Al Leiter took a break from shooting promos at the MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J., to talk with The Post’s Justin Terranova about the Yankees’ rotation and how their biggest offseason addition may have been pitching coach Larry Rothschild.
Q: Larry Rothschild was your pitching coach with the Marlins. Do you think he’ll be good with the Yankees?
A:
Definitely. I had a lot of good pitching coaches, but what separates Larry from the rest is that there are guys who get the mechanics but don’t understand the mindset of a pitcher. Then there’s maybe guys who care too much with the stats. Larry incorporates all that and you trust the guy. And with that trust, it provides an opportunity to go to him as a sounding board and know that it won’t go to a manager, GM or anyone higher.
Q: How do you think he can help A.J. Burnett?
A:
At times, stuff-wise it wasn’t the same for A.J. last year. This is the dilemma for every pitcher. At some point in your career, and I’m not saying he’s quite there yet, your stuff lessens. When that happens, your approach to getting hitters out has to change. A.J. is a two-pitch pitcher and when of them isn’t on, he’s out there with one pitch. A.J. needs to find confidence in a third pitch. Larry’s going to help with that. But A.J. has to accept it.
Q: You even saw that some with Derek Jeter agreeing to work out with hitting coach Kevin Long earlier this year after some struggles in 2010?
A:
And what makes Kevin really special is that he is in a room of All-Stars, future Hall of Famers, and he knows when to step on the accelerator and when to back off.
Q: Are you surprised Andy Pettitte decided to retire?
A:
I am. But it’s to be continued. My initial gut was that when Andy was waffling was that he would take time off, watch the kids get through (school,) then sign in June or July. Give him a month to work out in the minor leagues and then have him ready for the stretch run. After watching the press conference though, I am convinced that he was done. It would be real tough to sit a year, like he said, and try to come back.
Q: Any favorites to grab the final spot in the Yankees rotation?
A:
I haven’t been down to spring training yet, thinking the third week of March. But I know that Ivan Nova has great upside. Then you have guys — Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Sergio Mitre — where they are all kind of similar. I’m glad they are not looking at the young guys — Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos — for this year.