Pettitte Joins Francesa After Agreeing To Return To Yankees
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Yankees fans are breathing a big sigh of relief. Andy Pettitte will be back.
The veteran left-hander joined Mike Francesa on Wednesday evening, hours after agreeing a one-year deal to rejoin the Bombers in 2013.
The 40-year-old made it clear his competitive fires still burn.
"I still have the desire to do it," Pettitte told Francesa. "I have the desire to train and to work. I'm excited about getting ready for the season."
Listen: Pettitte Chats With Francesa
Pettitte also revealed that general manager Brian Cashman played a key role in his return for the 2013 season.
"Cash made it easy. When organizations want you like that, it makes you feel great," he said.
Pettitte agreed a $12 million contract and can earn an additional $2.5 million in bonuses in 2013.
Pettitte finished the 2012 regular season 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA. He made 12 regular season starts and two postseason starts.
A tough ankle injury sidelined Pettitte for much of the regular season. He said he wanted to be more involved for the Yankees down the stretch.
"(It was) very, very frustrating that I broke my ankle, I broke my fibula. What made it more even frustrating is that I re-injured it," he stated.
Francesa asked Pettitte about the Yankees' disappointing end to their 2012 playoff run.
"To play the way we did all year long and then to get to the postseason and perform the way we did -- I know everyone was disappointed," Pettitte responded.
"That's your chance to win the World Series," he added. "We felt like we had that going last year and, unfortunately, we weren't able to get it done."
Pettitte becomes the second Yankees starter to rejoin the team in recent days. Fellow veteran Hiroki Kuroda agreed to a one-year deal last week.
"We've got to be better at it if we want to win a World Series and that's what we all want to do," Pettitte said.
Yankees fans -- How many wins are you expecting from Pettitte in 2013?
