The motion was the same for New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte Monday night against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium after coming off the disabled list, but he didn’t get the win. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
The day before Andy Pettitte took the mound against the Cleveland Indians Monday he sounded like anything but a confident pitcher. Being activated from the disabled list where he had resided since May 17, Pettitte did not sound ready to pitch for his New York Yankees. In fact, he sounded defeatist on the eve of going for his 250th career victory.
Pettitte, who admits to being a creature of routine, said he had not yet gotten back into his regular pitching preparation pattern that he uses for his every-fifth-day starts. When asked if he was satisfied with the way he felt going into this start he said, “Right now, I’d say probably not.”
Right then and there Yankee manager Joe Girardi should have begun perusing his roster to see if he could find another arm to stand in for Pettitte one more time. Pettitte has been trying to recover from the strained left trapezius muscle that put him on the DL May 17. Now a trapezius muscle sounds like either a geometry problem or a circus act, but the fact is that Pettitte didn’t seem mentally ready to go.
Much to no one’s surprise, Monday night Pettitte pitched as if he was still on the disabled list. He lasted 4 2/3 innings, gave up four runs and seven hits and was lucky not to be slapped with the loss. Pettitte’s teammates hit well enough to give him a lead and hit well enough after he left the game to come back and win 7-4. Pettitte got a no-decision rather than a milestone victory.
The southpaw is 249-145 for his career with a 3.86 earned run average. He is a three-time All-Star (probably not this year) and has been a member of five New York Yankee World Series-winning teams. Pretty darned good resume. But Pettitte is also 40. For the last couple of years in-between very solid outings he has been bugged by injuries that knock him out for weeks, or even months, at a time.
This season Pettitte is 4-3 with a 4.17 ERA. The Yankees, who have been a MASH unit, need Pettitte to stay healthy. They need him at his best, or at the very least the best he can be at 40. Girardi would have been wise to spell Pettitte for another go-around in the rotation. It doesn’t seem as if too much was accomplished by using Pettitte Monday.
When the game was over, and the Yankees won, even though he did not, Pettitte said, “Everybody else did a good job.”
It won’t surprise anyone if in his next start Pettitte is back to normal. He will slip back into his preparation routine between starts. He will be pretty well rested. And maybe he will be old reliable Andy Pettitte again.