Unlike Dr. Manhattan and Michele, I’m not a Yankee fan and (for the most part) have no problem discussing Andy Pettitte’s departure rationally. Then again, I’ve been pretty well swamped at work lately, so I don’t have the luxury of time to go in depth here . . .
1. This is the first time I can ever really remember the Yankees going through what every other team’s fans have suffered through repeatedly, a significant player walking away despite the team’s ardent efforts to keep him (they didn’t really bust a gut trying to keep Wetteland). Granted, the “going home” aspect makes this more like John Olerud’s departure from Queens . . . which I still maintain was the beginning of the end for the Mets.
2. Although baseball-reference.com identifies the most-similar pitcher through age 31 as Mike Mussina, I think the best comps for Pettitte are Chuck Finley and Tom Glavine, both of whom pitched effectively well into their thirties. I suspect that Pettitte might have arm trouble, but that’s an irrational superstition on my part that has trouble thinking the Yankees really, truly wanted to keep him. In fact, Pettitte cut his walks dramatically (and apparently permanently) when they expanded the height of the strike zone in 2001, and he set a career high in Ks in 2003, so his numbers show no sign of slowing down.
3. On the other hand, I won’t exactly be signing him up for an NL rotisserie team now that he’s in Minute Maid Field.
4. Bringing in Kevin Brown, as rumored, is a mixed bag. Brown was actually a good deal better than Pettitte this season — he even pitched more innings and struck out more batters, besides having a 2.39 ERA — and has a decent chance to be better next year. But he’s a bigger durability question, expensive as sin and not a good investment for that seventh year of his contract in 2005. You get Brown this year, you’ll need to be going out for more pitching help next year as well. (On the other hand, I’d rather be the guy who replaces Pettitte with Brown than the guy who replaces Brown with Jeff Weaver).
Greg Maddux is still useful if he’s cheap, but he won’t be cheap and he’s unlikely to get any better than he was this season. If I’m the Yanks, I’d rather try to see if Randy Johnson’s available (More on the goings on in Arizona when I’ve got time to blog again).
5. Pettitte’s 149 wins rank him 9th on the Yankees’ all-time list, but his .656 winning percentage doesn’t make the top 10.
6. This season’s outstanding performances in the playoffs give Pettitte a solid career record in the postseason with the Yankees, albeit not an outstanding one:
| Career | W-L | IP | ERA | H/9 | BB/9 | K/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALDS/ALCS | 10-4 | 126.2 | 4.12 | 9.17 | 2.42 | 5.40 |
| World Series | 3-4 | 60 | 3.90 | 9.90 | 2.70 | 6.30 |
| Postseason | 13-8 | 186.2 | 4.05 | 9.40 | 2.51 | 5.69 |