(
)
TAMPA — This was a turn-back-the-clock day, something from the vintage George Steinbrenner collection.
There were stars and secrets. Drama and nostalgia. That anything-could-happen-and-just-did ambience. The Yankees’ signing of Andy Pettitte was the kind of bombshell for which The Boss lived. It played to the ethos Steinbrenner instilled into the organization — too much is never enough. Chasing championships is the only path. And if you can do that with flash, poignancy and a dominance of the back pages, all the better.
The sensationalistic lightning bolt that arrived at about 1 p.m. yesterday — Pettitte was un-retiring — felt like a retro spasm; the Yankees stepping from the shadows after too many unfamiliar months as the background noise to the Super Bowl Giants and the combusting Jets, Linsanity and the soap opera Knicks.
The Steinbrenner-esque shock and awe elicited as the news emerged rekindled something so common from a Boss-touched past that I was sure by 1:30 we would hear Peyton Manning was coming for a tryout, as well.
Of course, general manager Brian Cashman did not present this as a move of muscle memory, an homage to the unpredictability of The Boss. This was about common sense. Sure, the Yankees have six starters competing for five rotation spots already. But when Andy Pettitte is willing to accept a $2.5 million, non-guaranteed minor-league contract, well, “There is no downside,” he said. “Is there a vacancy [in the rotation]? No. But is this opportunity too good to pass up on? Yes. He’s worth more than this [contract] if he is right.”
Is he right? Well, three weeks ago Pettitte was dressing between Reggie Jackson and David Wells in the coaching room at Steinbrenner Field, working in camp as a Yankees legend. He has not pitched since ALCS Game 3 … in October 2010. Colorado’s Jamie Moyer will be the only pitcher trying to make a rotation older than Pettitte, who turns 40 in June.
But the upside potential was too great, especially at these dollars. Pettitte had a cloak-and-dagger bullpen audition Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., hours before the stadium opened to the media or public for a night game. Yankee officials in attendance saw the lefty’s full array of stuff plus life in the arm. They also know in his second Yankee stint from 2007-10, Pettitte was pitching as much with his brain and will as his stuff.
He had almost a Zen quality. He lost a few mph, but gained a better knowledge of what hitters were thinking. His steely competitiveness never waned and his calm in the storm, confidence and pitching IQ only expanded. Alex Rodriguez described him as “a Navy Seal guy as a pitcher.” Mentally and physically prepared to find a way to prosper even with less stuff.
The Yankees thought enough of what was left, even with a year away, that Cashman offered him between $10-$12 million in December when Pettitte first hinted at wanting to return, which is not exactly thanks-for-the-memories dollars. Cashman gave that money to Hiroki Kuroda when Pettitte was not yet ready to commit, and then also obtained Michael Pineda.
So this can feel like overkill now, Pettitte potentially giving the Yankees a seventh starting option by May 1. But this is more than injury or performance protection if Pettitte is right. He is a terrific teammate, a compassionate, sturdy force in a clubhouse.
He is likely to encourage an Ivan Nova or the hefty Pineda to meet him at 7 a.m. with two waters, two bananas and their hard work to go through the daily exercise regimen that so fortified his career.
He is a testament to Pineda and Hughes that a changeup can be learned during a career, and that you can win without your best fastball with craft, determination and ferocity.
He is comfortable with the responsibility of pitching in New York, for a team with the greatest expectations, and thus, can lower the burden on everyone in the rotation, even CC Sabathia.
“He is a road map that people can follow,” A-Rod said. “What he brings is priceless. It is beyond what he does when he pitches.”
But this is no longer a coaching job, so Pettitte must pitch and pitch well. If he does, the Yankees get an advantageous second lefty with Sabathia and rotation depth that offers protection against injury and volume to trade to solve other problems.
If he doesn’t, well, at least we will have one more day when it felt like George Steinbrenner was in charge, and anything could happen around the Yankees.
joel.sherman@nypost.com