Incredible move and per my conversation with Tom Seaver , Andy Pettitte is one of, if not the very best MLB citizen role models in all of baseball! He's a fantastic pitcher and an all round perfect fit. CONGRATS 'STROS! Now he did play for our "cross- town" rival Deer Park, but I'm not holding that against him any longer. He'll be glad to know that for sure.
This is a great move for Houston, but as someone who's not an Astros fan, I find myself more curious as to how this will affect the Yankees:No Clemens,Pettitte,Colon,Claussen, probably no Millwood. They did get Vazquez, but he can't do the work that Clemens and Andy did for them last season. While they might be getting Kevin Brown, he's a questionmark due to age and injury. Is a rotation of:Mussina,Vazquez,Contreras,Brown,and Wells capable of retaining the AL East crown, or might 2004 be the Sox year?
I just checked... Roger DID actually wear #21 while in Boston. And, I guess he didn't wear it for the Yanks b/c Paul O'Neill already wore that number. So, Rog was always a #21 at heart, and Andy is taking it now as well. He could have had #46 if he wanted, though.
No doubt, this move HURTS the Yankees more than hit HELPS Houston. Andy was a franchise icon... and on his way to becoming the all-time winningist pitcher in Yankee history. If he has a few more good years, he'll be going intot he HOF... as a Yankee. Additionally, this move only starts to help Houston IF we get to the playoffs. If we don't, and even if Andy is lights-out during the reg. season, this move means nothing. NY will still probably find a way to get to the post-season... and if they do, they will definitly be missing this guy.
I think the Cubs still have the edge in the NL Central right now, as they'll have Patterson back, Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez for a full year. But getting Pettitte definately makes the Astros the early favorites for the Wild Card.
It is unknown how Patterson's ACL injury is going to affect his play. I know he'll be playing but sometimes major knee injuries change players for a few years.
what??? the two aren't unrelated...the hope is that you have starting pitchers who are lights-out so that you DO get to the playoffs. if we had andy last season, instead of villone, let's say, we would have easily won this division.
Great move for the'Stros. I just hope he fares better than some of the other pitchers we got to 'come back home': Drabek and Swindell.
Indeed... I know that. If Andy is lights out... we'll probably be the best team in the league. But, if they underachieve again this year, as they did last year, this deal essentially means nothing. They should have easily won this division last year, despite Villone. This only makes them better.... but they'll still have to avoid the offensive malaise, and injury bug. BUt believe me, Max... I am definitly optimistic. I was just trying to further the point that this deal really HURTS NY big-time.
I disagree that they underachieved. They essentially had 2 rookies playing 3rd and SS. They had an aging veteran making a severe position switch from 2B to CF. They had a starting rotation for much of the season consisting of Miller, Villone, Robertson, Redding and (insert name here). Oswalt missed at least 12 starts. They had no team speed to speak of and were a decent fielding team, but nothing great. While Berkman had a lesser season, Hidalgo had a greater one, together they performed close to projections. No starter had a terribly disappointing year. Bagwell's average could have been higher but his power numbers were O.K. Ausmus had a crummy offensive year, but he is not expected to produce. They lost significant playing time from Kent and Hidalgo who were their 2 best offensive threats throughout the year. Unfortunately they flat out stunk the last week of the season.
Wow, I still can't believe this actually happened. I do think that it hurts the Yankees a lot more than helping the Astros, but make no mistake it does help the Astros IF Pettitte can stay healthy. He is definitely one of those clutch pitchers and with Ausmus behind the plate, I think the pitching staff looks great. Since I live in NYC, I do occasionally watch the Yankees, and he definitely can get it done when everything is on the line. I also like the fact that he is a model citizen. Very good veteran presence for our still young pitching staff. We have 3 great starters (including a lefty now) and a solid bullpen. I think people were crying over the loss of Wagner, and while I loved Wagner, I think a lot of people including myself would do the deal of trading Wagner for Pettitte. Let's just hope that the bullpen can keep it up without their ace next year. We will see if this actually translates to a play-off run, but I for one am excited about the upcoming season. If we have a healthy Oswalt and the bats are going (Kent not missing any significant time, etc), I would be disappointed if we did not make the playoffs. Anyway, I think it's great to be a Houston sports team fan these days with all 3 major sports looking pretty bright.
No offense, but... Who cares? Seriously, I think this is a great signing. With a rotation of Pettitte, Oswald, Miller, Redding, and hopefully a healthy Hernandez, we should be pretty solid. Especially if Dotel can take charge in the closers role which I suspect he can. The only thing I don't like about this deal is that now the guys on 610 will NEVER talk about the Rockets.
Isn't that the definition for underachieve? They led the division, had everyone back in the lineup (Oswalt, Kent), and yet still lost the division. That is underachieving in my book.
Damn, I'm good . Every sign pointed Houston's way from the start. The fact Andy grew up in Deer Park, he is a low key guy not looking for the spotlight of NY, and he has his rings already. My future profession did a lousy job on this one. Everyone assumed Pettitte wouldn't leave because it's the Yankees. But, they didn't evaluate the factors like I did. When, ESPN showed Jeter pleading on national TV, I was appalled. That was bad ethics, imho. Now on the move. The Astros can compete with any team in the NL, and Andy Pettitte stabilizes the front of that rotation. He also adds a bulldog mentaility and leadership for those pressure situations. The astros now have a complete team. I can't wait to see how oswalt/miller do with the pressure off them. But the bottom line is, anything bad that can happen to the Yanks should, because Steinbrenner's an *******, and he has tried to ruin the national pastime. MLB isn't just about the red sox and the Yankees, its about all 30 teams. Of course New York will plug in the void left by Pettitte , but it won't be the same. And one of the cogs of their dynasty of the mid 90's is gone. Then you add in Sheffield messing with them, and outside of Vasquez they may not get another free agent arm, and baseball is starting to get normal again. And I, for one, hope this continues.
