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The New York Yankees surely hoped Andy Pettitte would return to become a key part of their starting rotation once he recovered from a broken leg. 

But even the Yanks—and perhaps Pettitte himself—have to be surprised by the results of his first two starts since being activated from the disabled list. Pettitte hasn’t allowed a run over 11 innings, giving up 11 hits and three walks while striking out six batters.

Yes, Pettitte faced the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins in those two appearances, both last place teams (or near last, in the Twins’ case) in their respective divisions. However, the Blue Jays and Twins are each in the middle third of the MLB in runs scored. It’s not like Pettitte faced the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros. 

Anyone who questioned whether a 40-year-old Pettitte could still be effective after coming back from injury and facing major league competition without pitching any rehab starts (I would place myself in this group) likely doesn’t have such doubts anymore. 

Pettitte will almost certainly be part of the Yankees’ playoff rotation. The question might be whether he lines up in the third spot behind CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda or is the fourth starter after Phil Hughes. 

However, Pettitte could be called upon to take on a far more important role for the Yankees in the week to come. If he stays on his current rotation, the left-hander will have one more start on Saturday (Sept. 29) against the Blue Jays. (it could be interesting to see how he fares against Toronto the second time around.) 

Following a five-day schedule, Pettitte would then be slated to pitch on Oct. 4. There is no game for the Yankees that Thursday unless they have to play a one-game tiebreaker for the AL East title.

Pettitte would surely be pushed back to that game. 

Yankees manager Joe Girardi could save Sabathia for either a one-game tiebreaker or a wild-card playoff. But saving him for Game 1 of the divisional series (and possibly having him available for two starts) is probably the better move. 

This is an excellent development for the Yankees, no matter what the team ultimately decides.

The Yanks have their No. 1 ace available for a do-or-die playoff; but they can also put their longtime veteran on the mound who’s pitched several crucial postseason games throughout his career. 

Most recently, Pettitte pitched the Game 6 clincher in the 2009 World Series that gave the Yankees their 27th championship. He also pitched the decisive Game 6 of the ALCS that postseason.  

If the Yankees have to face the Orioles in a AL East tiebreaker, several writers and broadcasters might cite his 27-6 record and 3.52 ERA in 40 starts against the O’s. That would be largely irrelevant, however, since those appearances weren’t against this current Baltimore team. 

A better gauge might be Pettitte’s most recent starts against Baltimore in 2010. He went 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA, but two starts isn’t much of a sample size from which to draw a conclusion. 

Regardless, Pettitte facing whomever the Orioles might pitch in a tiebreaker—Chris Tillman, Steve Johnson or Wei-Yei Chen—is likely a good matchup for the Yankees, no matter how well those starters have performed. 

If the Yankees face the Oakland Athletics in a wild-card playoff, Pettitte’s history is even less conclusive. Yes, he’s 11-6 with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts vs. the A’s, but he hasn’t pitched against the them since 2009 and Oakland has a completely different team now. We’re talking about a total roster overhaul. 

But if the playoff were to take place at O.co Coliseum, past information might be a bit more relevant. Pettitte has a 4-3 record and a 3.57 ERA in 10 starts there. Even if he faced different batters and lineups in those 10 games, the ballpark itself is a factor in Pettitte’s record. 

“It’s the same old Andy. We’ve seen it for years,” Girardi told reporters after Pettitte’s start on Monday (Sept. 24). “When he needs a double play, he finds a way to get it.

“He’s been in so many situations, he’s able to relax and not make too much of one hitter. It has a lot to do with poise. He’s got a lot of poise.”

Girardi said it himself there. He would have no problem pitching Pettitte in a one-game playoff if it comes to that for the Yankees. Pettitte has certainly pitched well enough since returning from injury to have earned the nod as well. 

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The New York Yankees were supposed to see a familiar face out on the mound on Tuesday night for the first time in a couple of months, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Veteran left-hander Andy Pettitte, out since June with a broken left ankle, was set to start for the Yankees against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, as Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com reported, but the word from YES Network broadcaster Michael Kay is that Tuesday’s game has been rained out:

Yankee game rained out. Day night DH tomorrow with first game at 1 pm. My best info is pettitte starts first game.

— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) September 18, 2012

Pettitte’s first start in nearly three whole months will have to wait.

It’s coming, though, and it really couldn’t come at a better time. Given the circumstances in the AL East, the Yankees need as much help as they can get in the last couple of weeks of the regular season.

As such, they’d no doubt love to see Mariano Rivera back on the mound as well. This, however, is something we know isn’t happening. Mo teased a potential return to the Yankees by the end of the season way back in July, but Yankees GM Brian Cashman moved quickly to squash that possibility. Rivera’s torn ACL needs more time to heal.

However, Rivera did vow way back in May that he would be back in 2013, saying he’s “not going out like this.”

Pettitte has also left the door open for a potential return in 2013. He said this weekend, via ESPNNewYork.com, that his injury has changed his thinking.

Said Pettitte:

I could probably say that when I came back I thought there was no chance that I was coming back, this is a one-year deal. But getting hurt and only having 60 innings right now and you were hoping to have a couple hundred innings under your belt, it definitely gives me the option to consider coming back again next year, that’s for sure.

Granted, Pettitte went on to say that he’s basically in wait-and-see mode for now. It’s also worth noting that Rivera backed off his promise to pitch in 2013 back in July because he doesn’t want to leave himself open for disappointment if it turns out his body won’t allow him to pitch.

So really, it’s anybody’s guess as to whether Pettitte and/or Rivera will pitch for the Yankees again in 2013. 

Here’s my best guess: Both of them will be back in 2013. Allow me to explain why.

Why Andy Pettitte Will Be Back

When Pettitte made his 2012 debut on May 13, nobody really had any idea what to expect. He didn’t officially sign on with the Yankees until late in spring training, and he wasn’t exactly a picture of health when he last pitched in the majors in 2010.

Pettitte proceeded to shatter expectations in the first eight starts he made for the Yankees upon his return, posting a 3.29 ERA and a .228 opponents’ batting average. He pitched at least six innings in each of his first eight starts, and he probably would have pitched six innings in his ninth start had a line drive not hit him in the leg.

That line drive, of course, landed Pettitte on the DL, freezing him at 58.2 innings pitched until now. There’s only enough time left in the season for him to make three more starts. Because the Yankees are going to be watching his pitch count and his innings like a hawk, it’s hard to imagine Pettitte finishing with any more than 80 innings under his belt when the season comes to a close.

If so, Pettitte would officially set a new career low for innings in a single season. That’s not ideal, but you can obviously see where he’s coming from when he says that he figured he was in for a much larger workload when he decided to come back this year. 

Just like he wasn’t back in 2010, Pettitte has not been a picture of health this season. We are, however, talking about a freak injury that has derailed his season. This year has left Pettitte with few, if any, reasons to think that his body can’t handle pitching in the big leagues anymore.

Conventional wisdom says that his body will break down if he comes back in 2013, as he’ll be 41 years old by next June. However, this is a possibility that shouldn’t be taken for granted. The track record for pitchers in their early 40s isn’t utterly hopeless.

On Monday, Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs posted a helpful rundown of left-handers who were still pitching in their early 40s. Among the lefties in recent history who enjoyed some decent success were Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, David Wells and Jamie Moyer.

With the exception of the Big Unit, who could still strike hitters out with the best of them when he was in his early 40s, the key for all the old lefties who enjoyed some success later in their careers was to have good control. For them, it was pretty much all smoke and mirrors.

Pettitte has demonstrated this season that he’s more than up to the task of keeping hitters guessing. The 2.3 BB/9 he’s posted so far this season is his lowest such mark since his near-Cy Young season with the Houston Astros in 2005. His 9.1 K/9 is fluky, but it goes to show that Pettitte’s pitch selection and location were as good as ever when he was pitching earlier this season.

If we include Pettitte’s 2010 season in the discussion, we’re talking about a pitcher who has a 3.26 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 7.7 K/9 over his last 187.2 innings. Numbers such as these qualify Pettitte as a well-above-average pitcher.

The Yankees certainly need one of those now, and they’re going to take as many of those as they can get in 2013 as well.

Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Yankees only have a handful of starting pitchers looked up for next season. One, obviously, is CC Sabathia, and the others are Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda and David Phelps.

Because this group leaves a lot to be desired, I’ll be surprised if the Yankees don’t find a way to re-sign Hiroki Kuroda after what he’s done for them this season (14-10, 3.26 ERA). But even if they do, the back end of their prospective 2013 rotation will still need some work.

Hughes is fine, but Pineda will be coming off major shoulder surgery, and Nova will be coming off a season in which he’s given up a lot of hard-hit balls and hurt himself with walks. Phelps has been decent as a starter, but he hasn’t done enough to prove that he deserves to be handed a rotation spot in 2013.

Complicating matters is the fact that both Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, who entered the season as the Yankees’ two best pitching prospects, endured trying seasons in 2012. Banuelos was hurt for much of the year, and Betances struggled to the point where the Yankees really had no choice but to demote him from Triple-A to Double-A.

The Yankees are going to need to arrange some depth for their rotation this winter, and it will need to be cheap depth if they’re serious about lowering their payroll. 

That’s where Pettitte will reenter the equation. Per a report from Newsday, the Yankees are only paying him $2.5 million this season. They could bring him back on a similar deal, or perhaps even a little cheaper, if he decides that he does indeed want to keep pitching.

My money is on him wanting to pitch. His ankle injury saved his arm a lot of wear and tear this season, and the fact that Pettitte teased a return in 2013 is a sign that he still has the bug just as bad as he had it earlier this year when the Yankees were gearing up for the 2012 season.

He probably won’t stop pitching until he embarrasses himself. And judging from the way he was pitching earlier this season, he has it in him to hold off embarrassment for another season.

Why Mariano Rivera Will Be Back

Between the two of them, Rivera would seem to be a bigger lock than Pettitte to come back in 2013, but that’s largely because he promised so vehemently to come back just a few weeks after he tore his ACL.

As mentioned above, he sort of took that promise back in July. 

“I don’t want to put something in my mind because if it doesn’t happen, I’ll be disappointed,” he said.

He also said, “I don’t even know if I want to play next year. I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. One day at a time.”

The latter quote contradicts something else he said in May, via Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News:

I was leaning toward coming back. I was feeling strong on that. It’s hard. I was weighing how I feel, the traveling, the games, and it’s the same. The traveling, I hate it; the playing, I love it. I was torn between that.

So one minute, Rivera was saying that a comeback in 2013 was as good as set in stone. The next minute, he pulled a complete 180. He hasn’t made it easy to get a read on his thinking.

The one thing we have to keep in mind about Mo, however, is that he’s dealing with an injury that generally takes a year to recover from. He won’t really know how he feels about 2013 until he throws from a mound for the first time, and that’s something he hasn’t done yet. All he’s done to this point, according to the Yankees’ official website, is play long toss.

The bright side in all this is that Rivera is in pretty much the same boat as Pettitte. What he’s dealing with is not an arm or shoulder injury brought on by years of wear a tear, but a knee injury caused by a freak accident. Just like Pettitte, Rivera’s arm was just fine at the time he got hurt.

Rivera’s arm has been just fine his whole career, of course. You don’t rank eighth on the all-time list in appearances unless you enjoy good health for a long time, and Rivera has been lucky enough to enjoy good health for close to 20 years.

Yes, he’s old. Rivera is 42 now and will turn 43 in November. He’s no spring chicken.

But hey, he already ranks fifth in WAR on the all-time list for relievers after the age of 40, according to Baseball-Reference.com. That’s just another fact that tells us that he’s a freak of nature.

If Mo decides he wants to pitch in 2013, the Yankees will be glad to have him back. Their bullpen has been solid this year, in large part thanks to the job Rafael Soriano has done filling in for Rivera, but there’s no denying it isn’t as deep or as dominant as it was in 2011. The Yankees’ bullpen had a 3.12 ERA in 2011, and it has a 3.41 ERA this year.

The Yankees would have to bring Mo back at their price, however. Mo is on the books for $15 million this season, and he’s certainly not getting that kind of money if he chooses to play again in 2013.

He’d have to sign a one-year contract with a much lower base salary (i.e. $5 million or below). The Yankees could sweeten the deal with incentives.

If Mo really wants to pitch, he’d agree to that. He’d be taking a pay cut, to be sure, but that shouldn’t deter him too much, seeing as how he’s already made well over $100 million at this point in his career.

The one danger in bringing back Rivera is that it could prompt Soriano to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract. But as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has reported, Soriano is already leaning towards doing that.

Soriano opting out wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. The Yankees would still have David Robertson to set up for Rivera, and they could go out and find a cheaper replacement for Soriano on the open market. Names that come to mind are guys like Mike Adams, Ryan Madson and Mark Lowe.

Whether or not the Yankees retain Soriano, they’re going to have a strong bullpen once again in 2013 if they re-sign Rivera.

Saying as much is definitely dependent on Rivera pitching well after suffering the first major injury of his career. But while I do have some doubts about his ability to come back, I know as well as anyone that it’s never a good idea to bet against the great Mariano Rivera.

Special thanks to Baseball-Reference.com for the stats.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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The New York Yankees enter the month of September hitting a little bit of a rough patch.

They lost to the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 on Friday night, which trimmed their lead in the AL East to just two games.

However, the team got great news that afternoon regarding the status of Andy Pettitte, who continues to be on the comeback trail as he recovers from a fractured fibula.

Ian Begley from ESPN New York reported that the 40-year-old threw off a mound for the first time since June 27, with Pettitte saying he felt really good in the process.

Pettitte threw about 20 pitches off the mound at Yankee Stadium. He will then meet with doctors on Saturday to make sure everything checks out fine.

If everything is a go, the next step should be increasing the pitch total in a bullpen session to really see how his ankle is holding up.

Spencer Fordin of MLB.com talked to the pitcher on Friday, and while Pettitte didn’t give it his complete effort, he was getting back into the groove of being a pitcher.

“It was huge,” said Pettitte. “I’m sure that you guys talking to me could tell that I was getting a little paranoid about how this thing’s going to feel. Today was good. I didn’t get out there and push off as hard as I could and let it fly, but I was just introducing myself back to the mound. I felt really comfortable, so that was a good thing. And my arm felt just free and easy. That was another good thing.”

Pettitte was 3-3 with a 3.26 ERA in nine starts with 59 strikeouts in 58.2 innings for the Yankees before he took the line drive off his ankle against the Cleveland Indians back on June 27.

With the Yankees struggling heading into September, getting Pettitte back healthy would be a gigantic boost for this team, and the Yankees could really use a spark right about now.

Pettitte is still being cautious due to the setback in late July when the team was in Seattle and his ankle swelled, which caused him to be shut it down for about 7-10 days.

But Pettitte’s recent work from the mound is another encouraging step toward getting the all-time leader in playoff wins back on the mound in September. Pettitte is eyeing at least two starts in the regular season to get himself back into the swing of things before the playoffs.

Before talking postseason, however, the Yankees first need to get to October by holding their lead in the division.

However, Friday’s news on Pettitte is just what everyone with the Yankees needed to hear. Now the question becomes; how long until we see Pettitte back with the Yankees in 2012?

Stay tuned, Yankee Universe.

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Have you ever seen that sign that says “maximum capacity is…” before entering a room?  At this rate, the Yankees need to put up one of those signs in their rehab room.  

In the 1993 film The Program, James Caan portrays a hard-nosed college football coach. In one scene, Caan asks his running back, played by Omar Epps, “Are you injured?”  He goes on to say, “If you’re injured, I can’t let you go back in, but if you are hurt than you can play.” 

CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte are injured.

Both Yankee pitchers are the most recent victims of the disabled list.  They are not alone in that undesirable distinction.  As the ballclub appears to be limping into the All-Star break, scheduled for July 7-10 in Kansas City, the timing couldn’t be better. 

The first sign of injury setbacks occurred back in late March, when the team had to indefinitely shut down the highly-touted stud Michael Pineda, who they traded away Jesus Montero for.  Possibly due in part to Pineda showing up to camp out of shape, the pitcher suffered a torn labrum and now fans won’t be seeing his heralded right arm until 2013.

A week later, Joba Chamberlain went on the disabled list for ankle and arm related issues.  He is expected to make an appearance at some point this year, probably in the dog days of summer.  

April didn’t lack news either. Just two weeks into the young season, the team learned of Brett Gardner’s elbow soreness.  Unfortunately, the elbow has undergone setbacks and complications that have lingered to the point where Yankee fans shouldn’t expect to see him until after the All-Star break.

The team knew they’d be losing his great ability to manufacture runs, but nobody accounted for how much the club would suffer from not having his speed out in left field.  Guys like Ibanez, Nix, Wise and Andruw Jones have been exposed in left as they take turns patrolling the corner outfield spot.

In May, the team suffered a huge knockout punch when they were blindsided by Mariano Rivera’s torn ACL, a result of shagging fly balls in pregame warm-ups.  Losing your closer is hard to deal with, but when your closer happens to be the best ever, that one hurts.  

Since May, the team has leaned on Robertson and Soriano to do their best impersonations of the Yankee closer. 

It has certainly been a turbulent season for the Bombers, and their American League East-leading 46-30 record is a little deceptive.  Despite the fact that they lead the majors in home runs, they are barely batting above .200 as a collective unit with runners in scoring position.  

I am not one for statistics, but this is a glaring discrepancy and although it might prevail in the summer months, the Yankees know that this is not a recipe that they can carry into October.  

To the club’s credit, most teams in the league couldn’t withstand the injuries and setbacks that the Yankees have encountered this season.  For them to be 16 games above .500 and hold a four-game lead over first place is an incredible testament to their depth.

Looking into my crystal ball, Gardner’s return to the lineup should relieve some of the pressure on the sluggers to hit home runs.  Add the fact that Sabathia is only expected to miss a couple starts, and Pettitte should come back a few weeks after Sabathia, and it could be a very interesting second half.  

A lot of pieces are going to have to come together for the team to be at their fullest possible strength as September draws near.  Fans should be optimistic, because if there’s anything that New York fans know, it’s that the hottest team entering the playoffs is usually the most dangerous.  

Maybe Joe Girardi can take a page out of Tom Coughlin’s book about grinding through a season, overcoming injuries and playing your best ball late. 

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If you haven’t noticed lately, Andy Pettitte is becoming a strikeout pitcher for the New York Yankees. That’s strange because on the cusp of turning 40, it’s the first time in the Yankee legend’s career he’s been known for such a distinction.

Sure it’s a small sample size for the 2012 season, but Pettitte has been fanning batters ever since he returned to the mound in Yankee pinstripes. His latest dominant start against the Tampa Bay Rays saw Pettitte record 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched.

In five starts, Pettitte has notched 32 strikeouts, having totaled eight, nine and 10 big whiffs in three of those five outings.

Another thing that’s been noticeable has been the amount of innings Pettitte has been logging thus far. He wasn’t exactly known for going deep in games in 2010, so it’s surprising to see Pettitte doing the exact opposite after taking a year off and returning in 2012.

Pettitte has gone six innings or more in each of his starts and has gone seven or more in his last four starts. There’s no doubt the more innings aid Pettitte’s strikeout total as a result of the extra time he’s spending on the bump.

But the best thing about Pettitte’s pitching these days is his control. He’s always had good control, but the veteran left-hander has taken it to a new extreme this season.

Not only has Pettitte had great control, but he’s also enjoyed throwing first-pitch strikes.

There’s nothing better for a pitcher than getting ahead of hitter’s on a regular basis during any given start, and Pettitte has certainly done a great job of getting opposing hitters out of their comfort zones and in a better position to be struck out.

With a long way to go until the 2012 season is in the books, it’s doubtful Pettitte will be able to keep up this pace, but at least at this very moment, Pettitte is looking like a different pitcher than he has in the past.

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Heading into the series with the Rays, it was important for the Yankees to show they can hang with them because chances are, the Rays are going to be a potential playoff contender come October.

Andy Pettitte pitched on Tuesday night for the Yankees like he was in October form.

The 39-year old was absolutely dominant—yet again—for the Yankees, pitching 7.1 solid innings, allowing just two hits, no runs, walked two and struck out 10.

In his last outing against the Angels, Pettitte wasn’t as sharp although he pitched into the seventh inning, but in this latest start, he was much better around.

Pettitte used his breaking pitches to get the free-swinging Rays hitters to chase strike three while keeping the hits to a minimum.

Desmond Jennings and B.J. Upton each had singles, but that was all the Rays could muster up against Pettitte as he kept them off the bases and had them mostly walking back to the dugout in disappointment.

Pettitte picked up his third win of the season, improving his record to 3-2 with a 2.78 ERA.

He has now thrown 35.2 innings and has 32 strikeouts with just seven walks; an outstanding ratio.

What’s really great to see about Pettitte is he’s pitching deep into games; even when he didn’t pitch as well in his last start against the Angels, he still went seven innings despite allowing five runs.

The Yankees lineup gave him a lot of run support as well and was able to beat a very good pitcher in James Shields.

The Yankees went up 2-0 after a throwing error by Elliott Johnson scored Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the first.

In the bottom of the fourth, Shields was really struggling with his command, loading the bases for a second time in the game, and Russell Martin hit a high fastball over the right-field wall for a grand slam that made it 6-0 Yankees.

An RBI double from Nick Swisher in the bottom of the fifth made it 7-0, and that was all the run support Pettitte needed from the Yankee hitters as they cruised to the victory.

Shields went five innings, allowed seven hits, seven runs (five of them earned), walked four and struck out two and took the loss. His defense also was terrible behind him, committing three errors.

Shields has never had great numbers against the Yankees and now has a 5-13 career record in 23 starts against the Bombers.

For the $2.5 million the Yankees are paying Pettitte in 2012, he’s been perhaps the best bargain of the entire team.

His stuff on the mound has been as good as it’s ever been, getting a ton of strikeouts and giving the Yankees a ton of quality innings.

After his latest great outing, Pettitte is set to pitch again for the Yankees on Sunday afternoon in the season finale of the Subway Series against the New York Mets.

Five starts in, and all things are looking great for Pettitte and the Yankees.

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“Aging” Andy Pettitte wasn’t too old to pitch a brilliant eight-inning shutout game Friday night against a formidable Cincinnati Reds team. This gave him his first win in 2012, and it made up for a weakish previous start against the Seattle Mariners

His skills are still what they used to be. That is not unexpected for an older player, even a pitcher.

What is likely to be lacking in an older player is endurance. And my proposed cure for that problem will be discussed below.

To illustrate the point, in 2010, his last full year on the Yankees‘ roster, Pettitte pitched a relatively short number of starts (21) and innings (129). That reflects his lack of endurance.

But the games he did pitch were of high quality. Two-thirds of them were quality starts, second only to the much younger CC Sabathia, and Pettitte’s ERA was a close second to Sabathia’s (among starters) as well. That speaks to his skill level, and it puts him way ahead of Phil Hughes and the lately lamented AJ Burnett.

Pettitte then grew tired and “retired” at the end of 2010. The Yankees made it through 2011 without him, then paid particular attention to the gaps that had developed in the rotation. They traded for Michael Pineda of the Seattle Mariners, offering them good-hitting catcher Jesus Montero in exchange. But Pinera suffered injuries in spring training that will keep him sidelined for the 2012 season.

The Bombers also signed former Dodger hurler Hiroki Kuroda. But their hopes were dashed when he (along with Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova) saw his ERA balloon as the season got underway. And Freddy Garcia, the worst of the bunch, was pushed to the bullpen to make room for rookie David Phelps.

So Andy Pettitte came to the rescue. He is not only an adequate replacement for any the aforementioned pitchers, but he’s a front-end-caliber starter whose 2012 ERA is lower than Sabathia’s.

It’s unlikely that he’d be pitching this well if he had gone through the grind of a 2011 season. But the “year off” appears to have done a lot of good. This fact points to a solution involving him.

It might be too much to expect Pettitte to pitch for the Yankees every year. But he might be capable of pitching every other year. That is, after the 2012 season, he might sit out 2013, 2015, etc., but throw for the Bombers in 2014, 2016 and hopefully 2018, maybe even 2020. This is my “modest proposal” for him.

Yankee fans will take their chances, and possibly their lumps, in odd-numbered years. But if such a year proves disappointing, they will have Yogi Berra’s consolation: “Wait till next year,” if Pettitte’s presence in the rotation is at most one year away for the foreseeable future.

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New York Yankees fans will have a renewed enthusiasm about the 2012 MLB season on Sunday afternoon, as veteran Andy Pettitte will return to the mound at Yankee Stadium after a brief retirement came to an end by signing a one-year minor league contract on March 16. 

Las Vegas oddsmakers are expecting the betting public to hammer the Bronx Bombers, opening them as minus-200 home favorites against the Seattle Mariners, while the total sits at 10.

Pettitte hasn’t been seen at the major league level since suffering an 8-0 home loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 3 of the 2011 American League Championship Series, giving up two runs and five hits over seven strong innings in that effort.

The left-hander posted an 0-2 record and 3.71 ERA in four minor-league starts, while giving up eight runs (seven earned) and 14 hits over 10.2 combined innings in two outings at the extended spring training level.

In 23 career starts versus the Mariners, the 41-year-old has gone 11-11 with a 4.33 ERA, including an 8-4 mark and 4.29 ERA when pitching at home.

Sports bettors will likely lay the number due to the Yankees being 87-40 in day games since the start of the 2010 campaign.

Mariners starting pitcher Kevin Millwood (0-4, 5.88 ERA) has also been around the block a few times, as he looks to snap a personal four-game losing streak. He has allowed 17 runs (15 earned) and 30 hits in 24 innings over that span.

Millwood enters with a 2-6 record and 5.12 ERA in 13 career starts against the Yankees, which includes a 1-1 mark and 8.74 ERA in two outings inside this ball park.

It should be a memorable day in the Bronx, but everyone involved is hoping that the 39-year-old southpaw can solidify a starting rotation that has been shaky at best to start the year.

If not—Yankees general manager Brian Cashman will need to actively pursue a front-line pitcher before the trade deadline on July 31, or the club will likely be watching the postseason from home.

Follow on Twitter: @JeffGrantSports 

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After weeks of speculation, the wait is over and Andy Pettitte will be back.

Aaron Gleeman of NBC’s HardBallTalk reported that Pettitte will make his 2012 debut for the Yankees pitching at home against the Seattle Mariners.

Pettitte has been pitching in extended spring training ever since he announced back in March that he was coming out of retirement for the Yankees.

Pettitte accepted a one-year, $2.5 million minor-league deal after he was invited to the Yankees’ spring training as a special instructor.

It was there that Pettitte got the urge to pitch again after retiring before the 2011 season.

While in the minors, Pettitte made four starts ranging from Class A, AA and AAA, threw 17 innings with a 13-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio and had a 3.71 ERA, which isn’t too bad considering he hasn’t thrown a live pitch since Game 3 of the 2010 American League Championship Series.

Pettitte’s return comes at the right time with the rotation having several question marks after CC Sabathia.

Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova have been up and down, Phil Hughes has been inconsistent, Freddy Garcia was so terrible that he got demoted to the bullpen and Michael Pineda is out for the season with a shoulder tear.

The crowd that will be in attendance at Yankee Stadium will certainly be pumped up and ready for one of their long-time favorites to return for one last hurrah.

As of right now, Pettitte is scheduled to square off against Mariners right-hander Blake Beaven. Seattle ranks near the bottom of the American League in multiple categories, so it’s a nice game to ease Pettitte back into the major league swing of things.

I’m sure a lot of Yankee fans all over share my excitement to see Pettitte return. For me personally, my favorite player since I was 11 is coming back, and I could not be more thrilled.

Mother’s Day in the Bronx just became more interesting and something not to miss.

Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.

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Andy Pettitte‘s much-anticipated comeback for the New York Yankees won’t officially kick-off until he gets his first start of the spring, but according to the New York Post, the Yankees legend is set to do so sometime next week.

Pettitte made his comeback announcement on March 16th, and given the normal month and a half or so it takes most pitchers to get ready for the season, the 39 year old won’t be able to take the mound until May 1st at the earliest.

According to the same report, Pettitte threw 20 pitches in batting practice on Tuesday (3/27) and then went on to throw 13 more in a simulated game. He faced four batters during the simulation.

He is expected to have another session similar to Tuesday’s on either Friday or Saturday of this week.

Look for Pettitte to take the mound for his first start of the spring on either Tuesday (4/3) or Wednesday (4/4) of next week.

In that start, Pettitte will likely throw two innings—depending upon how many pitches he throws to the first three batters he’ll face. 

However, the Bombers could be taking a slower approach with Pettitte. After all, unlike his fellow starters in the Yankees’ rotation, Pettitte didn’t pitch at all in 2011 and that might force the Yankees to bring him along a little slower.

Pettitte should get four starts in the minors during the month of April and one or two during the first week of May.

If all goes well, he should be ready to go by the second week of May, give or take a few days.

It isn’t clear, however, what the Yanks intend to do with him if their starting five should happen to be solid at that time during the season.

But that’s another story for another day, and at this moment, the only concern the Bombers should have is getting Pettitte ready for the season.

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