WHAT TO EXPECT FROM ANDY PETTITTE THIS YEAR

If you haven't heard already; Andy Pettitte has agreed to return to the Yankees on a $2.5 million minor league deal, read HERE. I never thought that I would be writing about an Andy Pettitte comeback after he has brushed off questions of a comeback multiple times. Well, we know that ol' reliable is coming back and it's terrific. The big question is, what can we expect from a 39 year old who hasn't pitched in more than a full year? Well... here's what I'm thinking:

Andy probably will not be ready for Opening day with the Yankees and will probably join the team in late April- early May. This is clearly my opinion of course. I can see him making between 20-25 starts and having a stat line similar to this:

12-7 4.25 ERA 110 K's 140 IP 50BB

This may be somewhat wishful thinking, but I am not completely positive yet how much a 39 year old a year and a half off of pitching can offer to the Yanks. He can turn into Brett Favre-esque, like when he lead the Vikings deep into the playoffs after coming out of retirement. Pettitte could also end up never really regaining his old form and only making about 10 starts...I'm just saying... you never know. Not to look at the negatives here, but there is always that possibility.

I love Andy Pettitte, and I really don't know a Yankee fan who didn't while he was playing. I am rooting for him 100%. I hope that he comes back and is just like vintage Andy from the days when he was anchoring rotations always going deep into the postseason. I am so glad that he has decided to give it another shot, because when he retired, I just had this feeling that he had more left in his tank. I'm glad I had a feeling, because this was a nice surprise. So now, we will have to wait and see.

--Will Cohen, BYB Staff Writer

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