Andy Pettite

Or not. I'm starting to wonder if Atlanta shouldn't try to give him a 2-year deal.

After getting Tex, Sabathia, and Burnett this off-season, the Yankees have said enough. Well, not enough spending, but enough Andy Pettite. At this point, the Yankees have a rotation of CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, CM Wang, Joba (I couldn't make a two-letter name -- actually, I couldn't decide between Jo, Ba, or Ob) Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes with stand-bys Ian Kennedy and Alfredo Aceves. That's not a bad rotation, but it is one with significant injury issues. Burnett can't be counted on, and you should add Jo, Ba, or Ob and Hughes into that mix. That leaves the Yankees with CC, CM, Kennedy, and Aceves. Do you want that? Granted, if those pitchers get hurt, the Yankees are probably in trouble anyway, and we aren't sure Pettite would help. Or would he?

A 14-14 record with a 4.54 ERA looks terrible, but is Pettite that bad. His previous ERA's were 4.20 and 4.08, so it could mean a natural regression. However, Pettite's 3.71 FIP shows he may not actually be that bad and actually be quite good. Sure, he could use a move to the NL, but he also could use a better defense. The Yankees have gotten better defensively by adding Xavier Nady and Mark Teixeira, and they can always hope Robins Cano's improved attitude (supposedly) will lead to better defense.

Pettite's peripherals still look pretty good. His K/9 of 6.97 is better than his career 6.60, and his BB/9 of 2.43 is also better than his career 2.78. They, however, are not dramatically better, which might indicate a temporary spike. His GB/FB of 1.80 is really close to his carer 1.73 (he's a groundball pitcher! You learn something new everyday. I could have sworn he was a flyball guy). Pettite's .339 BABIP was also a bit higher than his .316 career mark. Did they hit him harder? Well no, they actually had only 19.9% LD% compared to his career 21.4% mark. This all seems to mean that Pettite really just needs a better defense, and he'll be much better.

With that, Pettite becomes a better gamble. He could be a better pitcher (or at least his stats will look better) next season. The Yankees defense should be better, although they could use a better CF. Let's just say the Yankees are just bluffing because they have gotten away with it recently, so they just want Pettite's price tag to come down. However, they may not be bluffing knowing they've already spent a lot on pitching this off-season, so the Braves, Nationals, Phillies, Mets, Cardinals, Astros, Brewers, Giants, and Dodgers should take a look. If the price or medical information is the reason the Yankees don't want him, then by all means, don't pick him up, but if his talent is the reason, then they might be making a really bad decision. The man logs 200+ IP a lot.