YANKS MADE OFFER TO AP [wfan] According to WFAN, the Yanks offered 1 year/15 million.....the Astros countered with an unspecified amount. Astros apparently are after Schmidt or Jennings but would prefer Pettitte. This is from the Yankees reporter who is at the winter mtgs. Hendricks is not commenting.
sorry for the extra thread....i figured it was new news....maybe we oculd have a Pettitte only thread and merge em
i think important, breaking news like this should always have it's own thread. That's some sick $$. I hate to say it, but if we could get Schmidt cheaper...I think I'd go that route. Both are equal injury risks...if not Pettite being a greater one. (unless there's something higher than a 50/50 shot at Roger once Andy signs...and I'd imagine Purpura would have a good idea on this by now as opposed to our speculations)
Yeah...im thinking that maybe Purp knows that if AP comes back, Roger will as well...and if not, Roger retires....but i guess thats not earth shattering breaking news
See that is believable. And good to hear the astros want schmidt as the fallback plan. He would be a great #2 after Roy regardless of andy's decision. In the end, I don't see Andy going to NY. Somebody who is seriously contemplating retirement wouldn't uproot his family(with young children) for his final year or two, especially when they have so many connections to the city they work in now.
This is what I keep coming back to. If you're strained enough to feel like you might retire...and you have the option to play closest to home...to make home games literally home games for you....why in the world would you go somewhere else?
Well, in fairness to Andy, we don't really know what his true intentions are... his reasons for wanting to "retire" could have simply been due to his arm hurting a little, and some burnout from the pressure-packed last three seasons Seriously... as stressful as we think players have it to pitch in NY, Andy may have been MORE stressed out in Houston... with his injury during the first year (and his constant rehab/injury cycle that lasted for 5 months, till he finally had surgery), pitching through pain but pushing the team to the World Series in the second year, and last year's terribly inconsistent year which resulted in him missing the playoffs for the first time ever. Also, I know he's a big-time family man... but inevitably (even if you hate big city life), i'm sure he misses some aspects of NY. Andy has had all the family time (and then some) for three straight years (after 10+ of limited time)... maybe he's ready to get back to the big apple while he still can (one too many diaper changes?)
Andy will get have a 5 plus ERA in the AL East. He had a 4.2 ERA in the NL Central which sucked last year.
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061205/UPDATE/612050420 Andy hasn't decided for sure he wants to play next season, but we are negotiating with the Yankees," Hendricks said. "So obviously that is a possibility." "I'm not going to comment on where things stand with the Yankees other than to say we're talking with them," Hendricks said. "Once Andy decides whether he wants to play, we'll know more."
If this team is paying Carlos Lee $15 million a year... Andy is definitely worth it (especially considering that this team is DEAD without quality pitching). If the market was inflated for the batters... it definitely will be inflated for the pitchers, who are more important and rarer commodities.
What are the Astros saving their money for? They need pitching... and they have no relationship with any other pitcher on the market that would make them "frontrunners" to guarantee to get them.
From the article... "Pettitte, in many ways, would be a perfect fit for the Yankees in that he would want a short-term deal and has proven he can play in New York. His addition also would give the Yankees time to develop their young starters." Umm, ok, because the Astros can't provide the same thing for him?? PLUS, he'd still be right here close to home. Is finishing your career where it began, after you've already left said place, really that important, considering you'd have to uproot yourself again and play for one season, then uproot again only to move back to your hometown?
On the subject of wondering why he'd go elsewhere.. one of the articles mentioned something that stuck out to me as potentially true (just about the only reason that makes sense). That he wanted to go back to a more "intense" atmosphere. The Astros clubhouse and the Houston fans are generally more laid-back--I think anyone would admit--than New York fans and the city. Just thinking of Pettite's intensity on the mound in playoff games... I can see him possibly craving some of that back in the atmosphere around him.
I've been to Yankees regular season games before and they're not much more "intense". I know we don't have anywhere the near tradition the Yankees do, but when we've been in the playoffs MMP has been rocking. Although, I would agreee there are more hardcore fans at Yankees games.
Its probably not important... but then again, its probably not as big of a deal as we're all making it out to be. Pettite has a lifetime to be with his family... and he's had a lot of time to spend with them the last 3+ years, meaning the "hometown" factor isn't neccessarily fresh on his mind. I'd like it if he remained an Astro... but I wouldn't be too suprised if he was lured back to NY. Consider this comparison (as much as I hate comparing baseball to basketball)... Imagine Yao Ming, in 10 years, if he wants to go back to china... we know he all misses his hometown, but we also consider him a "rocket" for life. Then, what if Yao realizes that China is still home... but he actually had some fun when he was in Houston, and wouldn't mind another year while he could still do it. Andy, as much as we love it that Houston is his "hometown", will always be a Yankee.
The key word you used was "regular" season games. Now, MMP is a GREAT place to watch baseball, and it has a great playoff atmosphere... but its still nothing compared to the stadium.
$15 mill for AP? And his bum elbow? Uhh sorry I luv ya man but have fun in Yankee Stadium. I'd rather take that money and go after Schmidt or sign Huff and trade Ensberg and some spare parts for Jennings or Peavy (that's the new hot rumor for the Astros apparently).
