Cashman Believes Pettitte Wants to Play

From Jon Lane:

Pettitte, who ended his one-year retirement during Spring Training, continues to mull his immediate future and stated he’ll make a decision sooner rather than later. Speaking with reporters at this week’s general manager meetings, Yankees GM Brian Cashman shared details of a conversation that didn’t reveal answers, but he’s holding on to hope that the veteran left-hander will help anchor the rotation for at least one more season.

“I talked to Andy a few days after we got eliminated,” Cashman said. “In that conversation, he was going to take his family away, his son was playing in a tournament. He just said he’s going to take some time, talk to his family.

“It wasn’t going to take long. I didn’t ask how long ‘long’ was, but he’ll call me. I’m not going to push him. He’ll let me know when he’s made a final decision about whatever he’s choosing to do. I hope he plays. I believe that it’s in his blood that he wants to play. I believe that, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. But I think he wants to play, and I’m hoping he’ll call and tell me that.”

I'm not really sure why Cashman feels this way, but I'm sure he knows how Andy's thinks. Let's hope he's right.

Pettitte to decide on 2013 in "a month or so"

From Peter Botte:

Another offseason, another retirement decision for Andy Pettitte. The 40-year-old lefty hopes to tell the Yankees whether he’ll be back in 2013 “one way or another, within a month or so.”

....

“I came back because I felt like I had some competition left in me and I wanted to help this organization win another championship,” Pettitte said. “There’s no doubt I still have the desire to compete. For me, it’s the family situation. That’s the biggest thing. I’ll just try to figure that out. It’s a long season. What better job to have than play baseball? But at certain times, it gets tough whenever the family can’t be together.”

With CC, Nova, Hughes, and Pineda all in the mix for next year's rotation, bringing back either Kuroda or Pettitte, or both, would really solidify the staff.

2012 ALDS: Roster & Rotation Info

As of now mananger Joe Girardi has not yet announced the full ALDS roster, but he has revealed that Andy Pettitte will start game 2. So the Yankees are going with CC, Pettitte, and Kuroda for the first three. Game 4 is apparently still up in the air.

There was also some rotation info from the other side of the diamond as the Orioles announced that Jason Hammel to start game 1 of the ALDS. Hammel went 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA for the O's this season, but has made just two starts since July.

Also, Andruw Jones told the media he would not be on the roster. He also agreed with the move, saying he didn't deserve to make the cut. According to the skipper, Jayson Nix is a possibility for the final spot, if he is healthy enough to play.

Yankees Leaning Towards Pettitte in Game 2, Kuroda in Game 3

From Mark Hale:

The Yankees certainly can start Kuroda, who has been their No. 2 starter this season. But now they also have the option of starting Pettitte in Game 2 on seven days’ rest and moving Kuroda to Game 3 on Wednesday. That would allow Kuroda (16-11, 3.32 ERA) to pitch on two extra days’ rest, which seemingly would be beneficial to the right-hander.

Girardi said a Game 3 start for Kuroda is a strong possibility.

“That’s something that we’re going to have to talk about. Absolutely,” he said. “[Kuroda] had an unbelievable season, and that’s something we’ll definitely consider.”

...

“I’m going to respect any decisions that Joe makes,” Kuroda said of potentially being pushed to Game 3.

Another factor that could influence Girardi’s Game 2 decision is because CC Sabathia will pitch in Game 1, do the Yankees want their two lefty starters to pitch on consecutive days? As for home-road splits, Kuroda and Pettitte have been far better in The Bronx this season (Games 3-5 will be at the Stadium). Kuroda has a 2.72 ERA at home versus a 4.23 one on the road, while Pettitte owns a 1.85 ERA at home and a 4.26 one away.

I like the plan. Kuroda has been better at home all season, and he could use the extra couple days rest after throwing a career high number of innings.

Pettitte May Return For 2013

From Brian Heyman:

The 40-year-old lefty was effective before getting hurt, going 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA. But he isn’t sure yet about coming back for another season.

That said, the injury has at least ensured the possibility of a return by the postseason’s all-time winningest pitcher.

“I hate it,” Pettitte said. “I wish I knew what I was going to do next year. But I’ll get to the offseason and think about it and try to figure out if this is something I want to do again or not.

“I can probably say that when I came back, I thought there was no chance that I was coming back (next season), that this was a one-year deal. But getting hurt and only having (about) 60 innings right now when you were hoping to have a couple hundred innings under your belt, it definitely gives me the option to consider coming back again next year, that’s for sure.

“I’m hoping to get a lot of work still this year. So we’ll what happens as this year continues on.”

I don't know about you, but I would be very happy to have Pettitte back for one more season.

Pettitte Will Start Tuesday vs Toronto

From Wallace Matthews.

Joe Girardi just announced Andy Pettitte would return to the Yankees' rotation for the first time in more than two months on Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

Matthews also reports that David Phelps will move to the bullpen.

“I’m looking forward to being back and trying to help this club do what we want to do, and that’s get to the postseason,” Pettitte said.

We're looking forward to it, too.

Injury Updates: Tex, Pettitte, Nova

- To make that blown call on the final play of last night's game worse, Mark Teixeira re-injured his left calf and will likely miss Sunday's series finale against the O's.

- In better news, Andy Pettitte threw a simulated game on Saturday and apparently everything went smoothly. Here's a little more on Pettitte from Dan Martin:

“I felt good, it was a good day,” Pettitte said after the session. “It was another step in the right direction. I am trying to push it as far as I can with feeling a chance of injury.”

Pettitte is expected to have the ankle examined tomorrow in New York and could be cleared to run, which is one of the final hurdles he must clear before he rejoins a beaten-up rotation.

Barring a setback, the lefty would be able to field bunts and cover first base the next time he takes the mound, which should be in Boston this week. That session should last roughly 60 pitches and may be his final rehab appearance

- Ivan Nova came off the DL last night and instead of being inserted into the rotation the Yankees decided to to put him in the bullpen.

“He is in the bullpen for now. Our bullpen has been used a lot,’’ said Joe Girardi, who as of Friday had not made a decision on who would start today. “We will put him down there for now and then we will make some decisions.’’

Asked if Nova was a candidate to take David Phelps’ start Wednesday in Boston, Girardi danced.

“We are not that far ahead,’’ Girardi said. “With these tricky weather conditions, I am not sure what we are going to need.’’

But at some point, Nova is going to start.

“We have always considered him a rotation guy,’’ Girardi said. “He is not a guy who has pitched out of the bullpen a lot. Our concern was to get him back healthy.” I had the rotation set — that’s Freddy. We didn’t know what we were going to have in Nova.’

Personally, I'd much rather see Nova get back into the rotation over Freddy, but the Yankees seem to like to make bad moves all of a sudden.

Updates on A-Rod, Tex & Pettitte

I know most of this news is a day old, but I've had a very busy week, so sorry for the delay.

- Mark Teixeira will likely be out 1-2 weeks with his calf injury reports Mark Feinsand.

On to better news, Andy Pettitte threw off flat ground for the first time since his ankle injury:

Andy Pettitte could be throwing off a mound before the end of the week. The lefthander took a significant step in his return from a fractured left ankle when he threw off flat ground Tuesday before the Yankees beat the Blue Jays at the Stadium. Joe Girardi said Pettitte threw three sets of 20 pitches and tested himself during the last one.

“For two of the sessions, he did not push off much,” Girardi said. “In the last session, he basically did 10 or 12 pitches where it was his normal windup. He actually looked really good.”

... After Tuesday’s session, Girardi said of Pettitte’s next move “our hope is it’s a mound, a bullpen. We’ll have to see how he feels in the next couple days.”

He said that would likely occur Friday or Saturday.

Alex Rodriguez also took a major step in his rehab:

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez took live batting practice on Tuesday afternoon, the first time he's done so since fracturing his left hand on July 24 against the Seattle Mariners.

General manager Brian Cashman said on ESPN NewYork 98.7's "The Michael Kay Show" that if everything goes well, Rodriguez could begin a minor league rehab stint over the weekend. Cashman added that he believes A-Rod can be back earlier than mid-September, but also didn't want to put a firm date on it.

"So far, so good," Rodriguez said. "My legs are coming under me, and I see light at the end of the tunnel. My expectation is to come back at full strength and help this team win."

So despite the two losses to the Jays, not all is bad in Yankeeland.

Updates on A-Rod, Pettitte & Tex

From Bryan Hoch:

The Yankees received encouraging news on Sunday regarding Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte, who are both progressing toward September returns from the disabled list.

A-Rod and Pettitte had X-rays performed on their fractured left hand and fractured left fibula, respectively, and team doctors told the players that their injuries are healing as expected.

"Everything is as scheduled," said Rodriguez, who was hit by a Felix Hernandez pitch on July 24 in Seattle. "We talked about four to six weeks at the beginning, and I think Tuesday is the four-week mark. We're right on schedule."

Rodriguez said that he will spend the next few days strengthening and expects to be re-evaluated during Thursday's off-day between series at Chicago and Cleveland. He has been keeping his arm in shape, throwing both baseballs and footballs often.

...

Pettitte returned from that Seattle trip having been told that he pushed himself too hard, hoping to accelerate his recovery from a June 27 broken ankle, but that swelling has subsided and doctors are closer to permitting him to resume pitching on a mound.

"Everything looks good -- it's healing up," Pettitte said. "Obviously, like I told you all before, I'm excited when they tell me, 'OK you can go on the mound and see how it feels.'

"But I've got to get on flat ground. I'll do that on this road trip, and hopefully after this road trip, it'll all be good. I'm hoping maybe right when we get back from this road trip, I might be able to get back on a mound."

Hoch also reported that Mark Teixeira expects to return to the lineup tonight in Chicago, saying on Sunday "That's the goal. I could probably push it today, but we don't want any setbacks. We don't want anything to get inflamed again. So we're going to take it easy today."

All good news. With the way the Yanks have been playing the idea of getting these three back for the stretch run should put a smile on every Yankees fan's face.

X-ray Reveal Pettitte's Healing Well

Barring any further setbacks, it seems like a mid-September return is likely for the veteran southpaw. Great news for the Yankees and their chances for #28.

Yankees Still Unsure of Pettitte's Return Date

From George King:

With Ivan Nova getting spanked the past two outings and Freddy Garcia failing to provide consistent length, the Yankees’ rotation requires a boost.

That is expected to be supplied by Andy Pettitte, but general manager Brian Cashman can’t predict an exact date when the 40-year-old lefty will come off the disabled list.

...

“We have to let the healing process take its course,’’ said Cashman, who expects to see Pettitte pitching next month in the big leagues. “He had that setback which cost him a week to 10 days, but he is in the middle of the healing process.’’

...

“Obviously, it’s healing up but it hasn’t healed up as much as [Dr. Chris Ahmad] thought,’’ Pettitte said referring to the Yankees’ physician.

...

Pitching coach Larry Rothschild doesn’t know when Pettitte will be able to throw off a mound and is waiting to find out how much the time off will affect Pettitte.

“We have tried to keep his arm in shape, but I won’t know until he gets through it, how it will impact him until he faces hitters,’’ Rothschild said yesterday. “It’s hard to tell but as long as the bone is healed he should be OK.’’

Cashman doesn't sound too concerned, but he rarely ever does so I wouldn't read too much into that.

At this point all we can do is cross our fingers and hope he can come back when they expect him too.

Yankees Insist There Was No Setback For Pettitte

From WFAN:

The 40-year-old, who threw off flat ground in Oakland during the Yankees’ West Coast swing, said he’s “laying low” after doing “a little too much in Seattle.”

“In Seattle it swelled up,” he said.

But Yankees general manager Brian Cashman insisted there are “no issues with Pettitte.”

“With rehab, you have good days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks,” Cashman told the New York Daily News. “He’s coming back in September, which is what we’ve said all along.”

Cashman doesn’t have much time to go shopping for rotation help with Tuesday’s trade deadline fast approaching. He sounded confident that the veteran would be able to return for the Yankees’ stretch run.

“He’ll be back; that’s the bottom line,” Cashman said. “It’s no different than it was before.”

There are two possible things going on here:

1) Pettitte didn't suffer a setback and he should return without a problem.

2) The Yankees are in damage control mode and don't want potential trade partners to realize how desperate they may in fact be.

I'm hoping it's the former, but I believe it's the latter. But hey, I'm a natural pessimist so of course that's what I believe.

Pettitte Suffers a Setback

If this is anything serious, and it probably is, it will likely put the rest of his season, in jeopardy. If that is the case, the Yankees should probably spend the next 40+ hours trying to find another starting pitcher.

UPDATE: Pettitte Has a Fractured Left Ankle... Out 6 Weeks

Here's an update via Bryan Hoch:

The news in the Yankees clubhouse has moved from bad to worse, as Andy Pettitte suffered a left ankle fracture in Wednesday’s start against the Indians and will miss a minimum of six weeks.

Just a terrible day for Yankees starters. Losing CC and Pettitte will be a very tough challenge for this team.

(Original post below)

Andy Pettitte was forced to leave today’s game vs the Indians in the fifth inning after getting hit on the lower left leg by a hard grounder. He tried to stay in the game but had to leave after throwing just one pitch to the next hitter.

With CC now headed for the DL, the last thing this team can afford is to lose another one of their top starters. Check back here for updates throughout the day.

Update On Pettitte's Hand

From Chad Jennings:

Andy Pettitte had his left hand wrapped after today’s game, but he said he felt fortunate. He was fortunate to get out of the sixth inning, and fortunate to leave with no real concern about making his next start.

“It’s swollen, and as soon as the swelling gets out, it’ll be fine,” Pettitte said. “It swelled up, got me up high on the hand, toward my fingers. It was hard to throw. I couldn’t really feel the ball. It swelled up immediately and I just had a hard time feeling the ball in my hand. … I probably should have came out.”

...

Pettitte had X-rays which showed no broken bones, but his hand was swollen throughout those final two outs.

Looks like the Yankees dodged another bullet.

Pettitte & Girardi On Pettitte's Return to the Mound

Game 34: Yankees vs. Mariners - Andy's Back!

REGULAR SEASON GAME 34
YANKEES vs MARINERS
First Pitch: 1:05 PM | TV: YES | Radio: WCBS
Here are the lineups:

YANKEES (19-14)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Grander CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Eric Chavez DH
Russell Martin C

Starting pitcher: LHP Andy Pettitte (0-0, -.-- ERA)

MARINERS (15-20)
Dustin Ackley 2B
Casper Wells LF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Jesus Montero C
Justin Smoak 1B
Alex Liddi 3B
Michael Carp DH
Michael Saunders CF
Brendan Ryan SS

Starting pitcher: RHP Kevin Millwood (0-4, 5.88 ERA)

Yanks Want To See Better Results From Pettitte

From Sean Brennan:

Andy Pettitte is scheduled to make at least one more minor-league start either Saturday or Sunday. Where that next start occurs and whether that will be his final tune-up before his return to pinstripes is to be determined.

“They have to look at the schedule and see which town fits him the best,” Joe Girardi said. “We know Scranton is on the road a lot, so will it be home in Trenton? They’ll look at weather, too.”

Girardi wasn’t sure if Pettitte will need more than that one start before he joins the Yankees.

In Pettitte’s last outing Monday, he allowed five earned runs and 10 hits. Girardi was asked if Pettitte’s testimony in the Roger Clemens perjury trial on Tuesday might have been a distraction.

“I spoke to him before he pitched,” Girardi said. “He didn’t really lead me to believe that it was going to affect the way he was going to throw the baseball, but I’m sure it was on his mind. I don’t know how it wouldn’t be.”

Can't blame the Yankees for wanting to see a little more from Pettitte here But at the same time he said he was ready and Phil Hughes is an auto-loss every time he touches the mound.

Andy Says He Can Help Yanks Right Now

From the Sporting News:

Andy Pettitte on Monday declared himself ready to rejoin the New York Yankees, following a 96-pitch outing in extended spring training.

The lefthander's line wasn't great—six runs (five earned), 10 hits, eight strikeouts and no walks in six innings against the Phillies—but Pettitte was more focused with how he threw.

"I feel I'm strong enough and ready to make my next start with (the Yankees)," Pettitte told the team's website. "I feel good and it was another solid day. I felt the quality of pitches were as good as I've had in any of my starts up to now, and I was able to hold my velocity throughout."

Pettitte's fastball was clocked at 86 to 88 mph, according to the team's website.

I'll trust Andy's word on this one, since the stats obviously weren't there. But he's earned at least that much from the organization and fans. If he feels he's ready, let's get him up to the Bronx and into the rotation. Adios Phil.

Pettitte To Start For Double-A Trenton on Wednesday

From George A. King III:

Andy Pettitte is no longer just a hopeful wish to give the Yankees rotation a boost.

The 39-year-old un-retired lefty is scheduled to start for Double-A Trenton on Wednesday in New Jersey. It will be Pettitte’s fourth minor league outing, and he likely will throw 80 to 85 pitches. After that the Yankees likely would want Pettitte to come close to the 100-pitch mark in his final two minor league games.

“It’s getting closer to reality now,’’ Girardi said of Pettitte’s re-entry into the Yankees’ rotation after sitting out last season. “Sixty-eight pitches [Friday in an extended spring training game], you are getting closer. Andy was a guy who was right around 100 for us anyway.

“That’s realistic to look at three more minor league starts and make a real evaluation of where he is at,’’ said Girardi, who will have to remove somebody from the rotation to make room for Pettitte.

The sooner Andy can get back to the rotation, the better. With Hughes and Garcia throwing the ball as poorly as they have the rotation could use all the help they can get.