His Dog Days are Over

Word on the streets is that Andy Pettitte will be announcing his retirement tomorrow. The first of the 'Core Four' to hang up his cleats, Pettitte has provided countless moments for the Yankees, (and some for the Astros). He leaves the Yankees with a gaping hole in their rotation but leaves with his head held high and will be remembered as one of the best Yankees ever.

Andy Pettitte has finished his career with a 240-138 record and an amazing 19-10 record in the postseason. Mariano Rivera will be remembered for his dominance in critical situations, but the Yanks relied as heavily on Pettitte in those moments as they did with Mo. You can see that reliance even as his career was winding down. In their 2009 Championship season, Pettitte won the clinching game in all three playoff series.

Sure, Pettitte has his flaws. I remember going to a game in the scorching heat, sitting upper deck, under the sun. Pettitte got clobbered and that was my only memory of leaving a game early. I left in the 3rd inning. His biggest flaw though is the usage of HGH. He did an excellent job at deflecting the attention once his name was found to be in the Mitchell Report. He told the 'truth' and the media turned their eyes on those denying the charges. His 'truth' was that he only used HGH to bounce back from injury quicker so that he could help his team.

(I say 'truth' instead of truth because it is hard to fully believe what an athlete says at this point. Even when it's as heartfelt as Pettitte's excuse.)

His number will certainly be retired and he will be immortalized in Monument Park, as will Mo, Jeter and Posada. Whether he makes it into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is in question. His numbers may have been just good enough had he not taken HGH, but the HOF voters are adamantly against performance enhancers. I'd like to see him voted in, but I grew up rooting for him, so I may be just a tad biased. Hopefully his playoff numbers and his menacing stare will sway just enough writers.

Him retiring essentially leaves the Yankees screwed. Going into the offseason, the Yanks had a potential of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, and Phil Hughes. The Phillies stole Lee and Pettitte retired. The Yanks rotation now consists of CC, Burnett, Hughes, and a toss up of Sergio Mitre, Ivan Nova, (who I like), Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, and any other pitcher who wants to put his name in the hat. What looked so good about a rotation containing CC, Lee and Pettitte is that they are all proven lefties. The Yanks needed that to counter the Red Sox's lefty heavy lineup. (Ellsbury, Crawford, A-Gone, Ortiz, JD Drew, Varitek). It is ridiculous to declare a division winner before pitchers and catchers show up, but congratulations Boston.