BOSTON – Joe Torre knows Andy Pettitte went 21-8 in 1996 when Jim Leyritz was Pettitte’s personal catcher. Yet, Torre has no plans to pair his struggling lefty with Leyritz now that the veteran utilityman is a Yankee again.
“I would think about it and then I would dismiss the thought,” Torre said. “The catcher on Monday night will either be [Joe] Girardi or [Jorge] Posada.”
Pettitte is slated to face David Wells and the Blue Jays tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium.
Pettitte had more on his mind than Leyritz returning to catch him.
“He probably thinks he is coming here to straighten me out, knowing him,” Pettitte said. “But my catchers are not the reason for the problems that are going on with me.”
Like a lot of other Yankees, Pettitte wondered why the Yankees brought Leyritz back.
“I don’t know what to make of it,” Pettitte said. “I can’t be disappointed because I like the guy. I think it’s good for the team, it’s not a negative. He is fun to be around. I know he loves New York but we have two catchers here.” **The second Shane Spencer got to left field corner, Spencer knew he wasn’t going to lay a glove on John Valentin’s ninth-inning fly ball. If he caught it, Jose Offerman would score the game-winning run from third. If it landed foul, Ramiro Mendoza would live for another pitch. And when it dropped six inches inside the foul line, the game was over.
“The only thing I was hoping for was a fan to touch the ball,” Spencer said.
Spencer put in a full day working the Green Monster as the Red Sox doubled twice off the world’s most famous handball wall and flied out to Spencer six times.
“I was busy and I am feeling it now,” said Spencer, who was on the DL from July 3 to July 26 due to an irregular heartbeat. **With Leyritz on board as a pinch-hitter and somebody who can give DH Chili Davis a break, there doesn’t appear to be a spot for Darryl Strawberry when the suspended slugger returns. The addition of Leyritz means Strawberry is going to have to prove to Yankee brass that his left knee is up to the task of playing left field when his minor league rehab assignment starts. **Having nursed a sore left shoulder for more than a month, Bernie Williams got a chance to partially rest it yesterday when Torre used his switch-hitting center fielder as the DH. Chad Curtis replaced Williams in center and both went 2-for-4.
