ALL EYES ON PETTITTE

Andy Pettitte is close to returning.  Unless there is some major setback, we will see Andy Pettitte soon, read Erik Boland of Newsday HERE. Boland writes: "Girardi said it 'shouldn’t be long' before Andy Pettitte, who threw off a mound Friday for the first time in his rehab, throws a full bullpen session. Pettitte said he felt no ill effects Saturday."

ESPN writes that Andy threw off a mound and said "I felt good, I felt really good..." ESPN also wrote "Pettitte will check with team doctors later Friday or on Saturday to determine the next step in his rehab. He threw 20 pitches on Friday...  'I think I'm getting real real close to being over the hump' Pettitte said." Read the rest of that HERE.

I was thinking about this though and it's important to point it out; Sure, the Yankees aren't doing so great right now, and with that, it almost seems like we're searching for answers further than the club we have on the field, i.e. Andy Pettitte and the other injured guys. Is that fair? I mean, I love Andy, I miss seeing Alex Rodriguez in the lineup too, but we have our team of 25 (and more with call-ups) right now, and they HAVE to deliver.  To put that kind of pressure on a guy like Andy Pettitte to get back to "carry" the team almost seems unfair.  Sure, Andy Pettitte is a post-season God, but what if we don't GET to the post-season? You know what I mean?

The Star Ledger's Jeff Bradley writes a great piece about Andy and asks "Can the Yankees count on Andy Pettitte in the postseason?" Great question, I agree...can we? Bradley writes: "Now, manager Joe Girardi is talking about an 'accelerated' program, and Pettitte is talking about making two September starts in hopes of being ready for the postseason.

That seems like a lot to expect, unless Girardi has so much confidence in Pettitte that he believes, even at less than 100 percent, he’s better than his other options. But do the Yankees really want to rely on a pitcher who’s building arm strength and stamina?"

I wonder about this as well. What if Andy just isn't right? What if that ankle doesn't hold? If we're just sitting here waiting for our savior Andy Pettitte to come back and he's not healthy, there's no question in my mind that the Yankees wouldn't make it through the end of the season in 1st place, nor the post-season. Our ball playing has been way too inconsistent.  No, I'm not slamming my team, I'm suggesting the reality.  Worry...worry as a fan. 

I know, never bet against Andy Pettitte, and I'm not. I just wonder though. I wonder if we can actually get to the post-season with all this injury and inconsistency.

I wonder if guys like CC Sabathia and Joba Chamberlain are truly healthy.  I wonder if Mark Teixeira can come back strong, or Alex, or whether or not Andruw Jones will break out of his funk? And yes, I wonder if the Yankees can finish strong and enter the post-season on a high.  Not crawling into the post-season, I mean finishing strong, VERY STRONG so teams wonder if they can beat us...not the other way around.

It's my opinion that it's unfair to put all this weight and pressure on Andy Pettitte to save us. Yes, Andy can do anything, he's proven that, but sometimes we just have to go out and do it without the "saviors of the past." Sometimes, we need to play like the New York Yankees. Sometimes we just need to play like champions and if the others like Andy and Teixeira come back strong, hell, that's a plus. Sure, that may not be what my Yankees are doing, but that's what it sure feels like lately.

Look, all I'm saying is one thing we can't do is "wait and hope" that they'll save us like they're some Superhero. That's not baseball... that's not life, that's a gamble. We don't want to gamble in September, we want a guarantee.  My Yankees on the field right now need to believe they can win...then... we'll get Andy to help.  We can't just cross our fingers and hope he'll be our leader. We need to lead ourselves now...that's my opinion anyway.

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