Fans roared at the thought that the veteran Andy Pettitte would come back from retirement at the beginning of the 2012 baseball season. With Jorge Posada gone, the Core Four would still no longer be, but the Key Three, Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter, would have another chance to perhaps make it a repetition of the 2009 season when the team won their 27th championship. But with Pettitte and Rivera out of the picture for the past few months due to injuries, it has been disappointing wishful thinking. However, it looks like Andy’s comeback, part two, for 2012 is nearing.
In a recent press conference General Manager Brian Cashman said he believed that the lefty might be back to the Major Leagues in September. “We have to let the healing process take its course. He had that setback which cost him a week to 10 days, but he is in the middle of the healing process,” said Cashman to the New York Post.
Pettitte headed to the disabled list during a June 27 game against the Cleveland Indians, in which first baseman Casey Kotchman hit a line-drive up the middle that hit the long-time lefty pitcher on the ankle causing a fracture. In the nine starts before the mishap, Pettitte had gone 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA.
Looking at the stats, September is generally not the greatest of months for the 40-year old. Since 2009, he has an overall 5.29 ERA holding the batter’s just to a .270 average. That is way past the 2.49 ERA he has come in with to the month of April for the past three seasons.
Although Pettitte is eligible to come back from the 60-day disabled list on the 28th of this month, the team has set September 1st as the better comeback date. With a healthy Pettitte back, post-season baseball for the Yankees looks mighty promising. Me? I’m personally counting down the days until that infamous stare-over-the-glove comes back to the mound to deliver.
