Pettitte's back was locked up, hamstrings tight, leg grabbed in G2 of ALDS. Pitched G3 in ALCS to give him extra time to recover.Ben Shpigel also reports that if the ALDS had gone five games Pettitte probably wasn't going to be able to pitch. So now know why Girardi decided to flip Pettitte and Hughes in the rotation.
Even with all the injuries, Pettitte was easily the Yankees best pitcher this October. In 14 postseason innings, Andy allowed just 4 earned on 10 hits, walked 1 and struck out 9.
I really hope this wasn't the end for Pettitte. Not only do I think he's still got at least another year or two in that arm, but with a rotation full of question marks the the Yankees are going to need him in 2011.
