Don’t count on Andy Pettitte solving whatever pitching woes the Yankees may have.
The left-hander said Monday he will not pitch this season and all but definitively ruled out a return in 2012, according to ESPN.com.
“The only thing that would make me pitch again is if I felt this season was over and I felt that I needed to pray and really consider making a decision about changing what I’m doing right now,” Pettitte said on ESPN 1050 Radio. “If I missed it so much and I felt in my heart like that was the thing I need to do, I would try to start thinking about it and start considering it again.
“But I’m just telling you right now, I don’t think I will ever pitch again.”
Pettitte retired prior to this season after weighing a return to the Yankees throughout the offseason.
“I’m not playing baseball this year,” he said Monday.
Pettitte said he will not be at Yankees Old-Timer’s Day on June 26. He said he’s spending his time coaching his children and playing church softball.
“I miss, as a man, having a job to do,” Pettitte said.
The Yankees, without injured Phil Hughes, have gotten respectable pitching from Ivan Nova, Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia at the back of their rotation but are likely looking for another starter.