett (Yankees won 3-1)
Game 3 Sat, Oct 31. Andy Pettitte @ Cole Hamels

The Yankees will most like go with just three starting pitchers in the World Series.

The rest of the series could look something like this:

Game 4 Sun, Nov 1. CC Sabathia @ Joe Blanton
Game 5 Mon, Nov 2. AJ Burnett @ Cliff Lee
Game 6 Wed, Nov 4. Pedro Martinez @ Andy Pettitte
Game 7* Thurs, Nov 5. Cole Hamels @ CC Sabathia

* if necessary

The Yankees are heading back to the World Series and they have the all-time postseason wins leader on their team. Andy Pettitte earned the win in the game six clincher and got his 16th career postseason win, good for first all-time. Pettitte broke a tie with John Smoltz, who has 15 career postseason wins.

The Yankees need one more win over the Angels to get into the World Series for the 40th time and the first time since 2003. Andy Pettitte needs one more win to take sole possession of all-time postseason wins, which he is currently tied with John Smoltz for first place on the list. Both can be accomplished tonight as the Yankees host the Angels in game six of the ALCS.

The Yankees didn’t want it to come to a game on Sunday, which would have meant they lost game six and the series came down to a winner-take-all game seven. Instead, game six has been moved to Sunday, since it was rained out Saturday night and pushed back a day. Game seven would be Monday night, if necessary.

The Yankees have relied on some big name free agent acquisitions this postseason but game six is on the shoulders of one of the longest tenured Yankees, even with a three year stint with the Astros, Andy Pettitte. Pettitte didn’t get a decision in his game three start when he gave up three runs in 6.1 innings, including two home runs. The Angels went on to win that game 5-4 in 11 innings.

Pettitte should give the Yankees a strong outing and the Yankees’ bats need to string together some hits. When Pettitte pitched in game three, the Yankees hit four solo home runs.