Andy Pettitte

Heading into the series with the Rays, it was important for the Yankees to show they can hang with them because chances are, the Rays are going to be a potential playoff contender come October.

Andy Pettitte pitched on Tuesday night for the Yankees like he was in October form.

"Aging" Andy Pettitte wasn't too old to pitch a brilliant eight-inning shutout game Friday night against a formidable Cincinnati Reds team. This gave him his first win in 2012, and it made up for a weakish previous start against the Seattle Mariners

His skills are still what they used to be. That is not unexpected for an older player, even a pitcher.

After weeks of speculation, the wait is over and Andy Pettitte will be back.

Aaron Gleeman of NBC's HardBallTalk reported that Pettitte will make his 2012 debut for the Yankees pitching at home against the Seattle Mariners.

How many times have we been told that Andy Pettitte used Human Growth Hormone? 

How many times have we been told that when Andy Pettitte used Human Growth Hormone it was not on baseball's list of banned substances?  That's what I thought. The media are famous for telling part of the story.

Andy Pettitte is one of the most popular players of the Joe Torre era that netted the Yankee franchise four World Series rings and six trips to the October classic. 

His return was met with far more excitement than skepticism; after all, Pettitte won't be 40 until June and even though he hasn't pitched since 2010, he managed to amass an 11-3 record and a 3.28 ERA in what was assumed to be his final season as a major league pitcher. 

Yesterday brought on some rather surprising news as the Yankees signed Andy Pettitte to a minor league contract. They already had six starting pitchers for five rotation spots, which had brought on questions as to who was going to be in and who was going to be out. 

The questions just got much more plentiful.

Andy Pettitte is coming back to the Yankees.

One of the members of the "Core Four" announced on Friday that he was coming out of retirement to join the team at its spring training facility in Tampa. Pettitte signed a minor league contract and will make $2.5 million if he makes the team..

Today was a monumental day for the New York Yankees.

Fans all over were in shock, but for good reason, as they found out one of their long-time fan favorites was coming back to the Bronx in 2012.

Jack Curry of the YES Network broke the news first on his Twitter account, announcing that Andy Pettitte had signed a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

I know this is the New York Yankees, and I know it's their business of giving themselves as many options as possible each season, but bringing back Andy Pettitte for another go in 2012 shows a lack of faith in their current arms.

Let's list all of them, shall we?

1. C.C. Sabathia (guaranteed)

2. Hiroki Kuroda (guaranteed)

3. Phil Hughes

4. Ivan Nova

5. Freddy Garcia

We've read the accounts and chronology of how Andy Pettitte reconsidered retirement and signed a one-year minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the New York Yankees.

General manager Brian Cashman is said to have wanted Pettitte to return since the end of the 2010 season, but that Pettitte felt it was time to retire.