Andy's dominance continues against Texas

Last night, Andy Pettitte pitched a gem, giving up 2 ER over 7 IP. He struck out 7 and lowered his ERA to 4.18. Amazingly, Andy Pettitte has been the best pitcher in the AL since the All-Star break. His FIP of 2.32 is the lowest of any AL pitcher over the last 30 days and his ERA of 2.61 is actually the second lowest during that period of time (King Felix sits above him with a 2.45 ERA). Andy has been an important piece of the Yankees’ playoff puzzle. Without his dominance, the rotation would look rather inconsistent (e.g., Joba, Mitre). He gave the Yankees exactly what they needed last night—a clean, crisp outing—as the bats took care of the rest, allowing for a 9-2 win. Lately, Pettitte has indicated that he would like to continue pitching after 2009 and, given Chien-Ming Wang’s absence and the way Pettitte has performed this season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up with the Yankees again next year.

It wasn’t all good last night, however, as Jorge Posada and A-Rod suffered some minor injuries. Jorge left the game after aggravating an already injured left ring finger via a Nelson Cruz foul tip. He’s considered day-to-day and was removed as a precaution. Alex Rodriguez also fouled a pitch off of his left foot and exited the game, but he’s said to be alright. Neither player will miss much time, if any. A.J. Burnett is scheduled to pitch today and was probably going to work with Jose Molina anyway since he and Jorge hate each other it’s a day game after a night game.