New York Yankees: Is Andy Pettitte's Return an Unnecessary Distraction?

Any New York Yankees fan with a pulse is happy to see Andy Pettitte come back, whether it's for nostalgia or because they think he is good for the team. But, Pettitte will be bringing some unnecessary distractions with him.

As soon as the Yankees announced they were signing Pettitte to a minor-league deal, that instantly threw a huge wrench into any starting rotation plans New York had. The Bombers already had an over-abundance of pitching and Pettitte just added to that.

Clearly a spot in the rotation is almost guaranteed for the Yankee legend and certainly Pettitte and the Yanks don't plan on him being a minor-league pitcher or even worse, a reliever.

Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes were both unhappy with the return of Pettitte, which was reported by Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, and that has certainly created some tension on this team moving forward.

But just when you thought his actual return and the reaction by his teammates about his return were all the distractions necessary, now it turns out that Pettitte will have to testify in the Rogers Clemens perjury trial which is set to start jury selection on April 6th.

The Associated Press is reporting that Pettitte will testify against Clemens and will tell the jury that he was assisted in his use of human growth hormone by Clemens' long-time trainer, Brian McNamee.

The black cloud that is the "steroid era" in baseball will once again hover prominently over this organization as Pettitte will once again take his lumps for the mistakes of his past.

However, the Yankees are a team of proven winners and professionals. There should be no worry about Pettitte's personal issues and these players have enough leadership and experience to allow them to ignore this and still play at a high level.

Was Pettitte's return vital to the Yanks' season? No.

But he could certainly help this team during the year and if that's the case, the distractions will be well worth it.

Besides, this isn't some young, rebuilding team. This is the New York Yankees and as we all know, distractions never come before championships.