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12.12.2003
Pettitte to the Astros As tough as it is to see Andy Pettitte go, I'm not blaming anyone for this. Pettitte's leaving New York for some very understandable reasons, and while I don't know how anyone can live in/around New York for as long as he has and not love it...he's more comfortable in the South, where he's from. I can respect that. He gave us some great years in New York, and I'm certainly grateful. As for the Yankees' supposed bungling of negotiations, I have a hard time believing it was a huge factor in this decision. Ultimately, everyone's willing to acknowledge that the Yanks offered more money than the Astros and it simply wasn't enough. Sure, if the Yanks had come with something like $15 million+ a season over five years Andy might've accepted, but the offer they made was perfectly reasonable. All things being equal, I expect Pettitte would've taken it. Of course, all things weren't equal, and he's an Astro. There was clearly far more to this decision than money from Pettitte's perspective, and I can't blame Steinbrenner for losing out here. What's made me happiest about this story are the reports that Pettitte immediately dismissed playing for the Red Sox because he couldn't betray the Yankee fans who supported him during his nine years in New York. Finally! I realize that the Yankees and Red Sox are two of the richest teams out there and can thus offer very lucrative contracts, but I'm always baffled and disgusted when guys like Ramiro Mendoza, who have had really nice careers with one of the teams (the Yankees, obviously, in this case) go and sign with the other. Don't they realize that such a thing is tantamount to stabbing the entire fan base in the back? Mendoza was fine when he was in New York, we appreciated his efforts...but you think Yankee fans want to have him back for anything (Old Timer's Day, whatever else down the line) now? He's a traitor. He may not see it that way, but you can't convince me that he didn't have other options for similar money. The only place you can't go as a Yankee-on-your-way-out-via-free-agency is Boston. He did, and he's paying the price (and not playing in Boston, but that's another story). Pettitte is leaving the Yankees for reasons we can all understand, and made certain that he didn't damage his legacy in New York as he did so. I really appreciate that. - |