Andy Pettitte's gaining a bit of a reputation as a drama queen. From Newsday's Ken Davidoff:
Andy Pettitte is extremely unhappy with how his negotiations have gone with the Yankees, and the lefthander might be softening on his opposition to rejoining the Astros.
What once seemed a fait accompli -- Pettitte returning to the Yankees for a 12th season in pinstripes -- now appears increasingly in jeopardy, although the two sides continue to communicate and they ultimately rank as each other's first choice.
Pettitte recently rejected the Yankees' offer of a $10 million salary for 2009, and a team source confirmed a New York Post report that the Yankees, with Mark Teixeira's deal completed, are inclined to offer Pettitte even less money now. Pettitte made $16 million with the Yankees each of the previous two years and hoped to match that salary this year.
The 36-year-old's grievances with the Yankees feature, most prominently, these three sentiments, according to people familiar with his thinking:
1. Pettitte believes that the Yankees should display more appreciation for all that he has done for them.
2. While the Yankees are asking that Pettitte take a pay cut, the team clearly is not hurting financially, given its large investments in Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.
3. Pettitte thinks that his 2008 season wasn't as bad as the Yankees are making it out to be.
You know what? Pettitte's 2008 season
wasn't as bad as the Yankees (probably) are making it out to be. But that's just part of the negotiating process, right? You say I stink, I say I don't, and we come to an agreement in the middle somewhere; it's just business. Pettitte pitched quite well last year. He won 14 games and led the Yankees in innings and strikeouts. He finished with a 4.54 ERA in large part because of poor luck and (quite frankly) a statuesque middle infield. He may not win 14 games in 2009, but he should post a lower ERA (especially if he's got a real shortstop behind him).
So yeah, $10 million is a little low.
The other two points are hooey. Nobody's arguing that the Yankees are hurting financially. What the Yankees might be arguing is that they do have a budget -- as inflated as it is -- and that there's only room for another $10 million within that budget. If they can spend whatever they like, then why bother with Pettitte? Why not spend $45 million on
Derek Lowe? And as for "appreciation" for all that Pettitte's done for the Yankees … Well, the Yankees might just as reasonably argue that he's not showing enough appreciation for all they've done for him.
Forget about the emotional angle for a moment. I do believe that Pettitte's worth more than $10 million. If he can get more than $10 million from another team and the money's that important to him, he should take it. But $10 million and a pretty good shot at pitching in the World Series again doesn't seem to me that lousy a deal.
Rob Neyer
