(Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)
By Sweeny Murti
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Andy Pettitte’s comeback officially began Tuesday. After a 50-pitch bullpen session, Pettitte seemed satisfied with the quality of his “stuff,” and said he’s anticipating a six-week spring training schedule that will hopefully get him back to New York the first week of May.
Pettitte spoke of that itch, that desire that he finally got back after sitting out all of 2011. I asked Pettitte if that itch was so great that he would have thought of signing with another team had the Yankees said thanks, but no thanks:
The feel-good part about seeing #46 in pinstripes is over. Now it’s about seeing him pitch and seeing if he can be the same old Andy Pettitte. It’s not going to be easy. Pettitte spent most of the second half of 2010 on the DL with a groin injury, and his status for Game 7 of the ALCS (had the Yanks won Game 6 at Texas) was in question because of back spasms.
It leads to the fear that I think we all have–what if there is no happy ending this time for Pettitte? What if the body isn’t willing to cooperate with the mind and the heart? Pettitte insists he is not afraid of the consequences of his comeback attempt:
Pettitte is so easy to like that I think even many non-Yankee fans root for the guy. He has just the right combination of bulldog tenacity and “Aw shucks” humility. There will be plenty of people rooting for Andy Pettitte. The pitches all feel good now and so do the fans. We’ll see if it all still feels good two months from now when Pettitte faces real batters for the first time in a year and a half.
Sweeny Murti
Yankees@wfan.com
www.twitter.com/YankeesWFAN
