Flash Backtime: Pettitte And Forgettitte

How was your 2012? Well, how about un-retiring, turning 40, and getting a broken ankle after being hit by a line drive? And through it all, pitching great.

Andy Pettitte posted a 2.87 ERA in 12 starts in a year nobody saw coming and then had his season... interrupted. If past performance is any indicator, they Yanks have a pretty good horse to ride in ALDS Game 2 in Baltimore with a 19-10 career postseason record.

I dug up the Backtime archives about 3 years back. Pettitte had just won World Series Game 3, and would later go on to win the clincher in Game 6.

The question now becomes whether we get the old Andy Pettitte, or just an old Andy Pettitte.

Backtime - November 1, 2009

When there’s money on the table, you want a money pitcher. And Pettitte’s postseason history and 1,000-yard stare speaks to that.

I remember all the way back to Game 5 of the 1996 World Series, when Andy Pettitte was just a 24-year old 2nd year starter. He outdueled the best pitcher in baseball, John Smoltz, in a 1-0 squeaker. The Yankees closed out Fulton County Stadium winning all three in Atlanta and took the World Series in 6 games.

Then in 1998, Pettitte outpitched the best pitcher in baseball, Kevin Brown, in a 3-1 win in Game 4 in San Diego, completing a World Series sweep.

Now, he hasn’t always come through in the World Series – a couple of different Game 6’s come to mind, including getting pummeled by Arizona in ’01 and losing the clincher to Josh Beckett and the Marlins in ’03.

But more often than not, he’s going to gettitte done for you. And last night was a perfect example of that. There was no need to panic after giving up 3 early runs. Andy pretty much shut down the Phils the rest of the way, and added a key Pet-hitte RBI-single off of 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels for good measure.

Pettitte finished with 6 solid innings and his major-league record 17th postseason win. The length of the start is nothing unusual for the Yankees’ hurlers. All 12 postseason starts have gone at least 6 innings.

Next up is CC (aka Cruise Control) Sabathia. He’ll take on Joe Blanton instead of Cliff Lee, whom the Phils are hesitant to use on 3 days’ rest. Can Blanton beat CC? Not likely. But the Phillies lineup sure can.

But the bottom line is the starting pitching. As long as the Yankees keep getting high quality starts, they will surely take home the title. And maybe we won't even need to see our man Andy in Game 6 (his bad number), as it may already be wrapped up.

A Bittersweet Time for a Yankee Fan

I always try to be a champion for the underdog. My annual NCAA bracket is filled with irrational pie-in-the-sky dreams. So it's a wonder to many that I am an obsessive Yankee fan and they want to know why.

The old baseball adage is "It's a marathon, not a sprint." Absolutely true, but I prefer another mantra "It's the journey, not the destination." My love for the Yankees is my love for the routine of life.

While football (my other love) also stirs my passions, a football weekend is generally either spent working, or spent with the kids. But baseball is for weeknights. Kids are asleep, you can watch your team and multi-task. 162 games a year - it becomes part of you.

That's why I don't kill John Sterling, the bombastic voice of the Yankees. Because he's seen every Yankee game for the last 19 years. He sees things on the field and relays them because he notices. He's seen every pitch of Mariano Rivera's career and every at bat of Derek Jeter's. And that's what I feel like when I watch over 100 Yankee games a year from a couch in Savannah, Georgia. And I can turn on the YES network during the day and digest all the buzz with the equally bombastic Mike Francesa, because he knows what's going on too.

Being a baseball fan, much like being a baseball player, is an everyday job. Baseball is about the day-in, day-out grind. About who's pitching today, who's in the lineup because someone's injured, or who needs to bust out of a slump.

I love checking in on sites like Pinstripe Alley and throwing out arguments for Molina vs Posada or Chamberlain: starter or reliever. To bitch about Joe Girardi's over-managing or blast Johnny Damon's defense, or praise the relief work of Alfredo Aceves, or live the late-game heroics of Melky Cabrera again and again.

So the Yankees have the highest payroll in MLB by far. So they have A-Rod the lightning rod. So what? Nothing can stain the beauty of the game or make me lose interest in the season.

I watched Game 6 on Wednesday night and reveled in World Championship glory, but ultimately a 5-4 victory in June over Oakland is just as exciting. Only now it's time to take a hiatus and see how to build on this for next season. The goal remains the same.

Yet I am sad now because opening day is almost 5 months away. Even a World Series ring has a hole in it.

Pettitte and Forgettitte

When there’s money on the table, you want a money pitcher. And Pettitte’s postseason history and 1,000-yard stare speaks to that.

I remember all the way back to Game 5 of the 1996 World Series, when Andy Pettitte was just a 24-year old 2nd year starter. He outdueled the best pitcher in baseball, John Smoltz, in a 1-0 squeaker. The Yankees closed out Fulton County Stadium winning all three in Atlanta and took the World Series in 6 games.

Then in 1998, Pettitte outpitched the best pitcher in baseball, Kevin Brown, in a 3-1 win in Game 4 in San Diego, completing a World Series sweep.

Now, he hasn’t always come through in the World Series – a couple of different Game 6’s come to mind, including getting pummeled by Arizona in ’01 and losing the clincher to Josh Beckett and the Marlins in ’03.

But more often than not, he’s going to gettitte done for you. And last night was a perfect example of that. There was no need to panic after giving up 3 early runs. Andy pretty much shut down the Phils the rest of the way, and added a key Pet-hitte RBI-single off of 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels for good measure.

Pettitte finished with 6 solid innings and his major-league record 17th postseason win. The length of the start is nothing unusual for the Yankees’ hurlers. All 12 postseason starts have gone at least 6 innings.

Next up is CC (aka Cruise Control) Sabathia. He’ll take on Joe Blanton instead of Cliff Lee, whom the Phils are hesitant to use on 3 days’ rest. Can Blanton beat CC? Not likely. But the Phillies lineup sure can.

But the bottom line is the starting pitching. As long as the Yankees keep getting high quality starts, they will surely take home the title. And maybe we won't even need to see our man Andy in Game 6 (his bad number), as it may already be wrapped up.