Is Andy Pettitte an Insurance Policy the New York Yankees Can Live Without?

The news out of Houston is that the Astros will not be attempting to bring Andy Pettitte into the mix for 2009. The more shocking aspect of the news reported in the New York Post is that Yankee fans are still wondering whether Pettitte will be in pinstripes next year or not this late in the offseason.

Pettitte, coming off a 14-14 season, has yet to give any indication regarding why the negotiations up to this point have stalled. The 36 year old brings with him an impressive resume, and a winning pedigree that should help balance out a rotation that features two hired guns in CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, one starter coming off an injury riddled 2008 (Chien Ming-Wang), and Joba Chamberlain. 

The last few season the Yankees weakness has been a lack of starting pitching. Brian Cashman has too often felt the need to risk it all on the chance that a youngster (or laughably Carl Pavano), would suddenly materialize into a bona fide No. 4 or 5 starter. 

Working in the youngsters is necesary for the Yankees long term success, but rolling the dice when you're the New York Yankees is never necessary.

However, it seems to be a difficult proposition trying to untangle exactly who is holding up the contract in this case. Reports have indicated that Pettitte has turned down the Yankees' $10 million offer, and there have been reports that the Yankees pulled the offer off the table.

If Pettitte is refusing the Yankees generous offer, especially after the support he was given after the revelation that Pettitte was involved in MLB's steroid scandal, then you can't fault the Yankees if they move on without him.

It's hard to fathom that Pettitte, coming off a subpar year, would be seeking much more than $10 million to pitch at the back end of the Yankees rotation. It's also hard to imagine that the Yankees would in any way be reluctant to leave the offer on the table with the remaining options being Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.

Hughes is an injury-prone youngster who has shown flashes of stardom, but not enough to make many fans secure in his long-term ability.

The other option, Ian Kennedy followed an impressive 2007 with an equally unimpressive 2008. In doing so Kennedy has diminished his trade value, and left many questioning whether he's cut out for the Big Apple.

The Yankees have an impressive rotation.  However, much of that rotation comes with a significant injury risk.  A.J. Burnett isn't in a contract year, so don't be surprised if he ends up on the disabled list at some point in 2009.

Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes are also no strangers to the DL, and Wang is coming off a season that saw him appear in only 15 games.

In the end, signing Pettitte is more of a necessity than a luxury. When you have invested as much money as the Yankees have, it's foolish not to have a backup plan. If money is the issue the Yankees should be willing to increase their offer slightly, regardless of whether Pettitte actually deserves more than $10 million.

(He doesn't, but like most free agents, he's holding all the cards...)

Seeing Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter open the new Yankee Stadium would be fitting considering all they've given to this franchise, but more importantly, if the Yankees open the season without Andy Pettitte, they could be looking at another stressful season if one or two of their highly regarded starters misses significant time due to injury.