12-11-2006, 03:12 AM
from <a href="http://yankees2000.blogspot.com/2006/12/baseball-economics-from-andy-to-zito.html">Promote The Curse</a>...
Late Friday afternoon, Andy Pettitte got paid. Oh boy did he get paid, all 14-13, 4.20 ERA, 1.44 WHIP of him, statistics he put up even though his team played NL Central powerhouses like the Brewers, Cubs and Pirates an inordinate amount of times.
In case you weren't keeping track, those three teams finished 27th, 28th, and 29th, respectively, in all of MLB in runs scored, and 24th, 27th and 30th, again, respectively, in OPS. If you're interested, the other two teams in that division, the Cardinals and the Reds, finished 14th and 22nd in runs scored and 14th and 15th in OPS.
Pettitte made interleague starts against the Royals, Rangers and White Sox, and allowed 15 earned runs in 17 innings, going 0-2 with an ERA close to 9.
In short, there's no statistic out there that justifies giving Andy Pettitte $16 million. Did I say $16 million? My mistake. You see, the amount of money the Yanks are throwing at Pettitte becomes particularly unconscionable when you factor in the effect of the luxury tax. Basically, the Yankees pay $1.40 for every 1 dollar they spend.
Factoring that in to the equation, the Yankees are paying $22.4 million for Andy Pettitte. It's completely ridiculous.
Perhaps the best commentary I've heard about the deal was made by some barfly quoted in Saturday's Daily News. "We spend too much on everybody," Sean Higgins said, "so why stop now?"
You know, I really can't argue with him. Pettitte's a fine addition to their club. If your team has a pressing need, with this offseason being what it is, you could do a lot worse than to fill that need with a 1-year player.
But just so we're clear, the Yankees just spent $16/22.4 million on their third (fourth?) starter.
Somewhere, Barry Zito is jamming some sweet DMB on his acoustic guitar. Somewhere else, Scott Boras is smiling.
Late Friday afternoon, Andy Pettitte got paid. Oh boy did he get paid, all 14-13, 4.20 ERA, 1.44 WHIP of him, statistics he put up even though his team played NL Central powerhouses like the Brewers, Cubs and Pirates an inordinate amount of times.
In case you weren't keeping track, those three teams finished 27th, 28th, and 29th, respectively, in all of MLB in runs scored, and 24th, 27th and 30th, again, respectively, in OPS. If you're interested, the other two teams in that division, the Cardinals and the Reds, finished 14th and 22nd in runs scored and 14th and 15th in OPS.
Pettitte made interleague starts against the Royals, Rangers and White Sox, and allowed 15 earned runs in 17 innings, going 0-2 with an ERA close to 9.
In short, there's no statistic out there that justifies giving Andy Pettitte $16 million. Did I say $16 million? My mistake. You see, the amount of money the Yanks are throwing at Pettitte becomes particularly unconscionable when you factor in the effect of the luxury tax. Basically, the Yankees pay $1.40 for every 1 dollar they spend.
Factoring that in to the equation, the Yankees are paying $22.4 million for Andy Pettitte. It's completely ridiculous.
Perhaps the best commentary I've heard about the deal was made by some barfly quoted in Saturday's Daily News. "We spend too much on everybody," Sean Higgins said, "so why stop now?"
You know, I really can't argue with him. Pettitte's a fine addition to their club. If your team has a pressing need, with this offseason being what it is, you could do a lot worse than to fill that need with a 1-year player.
But just so we're clear, the Yankees just spent $16/22.4 million on their third (fourth?) starter.
Somewhere, Barry Zito is jamming some sweet DMB on his acoustic guitar. Somewhere else, Scott Boras is smiling.
![[Image: 723475742_8cb2b0be6c.jpg]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1019/723475742_8cb2b0be6c.jpg)