Color Me Converted...

I must share something. I wasn't a fan of the President...until now. I had no idea the guy was left-handed. And check out the crook of the arc--the tell-tale sign of left-handedness. The only thing BHO is missing here is the Charlie Brown-style tongue hanging out of the mouth. Not very presidential I guess.

Torre's Book Blasts Former Players

When you follow a team, it's usually a one-dimensional view. You glean snippets of a player's personality from interviews and dugout shots and you try to read body language. But that's about it. Rarely do you know team chemistry and who hates whom--unless a tell-all book is written. So thank you Joe Torre. I'm making a beeline for the bookstore on 2/2. Although there's probably zero chance that Torre takes a pop at phoney baloney Derek Jeter--otherwise we would have heard it by now. Some guys, such as Wells, you knew Torre disliked. Others, such as A-Rod, we finally get confirmation.

ON ALEX RODRIGUEZ: 'Alex is all about the game. He needs the game. He needs all of those statistics. He needs every record imaginable. And he needs people to make a fuss over him.'

ON KEVIN BROWN AND DAVID WELLS: 'The difference between Kevin Brown and David Wells is that both make your life miserable, but David Wells meant to.'

ON RANDY JOHNSON: 'It was sad more than frustrating when we got him, because I thought we finally had someone you could hook your wagon to, and that wasn't the case.'

ON CARL PAVANO: 'The players all hated him. It was no secret.'

Amen, Joe. Amen.

A few thoughts on Andy Pettitte

So the Yankees brought back Andy Pettitte for another season. Good for them. He should solidify the backhalf of therotation. Funny thing about Pettitte though. I don't really trust him in a big spot. Don't get me wrong...he's pitched well in a number of big games. Pettitte's 1-0 Game 5 in the 1996 World Series when he outdueled Atlanta's John Smoltz is at the top of the list. However, for my money Pettitte has had his share of post-season stinkers.

I recall a Friday Night in October 1998 when Cleveland really lit him up. I can still hear Michael Kay's radio call "And Andy Pettitte is getting rocked..." This game set up El Duque's gem when he ostensibly saved the Yankee season the next game. Then there's the 2001 World Series when Arizona forced a Game 7 by pounding Pettitte for six runs in two innings in Game 6.

(A less meaningful--and equally horrendous--start by Pettitte last year lends itself to a quick story. The game against the Kansas City Royals last July...hottest day of the year. Great seats. I'm keeping score and willing Pettitte to get through five, maybe six innings. Didn't happen. Pettitte proceeds to give up 12 earned runs, the last four courtesy of a Jose Guillen Grand Slam. Pissed beyond belief, I leave the Stadium in time to listen to John Sterling's call of a Yankee comeback win in the car on Johnny Damon's sixth hit of the game. This story summed up my entire 2008.)

Personally, I like Pettite. Always have. But I always trusted David Cone, David Wells, even Mike Mussina, before Pettitte in a big game. I will pass over in silence the hatchet job of Game 7 against Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez in 2004 because, well, why should I get upset? Still bothers me.

My comments on Pettitte aside, his post-season numbers look better than I remember: Pettitte is 14–5 with a 3.96 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 35 postseason games (1995–2003, 2005, 2007). Pettitte has pitched 218.1 innings in the postseason.

Maybe its me. I remember the bad more than the good. It's like that way with gamblers too: You don't remember the wins with nearly the same vigor and emotion. The losses? Most players can recall them with stunning alacrity.