Results tagged ‘ Andy Pettitte ’
Pettitte, Romine ready to take on the Astros
If you’re Austin Romine, strapping on the catching gear for your first big league start of the season, it has to be a reassuring sight to see Andy Pettitte’s name listed on the lineup card. Romine said he takes pride in going over the scouting reports with a fine-tooth comb, and I have no doubt he’ll be prepared with a back story for every one of the Astros’ hitters.
But still, Pettitte knows what his game plan should be and certainly is comfortable taking the wheel. With the Yankees trusting Romine and Pettitte to figure out the pitch-calling without any interference from the bench, Pettitte’s savvy is a nice fail-safe to have.
“Andy is pretty good about taking other players under his wing and letting them know what he wants to do,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s not going to get flustered out there if they don’t get in a rhythm right away. I think for that it works pretty well.”
Romine said that he spent the weekend catching guys in the bullpen after he was called up on Saturday, including getting re-acquainted with Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda. As of a few hours before game time, Romine said he wasn’t feeling any butterflies as he prepared to get behind the plate in a Major League game for the first time since Sept. 2011.
“No, actually I’m really excited. I thought there would be some,” Romine said. “I’m sure when the game starts I’ll be a little more excited than normal. I’m really excited to get out there and take hold of this opportunity.”
Pettitte, Teixeira to play for Team USA
Mark Teixeira played for Team USA in the ’06 Classic.
Andy Pettitte and Mark Teixeira will be taking the field for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, as confirmed by MLB.com last night.
The tournament will reunite Pettitte with former manager Joe Torre, who has signed on to fill out the lineup cards for the United States entry. The 40-year-old Pettitte will be tuning up after a truncated season in which he went 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 12 starts.
Meanwhile, the Classic schedule means that Teixeira will be getting into game mode a little bit earlier. Given his history of slow regular season starts, perhaps this is a new way of trying to avoid those April struggles.
Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic) and Francisco Cervelli (Italy) have also been rumored to be participating in the Classic, with full rosters slated to be announced on Thursday on MLB Network.
In case you’re wondering, the Yankees did not have to approve participation for their players. Teams do not have the ability to stop players from taking part in the Classic unless there is a pre-existing injury.
CC: I want Pettitte, Kuroda back next year
CC Sabathia said this afternoon at Yankee Stadium that he has been texting with Andy Pettitte about returning to the Yankees in 2013, and also hopes Hiroki Kuroda will be back in the rotation next season:
“I’m lobbying hard to try to get ‘Titte’ (ed. note: pronounced “tea-tay”) to come back. Hopefully Hiro comes back. He was our most consistent pitcher all year. Hopefully he comes back and does great for us again. I definitely, for my own selfish reasons, want Andy to come back. He’s somebody to talk to, he helps me out a lot being a lefty that’s pitching in this league for a long time. Hopefully he does.”
Pettitte said after the ALCS that he’d need about a month to make up his mind, while Kuroda could be locked up by Friday – the Yankees made a $13.3 million qualifying offer to him that he can accept or reject. Sabathia said he has been trying to get a feel for Pettitte’s mindset.
“I know he’s hanging out with his family enjoying that time right now. It’s not time to put the full court press on him yet. A few texts on a couple of Sundays, talking about football and throwing in, ‘Have you decided yet?’ We’ll see what happens.”
Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild talks Mo, Pineda, CC, Kuroda, Pettitte
Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild appeared on the MLB Network Radio channel on SiriusXM on Friday, joining hosts Jim Duquette and Jeff Joyce. Here are some highlights:
On Michael Pineda:
Host/Jeff Joyce: “What is his status and is he a guy you are expecting or hopeful that will be healthy for you this season?”
Larry Rothschild: “With elbows it is a lot more predictable and you can expect. With shoulders, really, I think you take him off the radar screen, bring him back as the injury allows. But I don’t think we can count on him for next year at all. And hopefully he comes back and it’s a great addition but if you count on him and think he’s going to be back by a certain point you have a pretty high percentage of being disappointed with that. So I think you’re better off just approaching it that he’s not going to be back next year. And if things go right – and he certainly could come back and be able to pitch, I wouldn’t doubt that at all – but for us to count on him, I think, would be a mistake.”
On Mariano Rivera:
Rothschild: “At the very end of the season I didn’t even think about it. I thought for sure he’s coming back because of the rehab he’s done and everything he’s done leading up right until the very end of the season. Really, when I got home I heard that now there’s talk that he may not come back and may retire. But I don’t know. I would bet anything that he’s coming back. But I have not talked to him. I’ve kind of left him on his own because I think it’s a decision he has to make. I will probably talk to him in the next week or 10 days or so. But there are no parameters. Cash will handle that part of it as far as when he’s going to come back, when the decision is made if he’s not, and we’ll go from there.”
On CC Sabathia:
Joyce: “Has there been talk about lightening the load a little bit during the regular season based on the load that he’s taken on over the last five, six, seven years?”
Rothschild: “Yeah, Joe and I talked about it even going back to last year. This year we talked about it even more. Not only lightening the load but the pitch total during the game because he’s a guy that almost thrives on working the pitch totals and when he doesn’t have them it has an effect leading into the next start. Unlike a lot of guys where if they get a little more rest they’re more effective, he works more and throws more pitches he seems to get on rolls a lot quicker. And what happened, I think, part of this year is he didn’t do it. We didn’t let him get to that point. And then with the groin at one point and the elbow at the other we just never got to that point until towards the end and then he got on another roll when he did throw the pitches. So it’s kind of a Catch-22 with him. We do have to watch it and we’re going to probably have to watch a few guys on this staff. We’re aware of it and back off. When he had a chance to pitch with extra rest we did that. In the past he would pitch on the fifth day almost all the time.”
On Hiroki Kuroda:
Host/Jim Duquette: “Do you think there’s a high percentage chance he comes back to you guys?”
Rothschild: “I think there’s a high percentage chance that if he plays in the States he plays with the Yankees. I think he enjoyed the experience. I think his decision, to some degree, is going to be: Is this the year for him to go back to Japan? He feels like he has a debt to the team in Japan that he played for, that he would like to pitch, I think, another year for them before he retires. Whenever that comes about I think when he thinks he’s ready to do that that’s what he’s going to do. And if he’s not then I think we have a good chance to re-sign him and he’ll play for us or, you know, possibly the Dodgers. I don’t know. But I know he enjoyed New York and I think if he’s going to play in the States we’re going to have a pretty good shot at bringing him back.”
On Andy Pettitte:
Duquette: “Do you think he wants to come back to the Yanks?”
Rothschild: “Yeah, I do. But I think it’s a decision that when you get home, at the end of the year I would have told you, ‘Yes, absolutely.’ And now I think he still will but, you know, you just don’t know at this time of year. I think it is his decision again and he’ll sit down with the family and I think the family is pretty much on board with it so, yeah, I think the fires are still there. It was a freak thing, getting hit with the ball and the fracture of the bone this year. Can he hold up for 36 starts? I’m more comfortable thinking a little bit less than that. … I think effectively, if we’re smart about it, he’s going to be more effective with a few less starts than trying to push it through to 32 or 35, whatever it might be, and keep him fresher as long as we can.”
Yankees acquire Casey McGehee from Pirates
The Yankees have acquired infielder Casey McGehee from the Pirates with cash considerations in exchange for right-handed reliever Chad Qualls.
McGehee is expected to join the Yankees tomorrow. He will help the Yankees at the corner infield spots with Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez sidelined; the 29-year-old hit .230 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 92 games with the Pirates this season, appearing at first base (77 games, 56 starts) and third base (nine games, eight starts).
“This is a guy who has put up big numbers in his career,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We’re hoping he can help us.”
Qualls, 33, has combined to go 2-1 with a 4.89 ERA in 43 relief appearances with the Phillies and Yankees in 2012.
The Yankees were reportedly in on trade talks with the Cubs for Ryan Dempster, who was dealt to the Rangers instead. Yankees GM Brian Cashman declined to confirm his interest in Dempster and was supportive of his team’s rotation, noting that they are looking forward to getting Andy Pettitte back healthy in September.
Andy Pettitte has slight setback in rehab from ankle injury
NEW YORK — Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte has suffered a slight setback in his recovery from a fractured left ankle, the veteran first told the New York Post on Sunday.
Pettitte, 40, told the newspaper that he “did a little too much in Seattle” and that the ankle “hasn’t healed up as much as [the doctors] thought it would.”
He had been building arm strength by throwing on flat ground in the outfield before games, including on the club’s recent trip to play the Mariners, and was spotted on one occasion running the stairs in the lower seating bowl at Safeco Field.
“He pushed himself too far, so we will back off,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.
Cashman added that Pettitte’s situation is part of the “ebb and flow to rehab,” and that the Yankees will “see him in September.”
Pettitte told the newspaper that he has been told to back off on his rehab temporarily to help reduce the swelling in the ankle.
The Yankees have expected Pettitte to return to their rotation in early September, and it is not believed that the latest issue with his ankle will affect the original timetable of six to eight weeks. Team doctors have been encouraged by periodic checkups on Pettitte’s injury, including X-rays that have showed healing, and he has been walking without the help of crutches or a boot.
Pettitte suffered a fracture of his fibula when he was hit by a Casey Kotchman one-hop ground ball during a June 27 start against the Mariners at Yankee Stadium. He came out of retirement this spring after sitting out for the 2011 season, joining the big league club in May and going 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA in nine starts.
Andy Pettitte leaves game after being hit by ball
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
NEW YORK – Andy Pettitte was forced to leave his start against the Indians on Wednesday after taking a fifth-inning comebacker off his left ankle.
Pettitte was struck by a well-hit infield single by Cleveland’s Casey Kotchman, with the Yankees leading, 2-1. He attempted to throw several warmup pitches and appeared uncomfortable, but manager Joe Girardi initially permitted Pettitte to stay in the game.
After one pitch to Lou Marson, Pettitte was removed, as the Yankees did not like the way the 40-year-old left-hander was landing. Pettitte limped off the field with Girardi and a trainer.
The injury added more concern to an afternoon in which the Yankees announced they will place ace left-hander CC Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain.
Cody Eppley relieved Pettitte. Long reliever Freddy Garcia was expected to be potentially unavailable because he is already in line to start in CC Sabathia’s place on Friday against the White Sox, but began warming in the fifth inning.
Andy Pettitte barehands ball, stays in game
Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte snared a one-hopper back to the mound with his bare hand in the top of the sixth inning on Sunday against the Mets, then stayed in the game to finish the inning.
Pettitte put his hand in front of Scott Hairston’s chopper back to the mound and the ball stuck, which Pettitte tossed to first base. He appeared to be in some pain as Joe Girardi and assistant trainer Mark Littlefield came to the mound, throwing several warm-up pitches, but Pettitte was able to convince them to let him stay in the game.
Pettitte got the next two outs on Lucas Duda’s strikeout and Vinny Rottino’s deep flyout, ending the inning, then disappeared down the dugout runway – presumably for treatment. Clay Rapada took over the pitching for the seventh inning with the Yankees trailing, 3-0.
How Pettitte talked his way back out for the eighth
The Yankees don’t want to make a habit of having Andy Pettitte throw 115 pitches, but the look in the lefty’s eyes convinced manager Joe Girardi to send the 39-year-old back out for the eighth inning on Friday — despite what sounded like reservations from head athletic trainer Steve Donohue.
I’ll let Pettitte tell the story, recounting what happened in the dugout during the New York seventh inning:
“It was kind of funny. Joe comes and goes, ‘I don’t want to push you too hard,’ and I was getting a little bit of a massage from our trainer. I’m like, ‘I’m good. I feel like I can give you another one.’ I knew I was getting a little tired but I was staying within myself. Our trainer says, ‘How many pitches you got?’
“I think he said like 106. He’s like, ‘Maybe you ought to go pitch to pitch.’ Stevie drops that on him. Anyhow, I felt like I was in a good rhythm. I know Joe trusts me and I felt like I could give him another inning. I’m thankful that I told him I was good and I was able to get through that inning.”
It worked out, as Pettitte pitched a perfect eighth to complete his longest scoreless outing since July 8, 2008 against Tampa Bay. It was also Pettitte’s first victory since July 8, 2010 against the Mariners.
“It’s not something I want to do on a consistent basis,” Girardi said. “He looked like his stuff was still really good. I know he has to go again in five days and then he gets an extra day, and I think about that as well. It was just kind of the way he looked, and I talked to him. I looked him in the eyes.”
Here is Girardi’s postgame press conference:
Pettitte expected to start for Yankees on Sunday
NEW YORK – The Yankees plan to add Andy Pettitte to their active roster and have him pitch on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners, general manager Brian Cashman said.
“I think everyone is in agreement, he’s not going to benefit from any more time down there (in the Minor Leagues),” Cashman said.
The start will be the 39-year-old’s first big league outing since the 2010 ALCS. He came out of retirement this spring after briefly attending camp as a guest instructor.
“If there’s a gap between the old Andy Pettitte and what we’re going to get, I don’t know yet,” Cashman said. “It’ll be nice to get another healthy arm in the mix.”
Cashman said that manager Joe Girardi and his coaches were in agreement that Pettitte could help the big league team after reviewing reports of his last start at Triple-A.
“I think our fans are excited, Andy is excited and I’ll be excited if he plugs in and helps us,” Cashman said.
Bryan Hoch
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