The most reliable starter for the 2008 Yankees figured to be Andy Pettitte. Chien-Ming Wang is coming off a nightmarish playoffs and has lingering shoulder issues while Mike Mussina was terrible for most of 2007 before losing his spot in the rotation. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are both gifted with talent but they're young, which usually means inconsistent, and, no matter what, will have limits on their innings. Joba Chamberlain, another neophyte, is ticketed for the bullpen. That left Pettitte as the foundation.How secure can they be in that feeling after what went on in D.C. this week? Pettitte is going to face nonstop questions about Roger Clemens, PEDs and myriad other things that have nothing to do with baseball. Even Mussina isn't sure what to expect from his teammate.
"This is a different animal than anything he's gone through before," Mussina said. "It's going to be everywhere, and it's going to be hard. We're expecting Andy to pitch 190 or 200 innings and win 15 games or so. The question is, can he deal with all of this and focus on pitching at the same time?"If all breaks well the Yankees will be fine. If it doesn't, though, they'll be looking for contributions from Kei Igawa and Darrell Rasner. That can't fill anyone with confidence, except maybe the gang up in Boston.
