Even after a full day, I still have
mixed emotions about seeing Andy Pettitte return to the New York Yankees.
I was in Pittsburgh watching Syracuse
play in the NCAA tournament when I first heard the news about Pettitte’s un-retirement
and I couldn’t have been happier. I was so excited that I vowed to be there for
his first start back, regardless of the cost. But then Pettitte testified in
the Roger Clemens trial, giving his friend a potential out by all of a sudden
claiming there was a 50-50 chance he was mistaken about what Clemens told him,
even though he was certain about what he heard the day before. All that
excitement was gone in an instant, replaced with anger that Pettitte would bend
the truth in such a way to save someone who doesn’t deserve to be saved.
Watching Pettitte pitch again on Sunday was
by far the most confusing time. I refused to attend the game in person to
support him because of what he said and did on the witness stand. And I wasn’t giving
him a standing ovation at home either or cheering for him when he first took
the mound. But just watching
on television every time he got a batter out or induced a ground-ball double
play, I felt the rush of positive emotions that I always felt watching him
pitch during his glory days. It’s a classic case of old habits dying hard.
However, every warm feeling was always quickly
followed by a reminder of how much damage Pettitte’s suddenly faulty memory did
to the government’s case against Clemens. That has completed changed my opinion
of Pettitte as a person, who once was one of my favorites largely because he
seemed like such a good, honest guy. But he will now find himself, for me, in
Alex Rodriguez territory, a baseball player I merely tolerate because the
Yankees need him to do well if they are going to be successful.
While I will root for Pettitte to do
well for the Yankees’ sake, he will no longer get my unconditional support as
he had before. I just don’t think he deserves it anymore.
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