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dylanmarsh · 12-11-2003, 08:28 AM

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1683732

NEW YORK -- Andy Pettitte will pitch at home, agreeing Thursday to a $31.5 million, three-year contract with the Houston Astros after playing his entire major league career for the New York Yankees.

New York immediately went to its backup plan, closing in on a trade with Los Angeles that would send Kevin Brown to the Yankees for Jeff Weaver in a swap of starters, a baseball official said on the condition of anonymity.

Pettitte made his decision after weighing a new offer from the Yankees on Wednesday night, another baseball source said, also on the condition of anonymity.

He took $7.5 million less to sign with the Astros -- the Yankees' last offer was for $39 million over three years, both sources said. But the Astros play near Pettitte's hometown of Deer Park, an important factor for the pitcher's wife and children.

Houston planned to announce the deal at a news conference Thursday. Pettitte's decision to sign with the Astros was first reported by Newsday on its Web site.

Pettitte, 31, went 149-78 with the Yankees, who signed him in 1991. If he had stayed in New York, he would have had the chance to surpass Whitey Ford's 236 victories and become the winningest left-hander in team history.

He went 21-8 with a 4.02 ERA last season.

With the Astros, he joins a team trying to rebuild and win at the same time. Houston dealt closer Billy Wagner to Philadelphia last month in a cost-cutting move. Pettitte will combine with Wade Miller and Roy Oswalt to form a powerful front three in the rotation.

While Houston has had many strong teams since joining the National League for the 1962 season, the Astros have never made it to the World Series.

Pettitte owns four World Series rings from his time with the Yankees.

Without Pettitte, the Yankees are left with a rotation that includes Mike Mussina, Jose Contreras and Javier Vazquez, acquired from Montreal last week. Candidates for the back end of the rotation include Jon Leiber -- who missed all of last season -- and David Wells, who has had back problems and is close to agreement on a minor league contract.

Brown, who turns 39 in March, signed baseball's first $100 million contract with the Dodgers, a deal that has two seasons remaining at $15 million annually.

He was 14-9 with a 2.39 ERA last year for Los Angeles, but has pushed for a trade to a team closer to his home in Macon, Ga.

Injuries limited him to 19 starts in 2001 and 10 in 2002, but he rebounded to make 32 starts last season, when he had the second-lowest ERA in the NL behind Jason Schmidt.

Weaver, 27, has struggled since the Yankees acquired him from Detroit in July 2002, failing to keep his spot in the rotation. He was 7-9 with a 5.99 ERA last season, and allowed the 12th-inning homer to Florida's Alex Gonzalez that won the pivotal fourth game of the World Series.

12-11-2003, 08:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
dylanmarsh Sleepy Head	Pettitte to the Astros http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1683732 NEW YORK -- Andy Pettitte will pitch at home, agreeing Thursday to a $31.5 million, three-year contract with the Houston Astros after playing his entire major league career for the New York Yankees. New York immediately went to its backup plan, closing in on a trade with Los Angeles that would send Kevin Brown to the Yankees for Jeff Weaver in a swap of starters, a baseball official said on the condition of anonymity. Pettitte made his decision after weighing a new offer from the Yankees on Wednesday night, another baseball source said, also on the condition of anonymity. He took $7.5 million less to sign with the Astros -- the Yankees' last offer was for $39 million over three years, both sources said. But the Astros play near Pettitte's hometown of Deer Park, an important factor for the pitcher's wife and children. Houston planned to announce the deal at a news conference Thursday. Pettitte's decision to sign with the Astros was first reported by Newsday on its Web site. Pettitte, 31, went 149-78 with the Yankees, who signed him in 1991. If he had stayed in New York, he would have had the chance to surpass Whitey Ford's 236 victories and become the winningest left-hander in team history. He went 21-8 with a 4.02 ERA last season. With the Astros, he joins a team trying to rebuild and win at the same time. Houston dealt closer Billy Wagner to Philadelphia last month in a cost-cutting move. Pettitte will combine with Wade Miller and Roy Oswalt to form a powerful front three in the rotation. While Houston has had many strong teams since joining the National League for the 1962 season, the Astros have never made it to the World Series. Pettitte owns four World Series rings from his time with the Yankees. Without Pettitte, the Yankees are left with a rotation that includes Mike Mussina, Jose Contreras and Javier Vazquez, acquired from Montreal last week. Candidates for the back end of the rotation include Jon Leiber -- who missed all of last season -- and David Wells, who has had back problems and is close to agreement on a minor league contract. Brown, who turns 39 in March, signed baseball's first $100 million contract with the Dodgers, a deal that has two seasons remaining at $15 million annually. He was 14-9 with a 2.39 ERA last year for Los Angeles, but has pushed for a trade to a team closer to his home in Macon, Ga. Injuries limited him to 19 starts in 2001 and 10 in 2002, but he rebounded to make 32 starts last season, when he had the second-lowest ERA in the NL behind Jason Schmidt. Weaver, 27, has struggled since the Yankees acquired him from Detroit in July 2002, failing to keep his spot in the rotation. He was 7-9 with a 5.99 ERA last season, and allowed the 12th-inning homer to Florida's Alex Gonzalez that won the pivotal fourth game of the World Series.