What Are The Odds?

With the sudden, unexpected and completely shocking decision to not retire this morning, Andy Pettitte joins the list of Yankee stars who have somehow managed to live without ex-manager Joe Torre. I, for one, can not fathom how Pettitte is managing to trade another year of his life, the sudden Joelessness, and up to four months a year of travel away from his family, for the mere trifle of $16 million. I mean, he's 35. Hasn't he worked long enough?

(Note to Andy: You may wind up with 300 wins before it's all said and done, but you've really got a lot to learn about the non-retirement money grab. What else have you and the Rocket talked about for lo these many years of Barebackian Bliss?)

Now, for all of you keeping track of the goings-on in MLB+, this means that Rodriguez, Rivera, Pettitte and Posada -- in other words, all of those big-name big-contract borderline Hall of Fame guys that were going to go somewhere else amid the chaos of the team changing from Torre to Not Mattingly to Joe Girardi -- have all signed on the dotted line. And all this, despite Hank Steinbrenner taking on his father's legacy as someone who seems to be crazy as a loon, or at the very least, another in a long line of weak legacy kids. But... but... I thought that Yankee Players Loved Joe, almost as much as Suzyn Waldman loved Joe!



But hey, Yankee Fan -- you're getting Johan Santana for Christmas! And yet another guaranteed playoff spot, just like every year. So don't cry!

Still, you've got to love all of this Hot Stove action. It's just three months until pitchers and catchers report, and just 10 months until the Yankees and Red Sox start their playoff series. What excitement!