1. My column in today’s Post details how my long association with Andy Pettitte has made me â against my better judgment â want to forgive him. I hope you read it. Additionally, at the bottom of this 3 Up I will include much of Chapter 9 of my book, Birth of a Dynasty, Behind The Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees. I thought it would be interesting to our readers because it details many of the issues that are relevant with Pettitte right now, including his idolization of Roger Clemens, his workout fanaticism, the first of his devilish elbow pain. The story picks up in August 1996, when the Yankees are losing much of their big division lead and only Pettitte’s excellence is keeping them ahead of the Orioles.
2. Early in spring training, you can dream the impossible dream so here is Joe Girardi talking about Jason Giambi playing first base a lot and playing it well.
3. I like when teams go for it. I like that the Suns got Shaquille O’Neal and the Mavericks Jason Kidd. Both of those teams diagnosed a situation in which they were good enough to be very good, but not great enough to win championships. Both of these trades could blow up and badly damage the squads. But there now are ways you see either the Suns or Mavericks being good enough to win titles, and that is what every team is supposed to be aiming at. Good for clubs that go for it. Which is a long way of saying yet again that it is totally understandable to see what the Yankees love about Phil Hughes. But I still wonder if they will regret not getting Johan Santana, who is the kind of starter you imagine helping a team win a championship.
