LHP Andy Pettitte makes comeback, rejoins Yankees LHP Andy Pettitte makes comeback, rejoins Yankees ADVERTISING TAMPA, Fla. — Andy Pettitte went with his heart and headed back to the hill. A year after the star left-hander said he didn’t have
LHP Andy Pettitte makes comeback, rejoins Yankees
TAMPA, Fla. — Andy Pettitte went with his heart and headed back to the hill.
A year after the star left-hander said he didn’t have the desire to keep pitching, Pettitte ended his brief retirement and announced Friday he was returning to the New York Yankees.
Three months shy of his 40th birthday, Pettitte signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. If his comeback is successful and he’s added to the major league roster, he would get a $2.5 million, one-year contract.
“My desire to work is back,” Pettitte said on a conference call. “The commitment level wasn’t there last year. I don’t know if it was because I had a year off, just my desire to work was back. This is where I’m at right now.”
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said there are no incentives in the deal and that Pettitte — who is expected in camp Tuesday — will only be a starter. Pettitte has pitched in the majors for 16 seasons, 13 with the Yankees.
Cashman believes Pettitte will not be ready to break camp with the team when spring training ends early next month. Pettitte says it’s possible he could be ready for game action in two or three weeks in Florida.
Nadal, Federer to play
in BNP Paribas Open semis
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Rafael Nadal outlasted David Nalbandian 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the BNP Paribas Open on Friday, setting up a semifinal against Roger Federer that will be a rematch of their Australian Open semifinal.
Federer had an easier time in his quarterfinal, beating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-2 in just more than an hour for his fourth victory over the Argentine this year.
Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka defeated Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final of her sixth consecutive tournament. It was her 22nd straight victory to start the season, trailing only Martina Hingis’ 37-0 start in 1997.
The second set was littered with service breaks, with Azarenka breaking four times and Kerber twice.
Second-ranked Maria Sharapova advanced to the final when Ana Ivanovic retired after losing the first set 6-4 and leading 1-0 in the second in their first meeting since the 2008 Australian Open final, won by Sharapova.
Azarenka beat Sharapova in this year’s Aussie Open final. Their rematch Sunday will be the first final between the world’s top two women since 2008.
Woods to play next
week in 2 events
JUPITER, Fla. — Tiger Woods returned to practice Friday and declared himself ready to play next week.
Woods said in a story on his website that his left Achilles tendon felt good and that he would play in the two-day Tavistock Cup exhibition that starts Monday, and then the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
Woods withdrew from the Cadillac Championship on Sunday after 11 holes with what he described as tightness in his Achilles tendon. He said he didn’t want to risk further damage. One day later, he said doctors told him it was only a mild strain.
It was the left Achilles that caused him to miss two majors last year.
Woods has won Bay Hill six times. It will be his final tournament before the Masters begins April 5.
Manning update: Broncos, Titans and 49ers are left
RALEIGH, N.C. — The stealthy 49ers are in the chase for Peyton Manning. The Dolphins and Cardinals are out. And the Broncos and Titans want to make sure the four-time NFL MVP is healthy.
Got all that?
After a brief lull, the pursuit of Manning sure got interesting in a hurry Friday.
The year’s top free agent, who has been rehabbing in North Carolina after a string of neck surgeries, threw the football at Duke’s athletic facilities for Hall of Fame QB turned Broncos executive John Elway along with Denver coach John Fox.
The workout lasted a little under two hours, and when it was over Elway seemed convinced that Manning is still Manning.
Whether San Francisco executives and coaches feel the same way, they weren’t saying. But they also have shown interest in the man who led Indianapolis to a Super Bowl victory in 2007. A person familiar with the situation said that Manning worked out for 49ers’ coach Jim Harbaugh on Tuesday night at Duke. ESPN first reported on the session.
Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe was Manning’s offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, and the two remain friends.
As it became clear the 49ers were in the race, Miami and Arizona dropped out.
Another person confirmed to the AP that Manning phoned the Miami Dolphins on Thursday to advise them he’ll sign elsewhere.
By wire sources
