Pete Caldera from The Record has a new post up on his blog discussing whether the Yankees should have Phil Hughes or Andy Pettitte as their fifth starter in the upcoming season so I figured I'd do something similar. Hey, why not?
In recent days many articles have come out that make it seem that the Yankees are content with not bringing back Pettitte and going with Hughes or another one of their younger players.
I still believe Hughes will be a good starter eventually, and for the Yankees future it may be smart to get him in that role now as opposed to having him rot in the minors for another year. But I also feel that for 2009 the Yankees it may be better with a guy like Pettitte anchoring the rotation. Especially when you consider that Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes will both have strict innings limits.
And with those innings limits, as well as the potential for an injury or two to hit the staff, Hughes will likely get a chance to make some starts in '09 anyway. So based on all that I still think the Yanks should bring back Pettitte. He gives the Yankees another veteran, and more importantly, someone who can give them 200 innings.
But what do you think, should the Yankees go with Pettitte, Hughes, or another young starter? Vote in the poll on the left or leave a comment below. Thanks.
Why not give Phil Coke a chance? Young lefty starters are hard to come by.
ReplyDeleteI agree that he has a very good arm and may deserve a chance to start. But I think his stuff may translate better in the bullpen. I look at him as a future left-handed setup man. But if the Yankees wanted to put him in the rotation I'd have no problems with that at all.
ReplyDeleteDandy Andy is still my first choice.
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Why can't they just settle for that?
I agree. I've said from the start that they should have offered him $12-$13 mil. I think the Teixeira signing changes that, but it should also change Andy's mindset. He now has a chance to be on a team that has a very strong opportunity of winning #27. Maybe $10 million to be on that team isn't as bad as it once seemed.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be good to have a veteran like Pettitte on this staff. While I honestly think that Hughes, Aceves, and perhaps even Kennedy, Coke, or one/two others might be able to put up Pettitte numbers, Andy is sort of that veteran presence that helps out the team.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe a guy that's made over $100M in his career is wavering over an extra $3M or so. Seriously. If I was at that point in my career, and the team I came up with, that just spent all this money on all these great free agents, going into a brand new stadium, there's no way you'd catch me hesitating over a few million. I might ask the team to throw in some sort of performance bonus perhaps, maybe get a chance to earn an extra $1M or something, but after all those years and all the money, if I really wanted to play another season, I'm certainly not holding out for an extra couple mil.
Pettitte or Hughes, Aveves, 2 guys from the Mariners i have interest in; Bedard and Ryan Rowland-Smith. Both are lefties.
ReplyDeleteI like Aceves alot so I wouldnt mind having him start the year off as the number 5, and he struggles go with Hughes or make a trade midseason.
Have read a lot about greed and how much baseball, especially the Yanks, are out of touch with the test of the world's economic problems. For Andy to wall away from "only" $10.5 million and miss a chance to open the new stadium with a championship woild be crazy. Andy should get opening day start.
ReplyDeleteAndy, Hughes, anyone but Kennedy.
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ReplyDeleteI love Pettitte and Coke, don't get me wrong, but do you guys remember how amazing Aceves was? He was in the bullpen for one game and then the very next he started and pitched like 7 scoreless innings against the Angels!
ReplyDeleteIf Pettitte didn't come back, I would start Hughes in the minors, send Coke into the bullpen, and have Aceves start.
Pettitte. With so many new faces in the rotation he's the leader you want and need to be in that rotation. Hughes has been rushed along too much, and I feel like this would be more of the same. He looked solid based on his numbers in the AFL, but he still had his moments. I think he needs to work on his changeup more, because for most of last year he was a two pitch pitcher, and when he has that change going well he can be deadly. Let him earn his way back, it'll be better for him. Same for Kennedy. Pettitte is going to give you 200 innings, and I don't care how much he struggled last year I still trust him in a big game (2007 ALDS game 2 against Cleveland is a perfect example). Plus he gives you more depth if someone suffers an injury (Chamberlain or Burnett most likely) in that you can turn to a guy like Hughes.
ReplyDeleteHughes, Kennedy To Scranton?
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Pettitte still is not worth $10 Million. But he deserves one more year - but only if he wants it. If someone is willing to offer him more money and he wants it - good for him - maybe he needs money cause his investments tanked...who knows?
ReplyDeleteI say Hughes. He had a bad year and I think learned from it and pitched well in the Fall League.