The iconic Frank Sinatra song “My Way” has a line that aptly describes the fate of the New York Yankees. “And now the end is near and so I face the final curtain” is what I was thinking when Andy Pettitte announced his retirement on Friday. With Pettitte’s announcement that he will be calling it quits at the end of this season, the last remaining piece of the great Yankee teams of the mid to late 90s is Derek Jeter, and one has to wonder what is going on in his mind right now because 2014 looks like a horror show.
Pettitte has been a stalwart during all of the Yankee titles, including the last one in 2009. Just as a reminder; it was Pettitte who pitched the series clinching games in the ALDS, ALCS and the World Series. Of course, as Pettite himself said on Friday, his Game 5 performance against the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series was a memorable one and established the big lefty as the Yankees go-to guy. He holds the record for most post-season wins with 19. From 1995-2010, Pettitte accumulated the most wins of any major league pitcher.
With these type of numbers one has to wonder if the Yanks would have committed the biggest collapse in baseball history by blowing a 3-0 lead and losing to the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS if Pettitte was on the team. Let me ask you, who would you have wanted to have pitched in Game 7 of that series: Kevin Brown or Andy Pettitte? It’s a no-brainer.
Pettitte’s retirement means another hole for the 2014 Yankees to fill. It’s a given that Phil Hughes will be gone and who knows if Hiroki Kuroda will come back. That leaves a diminished CC Sabathia (though he pitched well Friday night) and Ivan Nova. Can they count on Michael Pineda?? Your guess is as good as mine. After that, who knows. Not to mention that Mariano Rivera will be not be out there for the ninth inning.
Sunday will be a very emotional day in the Bronx as the Yankees will be honoring Rivera, the greatest closer of all-time. Barring a miracle, it will be Pettitte’s last start at Yankee Stadium. The curtain is beginning to close on one of the greatest eras of Yankee Baseball. It will be a long time before we see another group like Rivera, Jeter, Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams. With nothing on the horizon to replace them, it’s going to be a long 2014 and beyond for the boys in Pinstripes.
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