Andy Pettitte May Not Be Back Until Mid-September

Bronx Baseball DailyAug 19, 2010

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New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte will not be ready to return to the mound until the first week of September at the earliest, and more likely the middle of the month, which could compromise his ability to be at his best for the postseason.
“I think if you get into the third week of September, and we haven’t gotten him back, you’d be somewhat concerned,” manager Joe Girardi said before Wednesday night’s Yankees-Tigers game at Yankee Stadium.
Pettitte’s rehab of the left groin muscle he strained July 18 was shut down for a week by the Yankees training staff Tuesday after an MRI showed that the injury still had not healed.
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It’s hard to be overly concerned about Pettitte not being ready to go during the playoffs as long as he’s healthy and gets at least two starts before October. The biggest issue could be getting him work though. The minor league season ends the beginning of September and unless the Yankees’ farm teams are in the playoffs, there might not be any good place for him to get some rehab work.

Rehabbing in live games could get tricky and if he doesn’t get the proper rehab time in then he very well could run into consistency issues in the playoffs.

If Pettitte isn’t healthy enough or ready to pitch in the playoffs, the Yankees might still have enough pitching to make the World Series. It is safe to say though that their chances will take a serious hit as they would have to heavily lean on A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes, who by that time will be way over his previous career high in innings pitched.