Andy is Dandy

There's a old saying that states, "You're only as strong as your weakest link." When you think about a starting rotation in baseball, this adage is definitely true. It's great to have an ace or a dominant 1,2,3 but if you have a bum pitching in that 4th or 5th spot, you're going to feel the pain. That's why signing Andy Pettitte was so important this off season.

I know Andy struggled down the stretch in 2008, but before his shoulder started barking he was having a very solid season. On July 22, Andy won to improve his record to 12-7 with an ERA of 3.76. If he had just been around .500 pitcher the rest of the way he would have won 16+ games. Instead, he struggled to just a 2-7 record the rest of the way.

Now, of course, there are reasons that 37 year old pitchers break down during the year. Andy has averaged 215 innings a year over his 14 year career, so, there is always the chance that he'll break down again this year, but if he can stay healthy I see no reason he can't give you numbers close to what he put up in the first half of the year. And even if he can't, just being able to eat up another 200 innings out of that 4th slot in the rotation is worth a lot.

Look at Boston. Even though Tim Wakefield is far from a dominant starter, being able to send him out there every 5th day when you know he usually is able to give you 6+ innings his huge. It saves your bullpen. And I'd love to see what the ERA is for the games started immediately after he pitches, since that knuckle ball is bound to screw up opposing hitter's swings. But the point is he is a reliable option on the back of the Sox' rotation.

In the off season, the Yanks spent a king's ransom on improving the rotation with CC & AJ. Chien Ming Wang returned after an injury hampered '08. But the best pitching performance thus far came from a guy who spent most of the off season looking for a job. Andy was sharp and efficient enabling him to go 7 innings and rest a weary bullpen.

We shouldn't need Pettitte to give us that every time he takes the mound. CC should eventually gain command of his fastball, Wang should find his sinker release point, AJ has the potential to dominate every time out, and Joba is on the cusp of being very, very good. But until all that happens it sure is nice to have good ole Andy taking the ball every 5th day.