Andy Pettitte

Some of us already have.

 

The title character has turned down the Yankees' latest offer (1 year, $10M).

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/sports/baseball/06yanks.html?ref=baseball

 

So he's going to take the big money from that mystery team that was offering a 3-year deal?

 

It's amazing that the Yankees are toeing a financial line in the sand with Pettitte after spending a Gross National Product for Sabathia, Burnett and Mark Teixeira.

I could see the Jays, Mets and Dodgers offering Pettitte a deal that's closer to his liking.

 

At $16 million last year, Pettite was the third-highest paid pitcher in baseball and went 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA (above the league average of 4.34). He had a 5.03 ERA after the All-Star break.

He can't possibly expect to make that kind of money again this year.

He's one of my favorite Yankees, but $10 million is an awful lot of money to be average (or worse). They can go up a little bit if they want, but there's no way I'd pay him more than $12 million, especially after the way he finished last year (4-7 after the break).

 

I think he would be overpaid at $10 million. The Yankees can afford it, but why overpay just so Pettitte's pride doesn't get hurt?

 

Agreed.

Not that anyone's going to cry for the Yankees, but one thing they've done over the years is force themselves to overpay for everyone they sign. By signing all these big, bloated contracts and basically announcing "money is no object to us," they will almost always have to pay a few million more for a player they want.

It's like telling a car salesman that you just walked eight miles to the dealership and desperately need a new car for your date with Marissa Tomei tonight. He's going to get more $$ out of you than he is from the guy who just drove onto the lot in a Benz, who says he'd like to buy a car, but doesn't really need it.

 

Pettitte a $10 million pitcher in 2009? Not even close. The Yankees would be doing him a favor at that price. That said, it's almost always better for the veteran on the way down, who's getting a big pay cut, to get it from another team. Pride is a big factor, and it feels wrong to most competitors to take a (deserved) pay cut from a longtime employer rather than get that same reduced salary elsewhere.

 

Pettitte has a profound attachment to his family that you just don't see with other athletes.

I wouldn't be shocked if he walked.