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How many times have we been told that Andy Pettitte used Human Growth Hormone? 

How many times have we been told that when Andy Pettitte used Human Growth Hormone it was not on baseball’s list of banned substances?  That’s what I thought. The media are famous for telling part of the story.

“In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow,” Pettitte said. The year was 2002.  HGH wasn’t banned until 2005.

Pettitte’s use of a complex amino acid chain, produced by the pituitary gland and not a steroid, might but probably will not affect his chances of being elected to the Hall of Fame.

Get this straight. Pettitte did not cheat. He did not use a banned substance. He used it only to help heal an injury.

The powers that run our society require that an individual that has the temerity to violate any of their rules, whether those rules are legal or moral, must show remorse.

“If I have let down people that care about me, I am sorry…. I have tried to do things the right way my entire life, and, again, ask that you put those two days in the proper context,” Pettitte told reporters.

When Pettitte was with the Houston Astros in 2006, he had elbow problems. The day after he left a game in third inning caused by tendinitis, Pettitte received a cortisone injection to help alleviate the effects of the inflammation.

Cortisone is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands. It is a routine treatment received by players that suffer joint inflammation.

Side effects include the chance of infection, a spike in blood sugar if one has diabetes and a potential allergic reaction to betadine, which is used to sterilize the skin.

In some cases, a player might receive multiple injections or higher doses of the condoned steroid. Under such conditions, potential side effects include thinning of the skin, easy bruising, weight gain, puffiness of the face,  acne (steroid acne), elevation of blood pressure, cataract formation and thinning of the bones (osteoporosis).

Not to worry. It’s been approved.

Pettitte has always been a team player. He explained why he used HGH.

“I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped.”

Pettitte has more class and is a lot more perceptive than those that would denigrate him.

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Andy Pettitte is one of the most popular players of the Joe Torre era that netted the Yankee franchise four World Series rings and six trips to the October classic. 

His return was met with far more excitement than skepticism; after all, Pettitte won’t be 40 until June and even though he hasn’t pitched since 2010, he managed to amass an 11-3 record and a 3.28 ERA in what was assumed to be his final season as a major league pitcher. 

Of course, all that changed yesterday when it was announced that Pettitte was returning to New York to don pinstripes and give it another go. 

It’s safe to assume that nearly every Yankee fan will be rooting for Pettitte’s success. One has to wonder if when Pettitte’s people contacted the Yankees, someone in the Yankee front office said to themselves, “Thanks a lot, Andy; you couldn’t have let us know about this three months ago?”

That’s because in the last three months, the Yankees have made some major moves that one would have to think might not have happened had the team known that Andy Pettitte was thinking about returning. 

The most significant of those moves was the trade made back in December in which the Yankees sent Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Michael Pineda and Jose Campos. 

It was a major trade in Yankee-land because Montero was arguably the best offensive Yankee prospect since the turn of the century. They got a pretty good player in return as well by acquiring Michael Pineda from the Mariners. Pineda was coming off a fantastic rookie season in which he made the All-Star team and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting. 

The problem is that while Montero has amassed an OPS of .936 along with a home run and a .304 batting average this spring, Pineda has been hampered by a drop in velocity, which has people speculating that he could start the season in the minors. Those struggles coupled with some weight issues had people speculating about him starting the season in the minors before Andy Pettitte even announced his return.

Had the Yankees been aware of Pettitte’s potential return, it’s worth wondering if that trade of Montero for Pineda ever would have happened in the first place? Maybe the Yanks wouldn’t have signed Hiroki Kuroda, or maybe Raul Ibanez would be playing elsewhere since Montero’s bat probably would have made the need to add a bat far less urgent to Yankee brass.

It’s impossible to say for sure what would have happened had Pettitte voiced his thoughts about a potential return to pinstripes a few months ago.

One has to assume that Pettitte has returned to the Yankees both to satisfy his own individual competitive desires as well as to return the Yankees to glory in October, but his team might have been in a better position to do that had Pettitte been a little more forthcoming in his decision-making process a few months ago.

Regardless of how effective and what type of impact Pettitte will have on this year’s Yankee team, his timing may have had a major impact on the team’s fortunes going forward. Montero could be a major offensive star; the Yankees resisted numerous offers to deal him for years in hopes that they could find other ways to fill out their rotation while retaining Montero. Once it became apparent that they could not, they pulled the trigger on the deal for Pineda.

MIchael Pineda may bounce back from his shaky spring and have a great season, or he could struggle this season and still go on to have a great career. If that’s the case, then the Yankees won’t think twice about having made the deal, but if Pineda struggles and if Montero continues to show off his offensive abilities, then not only will the Yankees have made a bad trade, but it’s one they might not have had to make in the first place.  

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Yesterday brought on some rather surprising news as the Yankees signed Andy Pettitte to a minor league contract. They already had six starting pitchers for five rotation spots, which had brought on questions as to who was going to be in and who was going to be out. 

The questions just got much more plentiful.

Obviously there is no guarantee that Pettitte can produce. He will turn 40 years old in June and did not pitch in 2011. Is that a pitcher that you want to bet on? As it was, he had posted an ERA above 4.00 and a WHIP above 1.38 in four of the final five seasons of his career. Sure, he was solid in 2010 with a 3.28 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 129.0 innings, but he also enjoyed a 77.3 percent strand rate.

Could he produce those types of numbers again? It’s possible, but I wouldn’t invest too highly on him and expect it a given. He’s going to have to face the Red Sox, Rays and Blue Jays on a regular basis.  Those are not going to be easy matchups, and there’s a good chance that he struggles.

Maybe the Yankees are bringing him back for his leadership. Maybe they want to expose their young pitchers like Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos to Pettitte as he prepares for the season in the minor leagues. Maybe they want Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova to learn from him.

Whatever their reasoning is, don’t let that skew your thoughts on drafting him for your fantasy team. He’s a huge gamble and shouldn’t be considered anything more than a late-round flier.

The more interesting question is who Pettitte will replace in the Yankees rotation. It would be shocking to see him working out of the bullpen (more shocking than his signing), and you have to think the Yankees are going to give him a shot in the rotation sooner rather than later. As it is, the Yankees were sporting the following options:

1. CC Sabathia
2. Hiroki Kuroda
3. Michael Pineda
4. Ivan Nova
5. Phil Hughes
6. Freddy Garcia

At this point you would have to expect the last two pitchers to be working out of the bullpen. Hughes has done so in the past and excelled in the role. Let us not forget his 3.03 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 10.05 K/9 in 86.0 IP in 2009 (he did make seven starts that year). 

You would think it would make sense for the Yankees to start prepping him to move back to that role now, wouldn’t you? Maybe you keep Hughes stretched out a little longer, just in case Pettitte completely fails, but long-term you would think his ticket has been punched.

How much better would the bullpen look with Hughes joining David Robertson (once healthy) and Rafael Soriano in setting up for Mariano Rivera. That foursome would have the potential to be the best group in baseball.

As for the other pitcher to lose out, Garcia would make the most sense. He could work as a swingman, making spot starts when needed and operating as a long man out of the bullpen.

However, could the Yankees ultimately decide to send Nova to the minor leagues? While you would think that Nova did enough in 2011 to entrench himself in the rotation, he does have options left. That opens the door for the possible move, especially if Garcia is pitching exceptionally well.

I was never big supporter of Nova, thanks to a mediocre K/9, but I wouldn’t completely write him off in deeper formats even if he is demoted to Triple-A. Sooner or later he’s going to be pitching for the Yankees and, with their offense behind him, he’s going to have value.

The bottom line is that the Yankees are now a better team than they were on Thursday. There’s no arguing that fact, but that doesn’t mean the bottom of their rotation is going to hold value. Outside of the top three options, the other four guys all have questions.

Can Nova end up at Triple-A?

Could Hughes and Garcia end up in the bullpen?

Will Pettitte even produce enough to justify a rotation spot?

They all could have value, but they also all could fall completely flat. Consider them in deeper formats, but the situation just seems to get cloudier and cloudier at this point. It’s a situation I’d prefer watching from a distance.

Make sure to check out all of our 2012 rankings:

Catchers
First Basemen
Second Basemen
Third Basemen
Shortstops

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Andy Pettitte is coming back to the Yankees.

One of the members of the “Core Four” announced on Friday that he was coming out of retirement to join the team at its spring training facility in Tampa. Pettitte signed a minor league contract and will make $2.5 million if he makes the team..

If this seems all too familiar, a similar scenario played out for the Yankees in 2007 when Roger Clemens ceremoniously came out of retirement from the owners box in the middle of a game. Who could forget the famous YES broadcast when Suzyn Waldman emphatically proclaimed Clemens return? Although this announcement was not met with the same amount of fanfare, plenty of questions abound.

How will this work for Pettitte and the Yankees? Will his return be a success or an utter failure? Here are seven bold predictions regarding the Pettitte comeback.

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Today was a monumental day for the New York Yankees.

Fans all over were in shock, but for good reason, as they found out one of their long-time fan favorites was coming back to the Bronx in 2012.

Jack Curry of the YES Network broke the news first on his Twitter account, announcing that Andy Pettitte had signed a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

The Yankees have signed Andy Pettitte to a 1-year minor league deal worth $2.5 million. The team is thrilled to have 240-game winner back.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) March 16, 2012

The deal for Pettitte is a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, but because Pettitte has now decided to put off retirement, he’ll be on the Major League roster when the 2012 season kicks off.

In his last active season, Pettitte went 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 21 starts for the Yankees in 2010.

After the season, Pettitte contemplated playing in 2011 and retirement, which didn’t get decided until Feb. 3, 2011, where Pettitte announced he was retiring from the Yankees.

The Yankees invited Pettitte to spring training to be a special instructor, and it was there that he got the itch to play again and Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman worked out the deal, which apparently was a very secretive and ongoing process that was going on back in December.

Bringing back Pettitte was a great move for the Yankees, and it further enhances the team’s chances of winning the World Series this season.

The rotation now consists of CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes and now Pettitte.

There may be a good chance Michael Pineda could be starting out the 2012 season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after questions of his velocity have come up.

I also would not be surprised now if the Yankees start shopping around Freddy Garcia, who was going to battle Hughes for the fifth and final spot in the rotation, but now with Pettitte in the mix, the Yankees have a surplus of pitching and can afford to shop Garcia, who pitched very well in 2011.

Pettitte was always a gamer for the Yankees. He’s a career 19-10 in the playoffs, with his 19 wins the most ever for a pitcher.

Money can’t buy that type of experience and that type of leadership that Pettitte brings to the Yankees.

Sabathia is a playoff-proven pitcher (when healthy), and Nova got to cut his teeth last year by pitching in Games 1 and 5 of the ALDS against the Tigers.

Plus, Kuroda has playoff experience pitching with the Dodgers and is 2-1 in three starts.

Now, throw in Pettitte’s experienced and that can be a solid rotation built for October.

Plus, if the Yankees want to continue to develop Pineda without a lot of pressure, they can now. There’s no pressure on the 23-year-old to quickly become the No. 2 or 3 pitcher and dominate behind Sabathia.

In his response today to coming back, Pettitte gave his usual humble and honest answer, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.

Pettitte: “I am embarrassed to be coming back, but what can I do? My desire has changed.”

— Mark Feinsand (@BloggingBombers) March 16, 2012

Pettitte plays for the love of the game, and he wants to win another championship, and you can’t fault the guy for it.

He was around the Yankees for the last couple of weeks and the passion and desire came back, something that will work to the Yankees advantage.

OK, yes, he’s 39 going on 40 years old this year. However, he also had a full year of rest and will now use the rest of spring training to get ready and could be ready by Opening Day, but the team isn’t sure, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

He will use rest of spring to get in shape. #Yankees will get read when he will be ready, Opening Day is in play, but hardly sure

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) March 16, 2012

Adding Pettitte changes everything for the Yankees. Their rotation is deeper, stronger and more fierce. And adding Pettitte takes a team that won 97 games a year ago and only makes them better.

April 6 can’t get here quick enough, but the addition of Pettitte sure makes the Yankees spring training a hell of a lot more interesting now.

Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.

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I know this is the New York Yankees, and I know it’s their business of giving themselves as many options as possible each season, but bringing back Andy Pettitte for another go in 2012 shows a lack of faith in their current arms.

Let’s list all of them, shall we?

1. C.C. Sabathia (guaranteed)

2. Hiroki Kuroda (guaranteed)

3. Phil Hughes

4. Ivan Nova

5. Freddy Garcia

6. Michael Pineda

7. Adam Warren

8. David Phelps

9. Dellin Betances

10. Andy Pettitte

That’s a damn impressive list of options if I say so myself. A list that could potentially make a Boston Red Sox fan hurl.

Now, that’s not to say that this obvious lack of trust is unwarranted.

Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova only have one year of MLB experience. Nova has had a rough start to the spring thus far and Pineda’s velocity has yet to show up, something that has been of concern for general manager Brian Cashman.

Hiroki Kuroda is coming from a much weaker offensive division to the best in baseball, and he has also started spring on the wrong foot. And no matter what, if he doesn’t pitch well, manager Joe Girardi won’t hesitate to pull the plug and go with someone else.

Phil Hughes battled through a difficult 2011 season, which was plagued by injury and a lack of consistency. He certainly hasn’t earned trust during his time with the Yankees.

And his constant moving back and forth between the rotation and bullpen hasn’t earned the Yankees’ trust in Hughes’ eyes either.

But at some point, and especially with young starters, you have to show a pitcher you have faith in them to take the mound each start and win games. It builds a certain confidence in a starting pitcher that can lead to success during the year.

It’s quite the opposite when they’re looking over their shoulder at the 39-year-old Yankee legend who, with his extensive resume, has now become the greatest insurance policy in MLB history.

They need to make separate wings in Cooperstown for guys like this. It would be called the Roger Clemens wing.

And that’s not to say I’m unhappy about Pettitte returning. You’d have to be a total hater if you didn’t because there’s nobody any Yanks’ fan has more faith in, even now, in a big game then Pettitte.

Yes, that includes C.C. Sabathia.

But this deviates from what appeared to be a more forward-thinking approach with the Yankees. It seems just when the Yankees were going young and depending on their young arms, here comes the “Core Four” Bombers trying to take them to titles again.

I’m just waiting for Jorge Posada to lace up the cleats.

For $2.5 million, it isn’t a waste by any stretch of the imagination, and it can only benefit a team already rich with pitching.

As for legacy, I can see a scenario where it be may be embarrassing if Pettitte doesn’t make the roster, but let’s let Andy worry about that one.

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We’ve read the accounts and chronology of how Andy Pettitte reconsidered retirement and signed a one-year minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the New York Yankees.

General manager Brian Cashman is said to have wanted Pettitte to return since the end of the 2010 season, but that Pettitte felt it was time to retire.

A number of athletes in all sports suffer from withdrawal when they retire; some even return. Most of the time they realize they should have never come back.

Pettitte said he got the itch to play again after working out and spending time early in spring training as an instructor for the Yankees. But at age 39 and with a lot of rust to shake off, it makes you wonder why Cashman was so receptive to another Pettitte encore.

Remember, as much as we identify Pettitte with the Yankees, he left the Bronx after the 2003 season to sign with his hometown Houston Astros.

Three years later he returned to the Yankees, who welcomed him back with open arms.

Cashman could have said, “We love you, Andy, but we have to move on and give some of our younger guys a chance.”

Instead, he embraced the idea of having an experienced and trusted pitcher in the rotation.

It’s true that there is no risk involved here. Pettitte will probably need an extended spring training and begin the season in Scranton at the Triple A level. But if he shows he still has anything left, the Yankees won’t waste time fitting him into the starting rotation.

Pettitte will only wear pinstripes again if he is a starter.

So what does that tell you?

We recently speculated that all the newfound optimism about the Yankees rotation had taken a turn for the negative. CC Sabathia is not a concern, but everyone else penciled in as a starter is.

Michael Pineda, the Yankees’ hard-throwing 23-year-old right-hander and best hitting prospect, who was acquired from the Mariners for Jesus Montero, came to camp overweight and has lost some zip on his fastball. 

It’s too early to panic, of course, but Pineda has opened eyes in all the wrong ways.

Freddie Garcia injured his throwing hand when hit by a ground ball, and although it doesn’t look serious the Yankees have him only as No. 5 in the rotation.

Phil Hughes has pitched better this spring than he did in a disappointing 2010 season, but the Yankees really don’t know what to expect from him. And they don’t seem to have decided whether he is a starter or reliever.

Ivan Nova had a breakthrough year in 2011 reminiscent of Hughes’ 2010 outing. That’s all the Yankees need to know about setting expectations too high for Nova.

Hiroki Kuroda is an inning-eater who gave the Dodgers four solid seasons. But he is 37 and pitching in the American League, which has the designated hitter and a couple of new bashers named Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.

What’s more, Yankee Stadium is not as kind to pitchers as Dodger Stadium.

All of this might have had Cashman nostalgic for A.J. Burnett.

Instead, he is hoping that Pettitte still has enough to give the Yankees 10-12 victories and 20-25 starts. He is a trusted arm who might be known as Old Reliable if former Yankee Tommy Henrich didn’t have that nickname back in the 1940s.

Now we want to know whether Jorge Posada will return as Pettitte’s personal catcher.

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Here are a few fantasy takes from the world of baseball, specifically involving Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay and the Yankees’ latest reclamation project:

News: Ryan Howard likely won’t return to Phillies until late May/early June

Views: I cannot recall one circumstance where a player from the NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL sustained a career-defining injury at precisely the same moment his team was eliminated from the playoffs. So in terms of gaining sympathy votes from Phillies fans and fantasy gurus everywhere, Howard is breaking new ground when confined to the sidelines.

Bottom line, I would only invest a Round 24 or 25 pick on Howard (34 HRs/224 RBIs from 2010-11) in mixed-league drafts; and perhaps Round 21 for NL-only leagues.

Even if Howard says all the right things during his extended spring break, history tells us that major Achilles injuries require at least one full year of controlled recuperation. Sure, Howard may be able to jog well and knock out good swings in a batting cage—but it’s rare for an athlete to regain 80 percent of his/her explosion and power in the first year back—especially one of Howard’s size.

Howard projections: 14 HRs, 43 RBIs, .256 average

News: Andy Pettitte ends one-year retirement to sign with Yankees

Views: Without a doubt, Pettitte had a superb 16-year career with the Yankees (13 seasons) and Astros, notching 240 regular-season wins, five World Series titles and two All-Star berths; and when his name comes up for Hall of Fame consideration in six years, he’ll probably garner more than 45 percent of the initial vote (75 required for Cooperstown).

But just three months shy of his 40th birthday and undoubtedly rusty from his first retirement, Pettitte doesn’t have much cachet for 10, 12 or 14-team mixed leagues. Maybe an AL-only league, but only if you’re desperate for victories.

Pettitte tallied 11 wins, 101 strikeouts, a 3.28 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 2010, his final campaign in pinstripes. These numbers, representative of a No. 5 or 6 starter in fantasy, likely won’t be repeated this season—given the southpaw’s age and depth of the Yankees’ starting rotation.

His return to the game makes for great copy. Maybe it’ll nudge his Hall of Fame standing a little higher, too. But in the fantasy realm, it’s no more substantial than Jamie Moyer attempting a comeback with the Rockies at age 49.

Pettitte projections: Seven wins, 4.72 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 91 strikeouts

News: Roy Halladay reportedly incurs drop in velocity during Phillies camp

Views: I can break this one down in seven sarcastic words: As of March 16, I…DON’T…CARE!

Snarky humor aside, it really doesn’t matter if Halladay is struggling to reach his Spring Training peak at this point. At 35 (hardly a death sentence for today’s conditioned athletes) and fresh off a monster season (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 220 strikeouts), it’s impossible to envision old Roy falling off the proverbial cliff anytime soon.

Barring an unforeseen injury or a “dead arm,” I trust Halladay enough to believe he’ll arrive at Opening Day in tip-top shape, or something very close to that. The man’s a Hall of Famer with a near-spotless record of durability, for heaven sake. He has earned the benefit of the doubt.

Halladay projections (subject to change): 18 wins, 208 strikeouts, 2.80 ERA and 1.04 WHIP

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.

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In a move that shocked nearly everyone in the baseball world, Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees agreed on a one-year deal, this morning, worth $2.5 million, effectively ending Pettitte’s retirement.

The deal is a minor league pact with an invitation to the Major League Spring Training.

Pettitte retired after an 11-3 season with a 3.28 ERA in 2010, leaving many fans wanting more. He was an All-Star that season, and many believed that he had retired too soon.

He was in camp as a Yankees instructor, which may have given him the itch to put on the pinstripes once more. Whatever his reasoning is, it was a smart decision for him to return.

It will likely take him a little extra time to get ready, as we’re already halfway through Spring Training, but all signs point to him being an effective starter when he returns.

Here are my bold predictions for Andy Pettitte’s comeback season in 2012.

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We’re getting closer and closer to the 2011 season ending and the free agency period for baseball to begin.

In my last article, I did a history of the top 10 worst free agency signings for the Yankees.

The ones I reviewed were of recent history.

This will be the complete opposite of that.

This one will be the top 10 best free agency signings in recent history for the Yankees.

Since 1995, the Yankees have missed the playoffs only one time, won the American League East division title 11 times, appeared in seven World Series and won five championships.

A lot of that has to do with the Yankees making the right moves to land free agents.

This list was a lot harder to put together because of who was an actual free agent and who got traded.

For example, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Paul O’Neill, David Cone, John Wetteland and Cecil Fielder were all results of the Yankees making trades and won’t be on this list.

Nope, this is strictly free agency moves.

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