Even now that Andy Pettitte has announced his retirement, it seems the debate over whether he'll pitch again won't die. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe talked to one scout who, following Pettitte's press conference, was still unconvinced the left-hander is done for good.
"I get the feeling his career isn’t over. For one, he can still pitch at a high level. Secondly, he didn’t retire with any conviction. The stuff about going back and forth on whether or not to pitch leads me to believe he’ll decide to pitch again."
Whether or not the scout is on to something, the Yankees are looking elsewhere for starting pitching. Cafardo has a couple notes on their search among this week's hot stove updates….
- We heard yesterday that the Indians were "making progress" with Kevin Millwood, who is talking to multiple clubs. Cafardo names the Yankees, Mets, and Tribe as teams still in on the right-hander, with salary as the primary hang-up. Given Scott Boras' success so far this offseason, it would actually be somewhat surprising if he and Millwood don't eventually get what they're asking for.
- The Yanks will "see what they have" with pitchers like Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, and Sergio Mitre before they consider trading for someone like Joe Blanton.
- The Red Sox are eyeing former Yankee Alfredo Aceves as a potential injury rehab project.
- According to Cafardo, it would be the "shock of the century" if Adrian Gonzalez and the Red Sox don't come to terms on a contract extension by the end of Spring Training.
Jon
More “shocking” than Cliff Lee signing wi
Jon
Fail
jmcbosox
calling out your own fail is one of the funniest things ive ever seen on here, i dont know why but i found that hilarious
S
It’s like he fell on his face in pile of poo and he laughs it off. Classic.
Jon
More “shocking” than Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies?!
MB923
Or the Angels trading for Vernon Wells and paying for his full contract?
GoAwayNow
uhh they got a 5 million dollar discount….
FrankTheFunkasaurusRex
that save the deal i guess
NomarGarciaparra
It would indeed be shocking if Gonzalez isn’t signed to an extension before the end of Spring Training…but “shock of the century” is just over the board.
MB923
Lol seriously. There have numerous “shocking” events over the years, even though the century is only 11 years old.
jmcbosox
honestly. the 2004 ALCS was way more shocking than anybody could imagine.
MB923
Hate to agree, but I have to
Dylan Zane
I actually agree with that scout. I feel like even if it’s only for half a year, I can see Pettitte coming back. He started working out again, he said he wanted to do some “job” at the press conference (he was talking about something else, but he’s going to be bored at home all day), and he can still pitch.
CoachZ
HE said (and his wife agreed) that he’d be interested in working with MLB Network. HE said he will never pitch again. Why not listen to HIM as opposed to some anonymous scout? A SCOUT? Not a player, coach, front office person…just some scout? Seriously…the guy has hung it up…he has no interest in competing anymore. May have something to do with Clemmens Trial coming up this Summer…he’ll be testifying and I think there’ll be some unwanted publicity coming out from that.
FrankTheFunkasaurusRex
did we learn anything from Favre?
CoachZ
Yes, we learned Farve should have retired sooner. What does Farve have to do with Baseball or Andy Pettitt? Farve took a lot of heat for his back and forth non-sense….do you think Pettitt would want to go through that? Also Pettitt, unlike Farve is a family man a with a handful of kids.
Since_77
Woow Joe Blanton is making $21 million over the next 2 years! His splits against the AL East teams are not even that great. Pitching against the Mets, Nats and Marlins is not the same as facing a lineup with a DH.
I can see why the Phillies want to get rid of him. Cashman please say NO!
johnsilver
Blanton is in the perfect league and had better stay there with what he throws. As a Red Sox fan, would love to see the Yanks acquire him and count on him as a #4 or better in their rotation PLUS have to pay him 20m plus over the next 2 years.
East Coast Bias
You just listed the reasons why no Yankees fan wants Blanton. If we get him, we’re just helping the Phillies while hurting ourselves. I say let them pay 10m for a 5th starter lol.
MaineluvstheSox
If Gonzalez doesn’t sign with the Sox I’ll eat my Sox. Both sides were talking about a new contract when the trade was made. I can’t imagine the Sox giving up what they did without a handshake. I will be stunned if the deal isn’t done.
start_wearing_purple
“I’ll eat my Sox”
Cannibalism seems drastic.
MaineluvstheSox
lol. Good point. Even a little salt prob wouldn’t help.
The_Silver_Stacker
It cannot be done until its submitted to MLB
Since_77
If the Giants were to pick up some of Barry Zito’s salary, he would be a much better alternative than Blanton. Fangraphs had an article this week advocating this move.
Zito is not great but I can’t see him doing any worse than Javy Vasquez’s 157 innings in 26 starts and 5.32 ERA. He is also lefthanded.
fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/yankees-should-trade…
East Coast Bias
Zito isn’t a long term solution, so wouldn’t be worth it to add payroll for however many years he has left. Totally counter-productive.
We are not the Angels.
Dynasty22
Well when we give 2 player option years for a 10 million dollar set-up man, you can’t be far behind.
S
I’m actually pulling for Sergio Garcia Colon Bartolo Mitre, from the mexizuelianican republic of cubadores to be the starting #5 pitcher. I hear he’s over weight, has a busted arm, and uses PEDs in the off season. Even that guy is better than Millwood.
NYMICK
The results could be VERY interesting if somebody checked the green cards of ALL of them. There are, after all, an estimated 12,000,000 illegals in this country at any given time. If you pay taxes, you are supporting them and their “anchor babies” with your tax $$$$$$$. GO YANKS 2011…..#28!!!!!
YanksFanSince78
Ahhhhh….Fox news. Wonderful.
MaineSox
How did this seem like the best place to go on that little tangent?
Dennis
I get an uneasy feeling about this whole Gonzalez thing.