The LoHud Yankees Blog

As you probably suspect, there are plenty of leftover notes from yesterday’s Andy Pettitte press conference. Of course, one bit that’s been making the rounds is Pettitte’s comment about leaving the door open for a possible — but unlikely — return in 2012.

“I don’t know what I’m going to feel like two months from now, three months from now,” he said during the televised portion of the press conference.

During a separate interview session with the print media, Pettitte addressed the same issue.

“You asked me that, and maybe I talked too much, but I just start thinking,” he said. “If my stomach was just churning once Opening Day started, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have made a huge mistake,’ and I felt like that the whole season, I cant’ say that I wouldn’t say that I wouldn’t consider to maybe do it again. But I can tell you right now that I’d be embarrassed because of what I’ve done right now. You know what I’m saying? Again, maybe I’m talking too much. I’m just telling you, I’m giving you an honest answer. And I might be so embarrassed that I wouldn’t ever play again.

“But I don’t think that’s going to happen because I’ve felt this way for so long deep down, and also because I’ve got such a good peace about it. I know that I’m going to be good with it, but I can definitely tell you for sure that I’m not going to play this year. I’m sold out on that, 100 percent.”

If you’re interested, here’s the audio from Pettitte session with the writers. You can probably tell that most of the writers have an easy, familiar relationship with him.

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• Pettitte said he has no interest in becoming a manager or pitching coach. “No, I don’t think so,” he said. “Too much time. I know how much time it takes. It’s just not anything right now that I can tell you that I would have any desire to do at all.”

• Pettitte would, however, like to be around the team (maybe as something like a spring training instructor) when his kids are older. “When things slow down, I would definitely imagine,” he said. “I have no idea, but right now I can tell you I would imagine I would.”

• Brian Cashman said the Freddy Garcia signing has been in the works for weeks and was not a reaction to Pettitte. “I talked to (agent) Peter Greenberg throughout the winter saying I’d have an interest in Freddy as a non-roster invite,” Cashman said. “It took until Monday to get a non-roster invite agreement banged out as they searched to see what their options were.”

• Joe Girardi said the Yankees rookie starter could go a long way toward solidifying the rotation. “Obviously, you need a guy like (Ivan) Nova to develop,” Girardi said. “It’s important that he develops and continues to get better, like a Phil Hughes would. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to address that situation. It’s not as etched in stone as it would have been if Andy Pettitte were here. But I believe there’s enough talent in that room to get it done.”

• Although it look similar, Girardi said this rotation doesn’t feel similar to the 2008 group. “Does it feel the same? No, because I don’t really look at it as expecting a lot from two rookies,” Girardi said. “We’re looking at one rookie to step up. I think our bullpen is stronger than it was back then, which I think makes a difference. I think we have a chance to have a dynamite bullpen and I think that changes the complexion of the rotation.”

• Girardi on the personality shift without Pettitte: “Guys will step up. The thing is, it’s the personality that you can’t replace. No one ever replaced Paul O’Neill’s personality, no one ever replaced Bernie’s personality, no one every replaced Tino’s personality. But you’ll still have 25 personalities in there and it will still be a good clubhouse. It’s just going to be a little bit different now.”

• Not sure who I was talking to at the time, but I missed the Bernie Williams group session. He said he might make his retirement official at some point this year.

Associated Press photos