Monday, July 24, 2023

THIS ANDY PETTITTE ANNOUCEMENT COMES AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE YANKEES!


Did the Yankees finally realize that you can't win games with stat geeks calling the shots from behind a computer screen? You need experience from those who also played the game. There's one Yankee great that defines that and he's a fan favorite.

The Yankees and Andy Pettitte have reunited, and I couldn't be happier! It's true, you can check out the news story that broke yesterday HERE. Pettitte is back as a special advisor so Matt Blake isn't losing his job to Andy, but his resume and experience should help give this staff the boost they need. I'd say a career with 256 wins over 18 years is very valuable. His determination and stone-cold stare should also help remind this team about the desire to win. I do miss that stare of his and his swag. There's never been anything like it since.


So I am excited about this move. It's unknown how often Andy will be around the pitching staff considering he and his family live in Houston and are rumored to want to stay there instead of relocating. Regardless, he was spotted with the team this weekend and the timing just couldn't be any better. The Yankees are 8.5 games back of the AL East and fighting for the third and final wild card spot. If they don't secure a wild card spot it will be the first time since 2016 that the Yankees would fail to make the postseason. Andy's 44 postseason games make him uniquely qualified to get the Yankees pitching staff fine-tuned to make that playoff push.


I understand analytics are here to stay, but there is something to be said for experience. Analytics probably won't fix fellow southpaw Nestor Cortes, who looks like a completely different pitcher from last year. However, I do think Andy may be able to get him back on the right track and we need that. Nestor has not been reliable at all, but if anyone can make that positive impact it has to be Andy....not Blake or a stat geek.


We are seeing the Yankees make a slight deviation away from heavy analytics. We saw it with the Yankees firing Dillon Lawson and now bringing in a well-respected Yankee. We all loved Andy Pettitte as a player, including the Yankees. Now the Yankees continue to respect him by bringing in his wisdom to rescue our season.

I love the move, I just hope this isn't too little too late. Welcome home AGAIN, Andy.


--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj






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