ST. LOUIS – The Astros making it back to an NLCS just like the one Andy Pettitte missed terribly a year ago dulls his pain from elbow surgery and his sensitivity, too, to what he left behind in The Bronx.
“I know it’s only been two years,” he said yesterday. “But it seems like I’m so far removed from New York, maybe I don’t feel quite as sorry for them as I did last year when I saw them lose to Boston.
“I knew Anaheim was going to be a real tough series for them.”
The Yankees’ most enduring and consistent pitcher of the 10-year Joe Torre run, who somehow became worth more to Houston than to a big-spending team he helped pitched to four World Series championships, is thrilled for another opportunity to prove tough-as-ever tonight in the opener of another playoff series. Meanwhile, the Yankees, who have had starting pitching problems ever since, are finished a round earlier.
“I signed with the Astros because I thought they were a team that could get to the postseason, too,” he said. “I’m just glad I’m able to do what this organization brought me over here to help them do.”
“Last year was so humbling for me. Over the years I’ve had problems I continued to pitch through. To pitch until I couldn’t anymore was devastating. But even if I wouldn’t have made it to the postseason with the Astros, I was extremely satisfied. I put everything in God’s hands, that’s the way I live my life and I just felt like he’s going to put me where he wants me.”
Through the Astros, God put into Pettitte’s hands $31 million, not the best offer he got but certainly better than what he calls his seventh-best offer, from the Yankees. They worried about the elbow that, indeed, would break down last season, but signed ancient Kevin Brown.
Indeed, Pettitte’s the kind of guy who would be fated to pitch the Astros to the NL title they missed by one game here a year ago, except for the fact that Chris Carpenter, the likely NL Cy Young Award winner going tonight, didn’t perform in that series either. You gotta love the irony in that, plus in any LCS rematch. And never mind St. Louis’s superior lineup, you also have to respect the Astros’ chances with Pettitte, Roy Oswalt and Roger Clemens each pitching twice.
Pettitte went first in the Atlanta series, quite a compliment he justified by starting Atlanta into another early playoff death, not that anyone was surprised considering the Braves’ October track record and Pettitte’s.
“That [18-inning] game [Sunday’s clincher versus the Braves] excited me a lot, was something special and we hope we’ve got something special going here so hopefully we can get this done,” Pettitte said.
Done is what the Yankees are while Pettitte tries to pitch Houston to the first World Series appearance of a 44-year-old franchise, its chances bolstered considerably because he’s been there, done that, an advantage upon which George Steinbrenner didn’t seem to place much premium.
