Andy Pettitte Hangs 'Em Up

Andy Pettitte, who has toyed with the idea of retirement since the 2006 offseason, has officially decided that his time has come and he will announce his retirement tomorrow during a press conference at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte, baseball's all-time leader in postseason victories (19), flew to New York yesterday afternoon and is scheduled to make his announcement official Friday morning.

His decision, which the Yankees did not try to talk him out of, is another blow to the team's rotation, the first being when Cliff Lee chose to pitch for the Phillies.

The Core Four is down to three. Jorge Posada, moving from catcher to DH this season, is probably not going to be back in 2012. Mariano Rivera has two more years on his new deal, while Derek Jeter has three and an option for a fourth.

"It is just one more person gone from that special time in New York," said former Yankee warrior Paul O'Neill, who won four championships with Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera.

Pettitte added a fifth ring in 2009, but the Yankees now go into 2011 in an unfamiliar role -- they are not the favorites to win it all. In fact, they have a rotation short on sure things.

Even with Pettitte, the rotation had question marks; now the hole he leaves is gaping. As of now, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre follow CC Sabathia.

General manager Brian Cashman, who did not return a call but is expected to attend today's news conference, said all winter he assumed Pettitte wasn't going to pitch in 2011. He brought in Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia in the last week on minor-league contracts to compete for a rotation spot.

Nova, 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in his career, is in position to win the Yankees' fourth starter spot. The fifth slot is up for grabs between Garcia, Colon and Mitre. The Yankees do feel they are stocked with potential starters in the minors, but the best of the best -- Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances -- are more likely to arrive in 2012 than 2011.

Cashman could add another past-his-prime guy like Kevin Millwood, but to really replace Pettitte, especially after failing to sign Cliff Lee, Cashman will likely need to practice patience. Still, the Yankees will be waiting to pounce on any top-of-the-line starter, via trade, that becomes available.

But although Pettitte had said he was leaning toward retirement, there was hope within the organization that he would return for a 17th season. After all, Pettitte had vacillated in previous years and decided to return each time. Hope increased when he recently began throwing at his home in Deer Park, Texas.

"I'm really sad that Andy is going to retire,'' said Posada, who caught Pettitte from 1995-2003 and 2007-10. "He was so much more than a teammate to me - he was one of my closest friends. I admire everything that he has accomplished as a Yankee, but Andy was someone who always put the team first. I'm going to miss him deeply."

Pettitte finishes his career 240-138 with a 3.88 ERA in 16 seasons - 13 with the Yankees - and likely will be remembered for his performances when the pressure was most intense. He went 19-10 in the postseason, winning all three series-clinching games in the Yankees' run to the 2009 World Series title.
His 203 victories as a Yankee trail only Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231).

Pettitte was off to the best start of his career in 2010 - 11-2 with a 2.70 ERA - before suffering a groin injury in his first start after the All-Star break. It cost him nine weeks of the season, and he finished 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA. He then beat the Twins in Game 2 of the ALDS and lost Game 3 of the ALCS to Lee and the Rangers.

Instead - he said then and at other times when asked about it - his decision would come down to family. He and his wife, Laura, have three sons and a daughter.

"Those off-days get hard, trying to fly home to see your family for a day, 24 hours. That's a tough deal," Pettitte said in October. "The kids are getting to an age where I want to be home."

After this morning's news conference, Pettitte will head there, presumably for good.

Pettitte's retirement really comes as a shock to no one because he never has waited this long to decide in years past and when he walked out of the clubhouse after the Yankees series-clinching Game 6 loss to the Texas Rangers in the ALCS he told his teammates "I probably won't be back."

He is arguably the greatest clutch pitcher of all-time, but that is a debate for another time. His value to the team is often understated, just ask O'Neill. "He's going to be missed more as someone for the younger guys to lean on," O'Neill told ESPNNewYork.com. "He's going to be missed every fifth day, but I still think and feel Andy was the leader and lot of people didn't realize it."

"Usually, someone you consider a big-game pitcher has a fiery personality, but Andy was laid back until he took the mound," said O'Neill, now a Yankees broadcaster on YES. "He has been the staple of that pitching staff. Even with bigger names and everything, people looked to him. I think he is going to be missed in that respect as much as pitching the important games."

The Yankees right now have placeholders to fill in for Pettitte. A big-time, big-game starter is tougher to find. Especially one who might never have led the rotation, but was a leader in the clubhouse.