What Can Yankees Do if Pettitte Goes Down?

As the baseball season winds down, the Yankees are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in and it may stay that way because Andy Pettitte's arm is in questionable condition lately. In the past Pettitte has always been a very solid performer during the summer. Last August he was 6-0 and throughout his career he is an overall 90-41 during the months of July and August. This season Pettitte has put together a sub-par July (3-3 and 4.74 ERA) and he has had one awful start so far in August. His last two performances have been especially bad as the lefty has gone 0-2 and has given up 14 runs including three homers over 10.1 innings. All of this has lead to speculation of an injury or merely a dead-arm; either might cause him to miss at least one start. Yesterday the Daily News reported that Pettitte was experiencing stiffness in his left arm and claimed that it would cause him to miss at least one start, this Sunday in Anaheim. But late last night they changed their tune and are now reporting that he feels well enough to pitch even though he may be suffering through a dead-arm. When the paper confronted Yankee manager Joe Girardi he claimed Pettitte was well enough to pitch this Sunday. "He's starting Sunday," Girardi said. "Whether I start him on five days or six times the next time, I don't know. But he's our starter Sunday." Pettitte confirmed that there are no plans for him to skip a start, but admitted there is something bothering him. "That hasn't even been discussed," Pettitte said about missing a start. "Do I feel as good as I'd like to? No. But it's that time of year." It might be that time of the year for most pitchers, but historically Pettitte only gets stronger as the season progresses so this should be something of a concern to all fans. This is coming at an especially bad time with Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain on the disabled list. As the rotation stands right now it's headed up by Mike Mussina then, presumably, Pettitte who is followed by Sidney Ponson, Ian Kennedy, and finally Dan Giese. If this becomes something where Pettitte misses a few games Darrell Rasner may be inserted back into the rotation. If they choose to stay away from the inconsistent Rasner they could go with Chase Wright or Kei Igawa although this is less likely because neither are on the 40-man roster. There still is time for them to pull of a deal with Seattle Mariners for Jarrod Washburn although there have been no reports of the two teams talking lately. The only other way the Bombers could upgrade their rotation is with players coming off the DL such as Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes. Hughes is the closest to returning, but there is no guarantee he can be successful in the major leagues yet. Neither are really expected to make much of an impact until September.