Daily Archives: April 27, 2012

March 16th, 2012 seems like decades ago. Out of absolutely nowhere, Andy Pettitte un-retired and signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Yankees. The saying “you can’t have enough pitching” applied nicely to the deal, as the Yankees already had six formidable starters fighting for five spots. And come on, it’s Andy Pettitte – how could the Yanks say no?

Well here we are, amazingly nearly a month into the season, and surprise! Things aren’t working out as planned. Michael Pineda is done for the year with a torn labrum in one of the most catastrophic starts to a Yankee career to date. CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova have pitched well, but not up to their capability. Hiroki Kuroda is throwing either gems or getting knocked out before the 5th inning. But most importantly, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia have been absolutely terrible, posting a 7.88 and 9.75 ERA respectively.

Fans have been calling for their heads, as have I, but hold up – the Yankees aren’t in trouble quite yet. They’re the Bronx Bombers, and the offense has clearly carried them directly to this good start in 2012. But eventually, when good hitters meet struggling pitchers, things can and will get messy.

And heres’ where the irony kicks in – suddenly, we are relying on Andy Pettitte once again to be our savior and carry this pitching staff. Where have we heard that before?

In all seriousness, Pettitte will be a very important piece to the Yanks’ puzzle now. However, he is turning 40 and hasn’t pitched in a year and a half. Now I do think he can pitch close to what he was before, but not totally. And even that may not be enough to get the Yankees to where they want to be – in City Hall receiving their 28th Championship rings.

Right now with the current rotation, I’d have to say the Yanks have a decent shot at making the playoffs. But to go far and win the World Series, they’ll need all they can get out of Andy Pettitte, as well as Hughes and Garcia to step it up big time.

Though it’s pretty much May and I’m pulling my hair out as I watch Phil and Freddy continuously get smacked around, I’m not panicking. But in the end, these two starters won’t get the Yankees anywhere come October. So here’s to Andy coming back soon and pitching like he never left, because without this insurance policy, the Yanks would be in serious trouble right now.