[新聞] Lilly Signs With Cubs as Yankees Pursue Pettitte

[parabird (Harry)]

The New York Times

By TYLER KEPNER
Published: December 7, 2006


ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 6 — It was a day for decisions at the winter meetings
Wednesday. Andy Pettitte’s agent announced that Pettitte would pitch again,
and the Yankees decided not to offer a contract to the left-hander Ted Lilly,
who agreed to a four-year, $40 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.

If Pettitte wants to stay home, he will continue to pitch for the Houston
Astros. But if he wants the most money — and a reunion with his former
teammates — he will return to the Yankees.

The Astros would like to bring back Pettitte for one year and $12 million.
But the Yankees are prepared to offer him $15 million for one season and
would consider making a two-year offer if Pettitte wants it.

The agent Randy Hendricks did not elaborate on Pettitte’s thought process.
But he did confirm that Pettitte, 34, would not retire. “Andy has decided to
play,” Hendricks wrote in an e-mail message.

Pettitte has been training in Houston with Brian McNamee, who was the
personal trainer for Roger Clemens in Clemens’s early days with the Yankees.
Clemens, 44, might retire, but he has been teammates with Pettitte for eight
years and there is a good chance he would follow Pettitte wherever he goes.

For now — with Clemens not close to making a decision on his future — the
addition of Pettitte is more realistic. Pettitte left the Yankees after the
2003 season and has stayed in regular contact with Manager Joe Torre and some
former teammates.

As they awaited the next move from Pettitte, the Yankees also pondered the
wisdom of signing Lilly, another former Yankee. Lilly eliminated the Toronto
Blue Jays from consideration Wednesday afternoon, and his agent, Larry O’
Brien, said he would decide between the Cubs and the Yankees.

But the Yankees had not yet decided whether to bid on Lilly. O’Brien gave
them a chance to match the Cubs’ offer, and Yankees General Manager Brian
Cashman was authorized to do so if he wished.

“I gave him the timeframe we needed, and Brian just wasn’t able to pull the
trigger,” O’Brien said, adding later: “I think, at the end of the day, they
’ve got the luxury-tax issue, and he also has an idea of what he sees as his
team. Maybe he goes after Andy Pettitte hard now.”

Lilly was 15-13 with a 4.31 earned run average for Toronto last season. But
he is not especially durable and is prone to wildness, and his career record
is one game over .500. Cashman may have learned from experience.

Two years ago, the Yankees gave nearly $40 million to a pitcher who was then
one game under .500: Carl Pavano. The deal has been a disaster, and since
then, the Yankees have tried to be more prudent with their spending. Their
luxury-tax rate of 40 percent has reinforced that strategy.

“I’d prefer not to pay that tax, but there’s nothing I can do to prevent
it,” Cashman said. “Is that precluding us on things? Not necessarily. But
it does factor into your decision-making.”

Cashman left the winter meetings hotel on Wednesday night to have dinner with
Scott Boras, who represents outfielder Bernie Williams and reliever Ron
Villone, two Yankees whose future with the team is uncertain.

Boras also represents Barry Zito, who is considered the best starter on the
market, and it stood to reason that Boras would pitch Zito to the Yankees.
But the Yankees have no interest in Zito as long as he continues to ask for
$16 million a season, a figure he is likely to get in a robust market.

“Our obligation is to put the best team on the field possible,” Steve
Swindal, the Yankees’ general partner, said on Tuesday. “The fans deserve
it. We had 4.2-million-plus fans last year, and we’re going to give them the
best team money can buy. It’s a game of ‘What’s out there?’ and doing it
wisely.”

If the Yankees signed Pettitte and the Japanese left-hander Kei Igawa, they
would have six starters under contract. Two of those starters, Pavano and
Randy Johnson, have injury questions. Without any reinforcements, the Yankees
are counting on a healthy return from Pavano.

But Pavano’s whose many injuries and seeming indifference to competing have
eroded good will in the clubhouse. Adding depth to the rotation would keep
the Yankees from having to rely on Pavano. That would free them up to trade
him and save at least some of the $20 million remaining on his contract.

Cashman said pitching remained his priority, and the Yankees do not seem
close to a deal with Shea Hillenbrand to play first base. They are interested
in signing Hillenbrand for one year, but he wants a multiyear deal.

The Yankees are likely to let Hillenbrand come back to them or give the job
to Andy Phillips, who batted .240 with seven home runs last season.

“We feel he’s better than the maiden voyage we saw last year,” Cashman
said of Phillips. “But at the same time, I am engaging the available players
on the free agent market and seeing where it takes us.”

Of all those players on the market, though, no one stands out to the Yankees
the way Pettitte does. The solution for their immediate future may come from
their recent past.


--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) 
◆ From: 59.105.25.177
推 windgoing122:其實我覺得沒簽到Lilly有點可惜...
推 scal:I want Jake Peavy...period
推 Pet:小熊肯給他長約，所以他就選小熊...
推 parabird:痛先生是現金人心中永遠的痛.............
推 star01:等peavy santana...XDD
推 whatisthis:沒有莉莉姐沒關係  andy如果回來就好
推 star1:沒錯 搶到andy就好
推 fjueeman:andy比較強
推 KerryWood:ANDY RODDICK   XDD
推 IronChef:ANDY DICK
推 garypan0304:有125mile的實力
推 vnra:樓上 XD
推 taroa:150mile都打過了
推 asdfzx:好耶 還可以常常看到莎娃來看球 XD