There are always a few players that absolutely kill the Yankees. This weekend, it was Carlos Pena’s turn to show why he is a Yankee killer. Over the three game set, Pena collected six hits, slugged two home runs and drove in seven runs. Pena should have had a third home run, but fan interference limited the hit to only a double. In 310 career at-bats against the Yanks, Pena has blasted 23 HRs and posted a .232/.350/.510 line. Pena’s numbers are great against the Yankees and there’s no doubt that the Bombers won’t miss seeing him.

Overall, it was a very, very frustrating weekend of Yankee baseball. As a fan, my confidence is never high when the team plays in Tampa Bay. There’s something about that silly dome that rubs me the wrong way. Joe Girardi had a very curious weekend as he and Joe Maddon each took turns trying to overmanage. On Friday, Girardi’s decision to intentionally walk Sean Rodriguez to get to Pena in the first inning came back to haunt him. Even then, the Yankees had an opportunity to win the game, but Mariano blew the save opportunity. The Yanks had a nice comeback on Saturday, but it fell short. No effort at all by the Bombers on Sunday as they just looked like they were ready to get out of Tampa.

The Rays are a scary, scary team, but these three games comprise 1.8% of the regular season. These two teams will meet another 15 times before the season ends, so expect more great battles. The Rays clearly have some of the best arms in baseball and the Yanks will need to step up, work the counts, and get into the Ray pen. Time for the Yanks to pick up their first win tonight in Baltimore with Ivan Nova taking the ball.

On Tuesday, Joey Votto and the Reds agreed to historic contract extension which will pay Votto $251.5 million over the next twelve (!!) years. To put that in perspective, the 28-year-old first baseman will earn $20 million per year through 2024! What makes things even more interesting was Votto had two years remaining on his current contract. Clearly, the Reds and Votto have set a new bar for locking up franchise players. 

Entering the 2012 season, the Yankees have a franchise player of their own who is two years away from free agency. Should Votto’s new contract entice the Yankees to lock up 29-year-old Robinson Cano?

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Baseball officially begins tonight in Miami when the new-look Marlins take on the defending champion, St. Louis Cardinals. The new stadium is apparently pretty cool (there are fish tanks behind home plate), so we’ll get to see first hand tonight! With the excitement brewing around baseball, it’s time for some bold predictions for the 2012 season. Some will be Yankee and Met related, some won’t be. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. We’ll re-visit this article in October.

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Huh? Putting the prized off-season acquisition in the minor leagues? Can’t be!

However, this is the only move that the Yankees can (and should) make. It’s been well documented that the Yankees will open the season with six able starting pitchers and five rotation slots. CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, and Phil Hughes are mortal locks for the rotation which leaves Michael Pineda and Freddy Garcia vying for the final spot. Garcia was extremely impressive last season, going from a Spring Training invite to rotation stalwart. Garcia essentially saved his career, posting a 12-8 record while sporting a 3.62 ERA.  Coming back to the Yankees on a one-year, $4 million deal made perfect sense. Then came the trade that shook the Yankee Universe..

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Huh?

Going into the 2012 season, Yankee fans are routinely forgetting about A-Rod when discussing the team’s offensive potential. Sure, Curtis Granderson had a career year in 2011 and Robinson Cano is one of the game’s best hitters, but A-Rod is no slouch, either. After missing 63 games last year with a knee injury, the soon-to-be 37-year-old A-Rod had a knee procedure done in Germany. The same doctor who performed surgery on Kobe Bryant (the NBA’s leading scorer) also worked on A-Rod. While no two bodies are the same, we’ve heard nothing but great things about this German doctor. While the German doctor can’t hit a baseball for A-Rod, this procedure will hopefully help him start driving the ball again. Given A-Rod’s down year in 2011 and successful knee surgery in the off-season, are people undervaluing A-Rod for the first time in his storied career?

AP Photo

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Let me be the first stay, I can’t wait for Andy Pettitte to make his return to the Yankee rotation. I’ve watched Pettitte since his rookie season in 1995 and will always associate Andy with my youth. However, when it comes to fantasy baseball, Pettitte virtually has no value.  

When Pettitte vountarily retired after the 2010 season, he retired as an All-Star. Pettitte went 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 21 starts. Pettitte posted a 7.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 which weren’t vintage Pettitte numbers. However, Pettitte was sidelined for nearly two months with a groin injury. Pettitte dealt with various back and arm injuries throughout his career and given his age, we can’t discount another trip to the disabled list. Even worse, Pettitte may not be able to make a full return to the Yankees and hang it up for good. 

Pettitte has already indicated that he won’t be back before May and no one should expect him to be. If anything, we’ve learned from David Cone in 2003 that comebacks should be taken slowly. Pettitte will likely only give his owners 3/4 of a season and the numbers he posts won’t be good to justify any sort of fantasy value. Plus, there is no guarantee that Pettitte regains his signature stuff. 

For now, let Andy sit on the waiver wire and play the waiting game. If he comes back and delivers some vintage starts, quickly add him to your staff. For now, let Andy go and draft another pitcher who will start the year in his team’s rotation.

On Friday, we learned that Andy Pettitte would come out of retirement to join the 2012 Yankees. The Yankees and Pettitte agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million minor league deal. By definition, a minor league deal is essentially a risk-less ‘tryout’. However, the Yankees and Pettitte fully envision him being able to contribute by May or June. Granted, Pettitte, who has been throwing and working out, may decide that he just can’t do it anymore and stay retired. However, given Andy’s competitive nature, he wouldn’t waste anyone’s time if he didn’t think he could still play.

While having another arm is a great ‘problem’ to have, the Yankees are left with a bunch of arms and only a limited number of rotation spots. To start the year, Sabathia, Nova, and Kuroda will be in the rotation. By all accounts, Michael Pineda and Phil Hughes will be in there, too. Freddy Garcia is the odd man out and will likely take over long-relief duties. However, if all of these pitchers are performing well when Pettitte is ready, what will his role be?

Andy doesn’t have the makeup to be a reliever and wouldn’t come out of retirement to be one, either. Andy is a craftsman with the baseball. Runners will get on base, he’ll walk some hitters, he’ll pick some off, etc. Andy isn’t going to come out of the bullpen throwing 97+ MPH. He is and always will be a starting pitcher.

Emotional attachments aside, Andy has to prove to the Yankees that he still has it. When he retired after the 2010 season, he left on his own accord. He wasn’t Posada’ed out of the team. Coming back from a one-year layoff, the now 40-year-old Pettitte must prove he belongs in the Yankee rotation.

And by all accounts, I hope he is the Andy that we all know and love.

Via Jack Curry, the Yankees and retired free-agent pitcher Andy Pettitte have agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million minor league deal. The Yankees are expected to slowly work Pettitte back into shape, but what a surprise!

This may be the most unexpected news in years. Great to have Andy back!

After an impressive 18-win season in 2010, Phil Hughes took a mulligan in 2011.

During Spring Training last season, Hughes was unable to break 90 MPH. The Yankees placed Hughes on the DL with an undisclosed injury. After he came back, Hughes posted a pedestrian 5-5 record in only 14 starts. Hughes’ 5.79 ERA and 1.49 WHIP were unsightly, but after a rocky start to the year, the Yankees weren’t expecting much.

Going into the 2012 season, Hughes is one of the X-Factors for the Yankees. He is currently in a ‘competition’ with Freddy Garcia for the fifth stater’s job, but the job is as good as his. Cashman has coined Hughes as a ‘top of the rotation’ starter–and many fans view him that way. Top of the rotation starters don’t get put into the bullpen.

With all of the attention focused on Michael Pineda’s arm, David Robertson’s foot, and A-Rod’s knee, Hughes has flown under the Yankee radar. Not many 26-year-old pitchers with Hughes’ pedigree do. And that’s definitely not a bad thing.