Yankees sign Andy Pettitte to $2.5 million minor league contract

It didn't take long for the pitching bug to bite Andy Pettitte— while he was hanging around the New York Yankees during spring training— and bring him out of retirement.

The Yankees have signed the Yankee great to a one-year minor league deal, according to the YES network's Jack Curry.  The deal is reported to be worth $2.5 million.

Pettitte— who retired after the 2010 season— had been in camp this year as a special guest instructor.  During that time, he admitted that being around the Yankees could tempt him to come out of retirement and make a comeback.

Pettitte retired from the team to spend time with his family and must have discovered that he can still do both at the same time.  Two and a half million doesn't hurt either.

He retired after having one of his best seasons (11-3, 3.28) in 2010 even after injuries dogged him during the end of that summer.

The lefthander was in Orlando with the team throwing batting practice before a game with the Atlanta Braves when Hal Steinbrenner gave his permission to increase the budget and sign the 39-year-old Pettitte.  The Yankees had been making a lot of noise about cutting the size of their payroll, but this is a clutch playoff pitcher we're talking about.

The fan favorite must have felt that the lure of getting career win No. 241 was just too great.

Adding Pettitte to the rotation presents a small problem for the Yankees who already have six arms vying for one of the five starting roles.

Freddy Garcia is out for a few days after getting hit with a ball on his right hand and, after CC Sabathia, the other four positions are up for grabs.

Just when when you thought the Core Four was cut in half, here comes Pettitte to make it the Key Three once again.

Can Jorge Posada be far behind?

A.J. and Eli: The Kings of New York?

A.J. Burnett and Eli Manning are the toast of New York right now.  Look at that sentence carefully, it's probably the last time you will ever see it without breaking out laughing or smashing your computer screen.

Usually the word 'toast' and the Yankees pitcher or Giants quarterback are applied after Burnett has given up five runs in a third-inning meltdown or Manning was burned for a couple of fourth quarter interceptions.

Today, the city is rejoicing for both of their hometown whipping boys and their recent success.

All Burnett did was stave off being eliminated from the ALDS last night against the  Detroit Tigers and force a Game 5 in the comfy confines of Yankee Stadium.

Burnett pitched a gem of a game and had a little help-- to put it mildly-- from centerfielder Curtis Granderson to make fans forget about his 0-for August and generally miserable season and Yankees career.

The surly Burnett almost smiled after being pulled in the sixth inning after allowing only four hits and one earned run.  Hell, I thought it was a giddy Jimmy Fallon with tattoos and a Yankees hoodie hugging Granderson in the dugout after the centerfielder made a second sensational catch to save a bases loaded shot to the outfield moments later.

Nobody's going to compare Burnett to Andy Pettitte after 5 2/3 innings, but he got the job done.

Manning, the hero on the other side of Manhattan, is making fourth quarter comebacks a habit this season and is backing up his giggle-inducing claim that he's in Tom Brady's class.

On Sunday, the NFL's third-rated QB threw two fourth quarter touchdowns in less than a minute to erase a 27-17 deficit against the Arizona Cardinals just a week after a stirring victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.  In that game, the Giants trailed 16-14 entering the last quarter against their division rivals with less than five minutes remaining.

Manning's early season redemption is easier to swallow than basing Burnett's on a single clutch playoff performance. The Yankees pitcher still has many non-believers, but at least not today.

The Giants QB, with the befuddled sideline look, still has a big following in New York.  When was the last time you saw anyone, or at any time, wearing a "Burnett" pinstriped jersey or tee-shirt?

What could have been the worst nightmare imaginable for Burnett last night was avoided by Granderson's first inning catch with the bases loaded.  The second one was icing on one of his walk-off shaving cream pies.

A hit would have produced at least three Tigers' runs and the inevitable A.J. meltdown which seems to follow.  That one play turned Burnett from an $82.5 million flop into today's hero.  Imagine the calls for A.J.'s head if he blew last night's game.  You would have Occupy Yankee Stadium protests outside Brian Cashman's office.

If it wasn't for that over-the-shoulder grab last night, after only two outs, we might have seen the last of old A.J. in pinstripes.

Burnett only allowed four hits in 5 2/3 innings, after a shaky first when he walked the bases full, but overcame the pressure.  Even if the innings were more workman-like than fluid, Burnett succeeded in quieting the potent Tigers hitters until the Yankees put the game out of reach.

Tomorrow, the Yankees face a must-win situation to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Giants face the Seattle Seahawks in the Meadowlands.  The kind of game Manning has been known to look past and implode.

For Burnett, there is always the hope of another playoff start after seemingly being banished to the bullpen.  He did win the game.

Today, both players can reap the rewards of their recent successes and hope for more good things to follow.

Remember, in New York, yesterday's zero is today's hero and is tomorrow's zero...

Judge Denies Clemens' Motion To Prevent 2nd Perjury Trial

A motion by Roger Clemens' defense team to have a judge dismiss the government's case against the former pitcher was denied Friday afternoon, as reported by Fox News.  Clemens' lead attorney Rusty Hardin had asked judge Reggie Walton to forbid another trial following the July hearing in which the judge declared a mistrial after two days of testimony.

According to Fox News, the judge sided with the prosecution and set a date for the second trial.

Hardin accused prosecutors of deliberately sabotaging the case because it was going badly for the government.

During the first trial jurors were shown evidence that was already determined to be inadmissible in court by the judge.

The prosecution team claimed it was a mistake.  Prosecutors-- Steven Durham and Daniel Butler made a critical error by introducing the barred evidence.  They apologized and impelled Walton into giving them another chance.

The evidence in question was a video in which a congressman referred to testimony by Laura Pettitte-- former Yankee Andy Pettitte's wife-- that Walton had barred as second-hand testimony.

In a statement, Walton said," I want to believe it is a mistake.  I would find it hard to believe that they would blatantly disregard a ruling I would make.  But it's hard for me to reach another conclusion."

Hardin, meanwhile, thinks a retrial would be a "reward" for the prosecutors for causing the mistrial in the first place.

Clemens is accused of lying under oath after speaking before a committee about steroid use in 2008.

At that hearing, Clemens testified," No matter what we discuss here, I'm never going to have my name restored.  But I've got to set the record straight.  Let me be clear.  I've never taken steroids or HGH."

Today's decision by judge Walton means that there was no procedural misconduct and it favors the prosecution.

The ruling determined that Clemens will be tried once more for lying under oath.  The trial date is set for April 17.

A guilty verdict would further tarnish the image of one of baseball's greatest pitchers and hinder his chances of getting into Cooperstown.

Hardin said it would take a couple of days to decide if they will file an appeal.

Phil Hughes Pitching for Final Spot in Yankees Rotation

Now that New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman didn't acquire any new arms before the trade deadline and we can finally put those Andy Pettitte un-retiring rumors to rest, manager Joe Girardi has to figure out what to do with the six starting pitchers he has left.  His dilemma, who is the odd man out after he whittles his rotation down to five--the dead arm of Phil Hughes or the hot hand of Ivan Nova?

"We just talked about tweaking our rotation a little bit.  Do you give guys an extra days rest?" was Girardi's rhetorical question.

Girardi hasn't made any decisions, but it is a sure bet he won't be going with a six-man rotation.  That scenario wouldn't bode well with CC Sabathia or A.J. Burnett-- who both prefer to pitch on normal rest and what the ace CC wants, he's going to get.

On the other hand, Hughes has to pitch a near perfect game against the Chicago White Sox this Tuesday night to keep a slot.  The righthander's sparkling 2010 season can only carry him so far.

Girardi seemed defensive when asked about Hughes' 1-3, 8.14 ERA this season since returning from the DL for an inflammation of his right shoulder.  Hughes fastball has hovered around the 92-93 mph since coming back.

"You're evaluating [Hughes] on his last three or four starts," Girardi said.  "We believe this guy still has a huge upside; he won 18 games last year, and we want to see him continue to progress.  How many guys won 18 games last year?  Not too many.  We have to continue to evaluate him, if we think he's going in the right direction."

There's a lot wrong with that statement.  Maybe Girardi is waiting for Doc Brown to pull up with the "Back to the Future" DeLorean.

First, Girardi can't live in the past and,  has to put a lot of consideration on who stays in the current rotation on a pitcher's last few starts.  Secondly, Nova still has the slight chance of winning 18 games this season, even with time spent on the DL.  Hmm...let's see, 18 W's last year or 18 this season?

Nova pitched well in the night-cap of Saturday's double-header-- his first start since being called up from the Yankees Triple-A club in Scranton. Staked to a comfy 12-run first-inning, Nova held the Baltimore Orioles to six hits and two earned runs over seven innings. He is 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA including going 4-0 with a 3.41 ERA over his last five starts.  Nova knows how the business works.

"That's a decision I don't make," he said.  "Of course, I want to be here."

If Hughes pitches lights-out on Tuesday, Nova could be going back down to the minors.  Girardi indicated it would be "a natural move" to send down but would weigh other options.

Now if Hughes gets rocked, it would leave Girardi no choice but to demote Hughes to work things out.  The only rationale for keeping a struggling Hughes in the rotation is if either Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia gets injured or falter badly and that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

For now, Girardi is standing by Hughes.

"We'll talk about this after Sunday," said Girardi.  "His stuff in his last [start] was closer to where it was last year.  I'm not ready just to throw away what he did last year."

It looks like we should have some answers after the road trip to Chicago.

Mistrial Ruled In Roger Clemens Case; Could Get Off Due To Double-Jeopardy

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton was not certain of a fair trial, in the case of former-major league baseball star Roger Clemens' perjury trial,  and ruled a mistrial on the second day of the case.  His ruling was handed down after prosecutors showed jurors inadmissible evidence against his orders.

Prosecutors claimed the problem could be corrected with instructions to the jury to "disregard the evidence."

Walton wasn't convinced of the prosecution's assurance and said, "We've got a man's liberty at interest."

The jurist followed that up by reasoning," I don't see how I can un-ring the bell."

Now the government's case could be "concluded" if they determine not to re-try the case or if Clemens' attorneys claim 'double-jeopardy."  The term refers to the law which prevents anyone from being tried again for the same crime.



According to ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson, the "government failed 100%" by not removing evidence it was instructed to dispose from the case.  The "blunder" could lead to acquittal through the mistrial and legal loophole.

The piece of evidence in question refers to video testimony from former New York Yankees teammate and good friend, Andy Pettitte, who said Clemens told him in 1999 or 2000 conversation that the pitcher used performance-enhancing drugs during his career.

Walton stopped the prosecutor's playing of the video of the 2008 testimony before Congress and removed the jury from the Washington courtroom.

Clemens is accused of lying to Congress during that testimony and claims Pettitte misheard him.

Walton said prosecutors erred when they showed jurors evidence that was previously unusable in the case.

Prosecutors wanted to use Pettitte's wife Laura as a witness to corroborate Pettitte's statement, but the motion was denied because Clemens never said it directly to his wife.

Pettitte said he told his wife about the conversation with Clemens the day it happened but Walton still considered it second-hand information.

Being denied a chance to use this key piece of the prosecution's evidence was a big blow to their case.

"The ability with Mr. Clemens with this jury to get a fair trial with this jury would be very difficult, if not impossible," said Walton.

This was the second time prosecutor's have gone against Walton's orders.  Yesterday, assistant U.S. attorney Steven Durham said Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch and Mike Stanton used human-growth-hormones.

Before that, the prosecution came out with guns blazing on the first day of the trial.

In their opening statement, the prosecution showed off photos of medical waste that they claimed contained both anabolic steroids and Clemens DNA.  They claimed the needles and bloody cotton balls would prove Clemens was lying when he testified before Congress.

Clemens attorney, Rusty Hardin, claimed the prosecution's evidence was manufactured by Clemens former trainer, Brian McNamee.

After today's ruling, Walton told the jurors to leave and said, "The case has already cost a lot of taxpayer money."

Walton reschedule a Sept. 2 hearing to determine if a new trial is necessary.

Potential witnesses who might have called to testify in the case included a Who's Who of former big league players.

Clemens and his attorneys remain under a gag order.

Roger Clemens Witness List Looks More Like an All-Star Roster

Former pitching great Roger Clemens may call on ex-teammates to testify in his defense at his perjury trial.  At the same time, a prosecutor said he may call former players already implicated in the scandal to the stand as well.  It's virtually a Who's Who of future, potential and tainted Hall of Famers.

While throngs of potential jurors lined up outside the E. Prettyman Court House in Washington; both sides planned their strategies and it sounds like a lot of former baseball greats might be headed for the stand.

It sounded like U.S. District Judge might permit Clemens former Yankees teammates-- Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte and Mike Stanton-- to take the stand, after Clemen's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said that Clemens' main accuser, Brian McNamee, created evidence made to blackmail his client.

Other potential witnesses including Mark McGwire, Jorge Posada and Sammy Sosa also appeared on the list.



Clemens, the 48 year-old winner of seven Cy Young Awards, was indicted a year ago on charges he gave false statements to a U.S. Congressional Committee investigating the use of steroids in baseball and perjured himself under oath while obstructing the committee's investigation into the wide-spread use of the drug which damaged the sport's reputation.

Other witnesses' names being mentioned by both the defense and prosecution include Barry Bonds, Wade Boggs, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa and the guy who literally wrote the book on steroids--Jose Canseco.

The collection of names looks more like an old All-Star roster than a witness list in a Federal case and it's a pretty formidable team.

Here we go position by position.

1st Base-       Mark McGwire.  Former Oakland A's and St. Louis great.   583 career home-runs.
2nd Base-     Chuck Knoblauch.   Former Minnesota Twins and Yankee All-Star until he couldn't control his errant throws.
Shortstop-    Alex Rodriguez.  Yankees current third baseman who dates Cameron Diaz.
Third Base-  Wade Boggs. Former Red Sox player who jumped to Yankees and rode police horse around old Yankee Stadium after winning World Series.
Catcher-        Jorge Posada.  Current Yankee DH who stormed out of manager's office after getting dropped to batting ninth in the batting order earlier this year.
Outfield-        Barry Bonds.  All-time HR leader with 762.  Tried in own perjury case in April.
                       Sammy Sosa.  Seven time All-Star who tested positive for steroids in 2003 according to New York Times.  609 career homers.
                       Jose Canseco.  Former teammate of Clemens and admitted steroid user and book writer.
Relief-            Mike Stanton.  Former teammate of the Rocket on the Yankees.
Starter-          Andy Pettitte.  Just retired Yankee lefthander (19-10 postseason record) and good friend of Clemens.  Probably has most to lose in this hearing besides Clemens.

Baseball fans' eyes will be glued to the All-Star game at Chase Field in Phoenix next week, but the real  action may be in a Washington D.C. courtroom.  And while the former baseball talent testifying may even be questionably better than most of the 2011 All-Stars, there is no doubt there is more on the line than World Series home field advantage for some of these ex-big league players.

Yankees Rivera Still 'Mo'ing Down Opposition

Is there anything in spring so sweet to the ears of New York Yankees fans than the bells of an ice cream truck or, even better,  Metallica's "Enter Sandman"baring over the Yankee Stadium P.A. system.  The two sounds are a prelude to a couple of sweet sights--ice cream and Mariano Rivera's trot out of the bullpen to the pitcher's mound.

Rivera continues to defy time as he marches towards his quest of becoming the all-time saves leader.  The "Sandman" is now at an an AL record 566 and closing in on Trevor Hoffman's MLB record of 601 saves.

For the 2011 season, Rivera has been almost untouchable.  He has had a hand in eight of the Yankees nine victories so far.  He picked up save No. 7 after throwing a scoreless ninth against the Texas Ranger, in a come-from-behind victory, last night.

It's amazing how the 41 year-old defies nature.  It seems like he is the only member of the original Core Four who isn't showing signs of aging.  The other members, Derek Jeter hit 30 points below his average last season, Jorge Posada is struggling as DH and Andy Pettite is already enjoying retirement.  Rivera keeps plugging away--and better than ever.

The righthander and his deadly cutter have gone nine innings in 2011, allowing 4 hits and zero runs.  He is 1-0, has seven saves in as many chances and giant goose eggs for an ERA.

Rivera's cutter still baffles hitters.  Last night, the powerful Ranger batters could only toss their bats at the darting balls.  As predictable as Rivera's repertoire of pitches is, it is pretty amazing that opponents still can't touch him.

Since 1996,  Rivera has always answered the call.  Mo's body still looks freakishly as young as any twenty-something.  In his 15th season in pinstripes last year, Rivera had 33 saves and was selected to the All-Star game. 

This season he has reached seven saves in the fastest time ever and Rivera is on pace to equal his age in saves plus some.

Rivera has recently stated that 2012 could possibly be his last year.  If that's the case, it's unfathomable to think that a 41 year-old  leaving the game could be considered an athlete retiring in his prime.  With Rivera, that would be the case.

Springtime brings a lot of perennials like the inevitable Baltimore Oriole's flop and European tourists in sandals and black socks, but there is nothing as dramatic as Mariano Rivera running across the Yankee Stadium outfield as the thumping chords from Metallica fill the air.

Ahhh...springtime in the Bronx.