The New York Times reported late Monday that Andy Pettitte rejected the Yankees' one-year, $10 million offer. As is the norm in Yankeeland, there will be a lot more to discuss besides Mark Teixeira joining the team.
Having Pettitte in the rotation helps the Yankees. He's no longer a front-line starter, but ideal for a No. 4 or 5. He led the team in innings pitched last season (204) despite a lingering shoulder injury that shut him down after September 21 and is the pefect mentor for not only the new faces, but the young kids either settled in the rotation (Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain) or looking to get over that hump (Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves).
If Pettitte doesn't come back, Hughes, Kennedy and Aceves will each get long looks in Spring Training. You cannot give up on neither Hughes or Kennedy despite their combined 0-8 record in '08, and I still think Hughes will be a star once he fully blossoms. But you can never - ever - have enough pitching. Better to have viable fallback options instead of being forced to use a Sidney Ponson. Buffing rotation depth starts with finding a way to end the Pettitte stalemate.
I'm off to Yankee Stadium for Big Tex and will have more to report later this afternoon.
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