Trio With Uncertain Future Makes Yankees' Present Awfully Sweet

NEW YORK -- None of them were on the field Wednesday when Robinson Cano threw out Shane Victorino to clinch the Yankees' World Series championship.

And no one should be surprised if neither Hideki Matsui, Andy Pettitte nor Johnny Damon are on the field in Tampa, Fla., next February for Yankees' spring training.

But this championship would not have happened without them.

All three are potential free agents. And all three may wind up leaving the Yankees, for various reasons.

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The Yankees could let Matsui and his balky knees go because they seem to prefer not to have a full-time DH, instead rotating that spot in the lineup to give players some rest (remember, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are all in their 30s).

Damon's defense and durability are in decline, and the Yankees do have outfielders Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher under control for 2010.

Pettitte, meanwhile, would probably be welcomed back next year -- if he wants to play. He wavered on retirement the past three winters, especially after 2006 and '07, and now that he has fulfilled two goals by playing in the new Yankee Stadium and earning another ring, perhaps this is the time to walk away.

General manager Brian Cashman said he spent part of the 1998 World Series, his first as GM, stressing over the upcoming winter decisions, such as whether to re-sign Bernie Williams.

Now he knows to put everything off until after the postseason is over.

"Now is not the time to deal with that," Cashman said on the field after Game 6. "We're going to celebrate. The business side of the game will kick in here at some point."

Matsui drove in six runs in the 7-3 Game 6 victory, tying the record for a World Series game and most ever in a World Series clincher. He earned Series MVP honors even though, as a DH, he got just one plate appearance each night in Games 3-5, as a pinch hitter.

"I hope [to return]," Matsui said, through interpreter Roger Kahlon, upon being presented with the World Series MVP. "I hope it works out. I love New York. I love the Yankees. I love the fans here."

Yankees assistant GM Jean Afterman, who was instrumental in recruiting and signing Matsui after his 10 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, said Matsui grew up idolizing Babe Ruth.

"His dream was to become a Yankee," Afterman said.

"He wanted to play where Babe Ruth played. He wanted to do what Babe Ruth did."

As if he was making a last-ditch case for the Yankees to being him back, Matsui hit .615 (8-for-13) with three homers, eight RBI and a 1.385 slugging percentage -- the second-highest in World Series history.


"I think you've got to think about everything that he's done," Afterman said when asked about bringing back Matsui. "I think you've got to think about everything he's achieved and who he is. And then who he is and what he means to this team. And what he means to this country and his country.

"It's quite a thing to be a hero in two countries at the same time."

Pettitte is such a hero that his postgame speech from the on-field stage was inaudible in Yankee Stadium, drowned out by the fans' chants of "An-dy Pett-ittte!"

He won two games in the Series, including Game 6 -- making him the first pitcher ever to start and win the series clincher in the Division Series, LCS and World Series the same season. His 18 career postseason wins are a record, and only Whitey Ford has pitched in more World Series than Pettitte's eight.

"I'm not sure," Pettitte said of his future. "I'm not. I need to get home, talk to my family. I'll need to talk to the Yankees and find out where they're at. And then I'll probably start trying to figure out what I'd like to do."

Pettitte wasn't great on three days' rest, walking five in 5 2/3 innings. But only one of those runners scored.

"There was really nothing special," Phillies leadoff man Jimmy Rollins said, "but he made one great pitch every at-bat it seemed like. When he needed that pitch he was able to make it, got some double plays that really shortens an inning.

"That's what Andy does. He keeps his team in the game. You walk away shaking your head -- how didn't we get to him? -- but obviously he's pretty good because he's been doing it a long time."

Closer Mariano Rivera wouldn't admit to any recruiting calls last winter but did say he "wanted to make sure that Andy came back."

Because Pettitte's past fence-sitting was based in large part on his health, and he showed with Wednesday's short-rest outing that he is OK, perhaps it won't be a tough sell this time around.

In contrast to Matsui and Pettitte, Damon showed in the finale why it might be wise not to re-sign him. He had to come out of Game 6 with a strained right calf, suffered running home on Matsui's third-inning single.

Damon did score a team-high six runs in the Series, none more important than the one in the ninth inning of Game 4 after his heady double steal. (The Hall of Fame has already taken possession of the cleats Damon wore that night.)

While Damon has said he would like to come back, he also admitted he doesn't know if he will.

Matsui, Damon and Pettitte have something else in common besides their contractual status: they are respected by their peers for their professionalism.

Damon is a goofy free spirit. Matsui shows great respect to everyone around him and seems serious but has a sense of humor that he can unveil, in English, at moments. Pettitte is a tireless worker with great pride.

But when time comes to play, they all show up.

With George Steinbrenner's health in decline, irrationality is gone from Yankees' front office. And Cashman can be cold-blooded in his decision-making; there was a blip of sentimentality after the 2007 season when Steinbrenner's sons -- in the wake of the Joe Torre parting -- signed Rodriguez, Rivera and Posada to over-market contracts, but that seems to have been wiped out.

So in the coming days, Pettitte will ponder his future as Cashman considers how badly he wants Matsui and Damon back, if at all.

The story lines won't play out quickly this winter. But even if all three are somewhere else come spring, their contributions this fall won't soon be forgotten by the Yankees and their fans.