Yankee Baseball 2009 Preview, Part I: Pitching

The Yankees took the final step today towards completing their pitching staff for 2009, signing Andy Pettitte to a one-year contract that, with incentives, could be worth as much as $12 million. With as much ink as the New York area press will spill talking about the two big free-agent acquisitions in the Yankees' rotation, anyone sober enough to remember the pre-A-Rod era of Yankee baseball will be resting a little bit easier knowing that the veteran left-hander who's been a quiet face of the franchise's last thirteen years of success (and whose absence from 2004-2006 was notable in its failures) is back in pinstripes for another year. With four of the five rotation spots now locked (I still hold out hope that Girardi will see the light, stand up to the brass and put Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen as setup man and heir apparent to the great Rivera), and pitchers reporting to Florida in a mere three weeks, it's time to look at the team the Yankees will be ... (link)