Sweeny Says: Plan P
By Sweeny Murti
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Time for Plan B.
Actually I prefer to call it Plan P. As in Pettitte. Time for Andy to be shown once again how much the Yankees love him, miss him, need him.
Pettitte still hasn't made up his mind. Friends think he may actually retire this time because he said it for the first time after the playoff run ended in October. He even told Brian Cashman he was leaning that way when the season ended. But Pettitte always feels like retiring that time of year. He gets the itch eventually. And the Yankees are there to scratch it.
Pettitte wants to spend time with his family. That's what has him leaning towards retirement. He's spent the last two decades hurling baseballs from February to October and he misses spending time with his four children.
But Pettitte also misses the competition and that's what keeps bringing him back year after year. At 11-3, 3.28 ERA Pettitte was on his way to the best year of his career before that pesky groin injury knocked him out for almost the entire second half, which happens to be the time of year when Pettitte is usually at his best.
That Andy Pettitte really didn't get to be his normal self in 2010 has to be eating away at him. Sure it's getting to be time to head home for the 38-year old Texan with more and more salt sprinkled in with that pepper. If he didn't have that competitive desire still in him, you can bet he just would have retired already.
But now that Cliff Lee has gone elsewhere the Yankees need to start using their powers of persuasion. I'm picturing some loving text messages from Jeter and CC and Girardi and others. And there's probably a pretty nice paycheck involved too. But without a suitable alternative to Lee, the Yankees need their Old Reliable back where he belongs.
There will come a time when Andy's competitive desires run out and the Yankees will be able to move on without him. This isn't it.
Sweeny Murti
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