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When teams re-sign their own players in the offseason, those moves don’t always resonate with some observers. There are fans who clamor for something different and new, even if something different and new isn’t the smartest decision. There’s a tendency to think different must be better.

By signing Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $15 million contract, and closing in on one-year deals with Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, the Yankees will have three crucial pitchers returning for 2013. While bringing back three aging pitchers might not seem sexy, these were the right moves for the Yankees.

As long as Rivera and Pettitte decided they would pitch in 2013, the belief was that they would return to the Yankees. But, with the winter meetings less than a week away, the Yankees felt an urgency to sign both pitchers so general manager Brian Cashman would know how much he could spend in other areas (catcher, right field, bench). Pettitte is expected to sign for $11 million. Rivera will get about the same.

No matter what the Yankees do for the rest of the offseason, it will be difficult for them to top the signing of Kuroda. Kuroda is a legitimate No. 2 starter who was the Yankees’ best pitcher last season. He is a no-nonsense performer who wanted a one-year deal, which worked well for the Yankees because they don’t want to sign any pitchers to multi-year deals. That’s because the Yankees are intent on keeping their payroll under $189 million in 2014 to reap the massive financial benefits.

In keeping Rivera, Pettitte and Kuroda, the Yankees will have three pitchers who will be 43, 41 and 38 next season. Should that be a concern? Age is always a concern. Rivera must prove that he can rebound from knee surgery, but, even if Rivera is 85 percent of what he has been recently, that would mean he’s still a stellar closer. Pettitte had a 2.87 earned run average last season, but a fractured fibula limited him to 75 1/3 innings. He needs to stay healthy and pitch 200 innings, something he hasn’t done since 2008. Kuroda needs to carry the consistency of 2012 into 2013.

With CC Sabathia, Kuroda and Pettitte as their top three starters, the Yankees have a reliable front end of the rotation. Obviously, they must avoid injuries. But, for anyone who doubts what those three can do, where would the Yankees be if Kuroda signed elsewhere and Pettitte retired? The Yankees would have been in deep trouble. Instead, Phil Hughes is now the favorite for the fourth spot while Ivan Nova and David Phelps will compete for the fifth spot. Michael Pineda won’t be ready to start the season.

For the Yankees to exceed what they did in 2012, they still need significant contributions from Kuroda, Pettitte and Rivera. These pitchers are part of the solution, not part of the problem. When the Yankees forecast how they would be best assembled to win it all in 2013, the plan always included the three veteran pitchers they are welcoming back.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

A relief. That was how general manager Brian Cashman described the signing of Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $15 million contract with the Yankees yesterday. It was the perfect description. Kuroda was a smooth, confident and low-maintenance pitcher last season. He was also the Yankees’ best pitcher so it was definitely a relief for them to know that he will return in 2013.

The relationship between Kuroda and the Yankees is an appropriate one. The Yankees strongly prefer to sign any starting pitchers to one-year deals because they are insistent on keeping their payroll under $189 million for 2014. Kuroda prefers to sign one-year deals because, eventually, he wants to return to Japan and finish his career in his native country. So, in pursuit of these goals, the pitcher and the team have a perfect marriage.

“The bottom line is, yes, it’s a relief to know that Hiroki is back,” Cashman said. “And it fits the criteria that we put forth and it’s a short-term deal. It provides flexibility as we move forward. It gives us an important, valuable arm to our rotation. So, as long as he can stay healthy, with what we have, we feel we know what we’re going to get.”

What the Yankees got from Kuroda was a four-pitch pitcher who went 16-11 with a 3.32 earned run average in a career-best 219 2/3 innings. Before and after the Yankees signed Kuroda to a one-year, $10 million deal last January, there were questions about how he would transition from the National League to the American League. Those questions quickly faded. Kuroda was as solid for the Yankees last season as he had been for the Dodgers in 2011.

“A seamless transition to New York,” Cashman said.

As the Yankees navigate through what should be a busy offseason, the signing of Kuroda is the first step toward a productive offseason. If Andy Pettitte decides to return next season, which appears likely, the Yankees would add him to their rotation as well. CC Sabathia, Kuroda and Pettitte would be a reliable threesome at the top of the rotation, provided the veteran pitchers can dodge injuries. Sabathia and Kuroda were in the top 10 in the league in ERA while Pettitte, who didn’t pitch enough innings to qualify to be among the leaders, had a better ERA than both of them at 2.87.

By signing Kuroda, the Yankees made one of their most crucial moves of the offseason before we have reached Thanksgiving. Kuroda is a dependable pitcher, a pitcher who is worth the investment. Because the free-agent market has been very aggressive, Cashman said he suspected that Kuroda “left money on the table” by returning to the Yankees.

“I feel fortunate that we were able to acquire him last year,” Cashman said. “I feel the same way this year.”

Cashman feels relieved, as he should.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

Dave Righetti pitched in the World Series in his first full season of a stellar 16-year career. He didn’t make it out of the third inning for the Yankees in a start against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981. That was it. Just two innings and then two more batters in the third and Righetti was done. That outing proved to be forgettable and unforgettable.

After that debacle of a start and a six-game loss to the Dodgers, Righetti kept trying to get back to the World Series with the Yankees, the Giants and in cameo appearances with three other teams. He made it there as a 22-year old. Surely, there would be another chance, he thought. But that next chance never came. Righetti retired with a 13.50 earned run average in his lone appearance in the World Series.

“If you ask me if I remember it, I remember everything,” he said two years ago. “You don’t forget those things.”

When Righetti told me that in San Francisco, he was wistful about that one and only start in the World Series. He recited specific pitches and recalled his deep disappointment. The Giants were three victories away from snaring a championship as we spoke, but Righetti, their pitching coach, flashed back to 1981 and what had gone awry for him as a pitcher. There was a void in his career and empty fingers on his hand.

“I remember,” he said, in describing the game, “I wasn’t very good.”

I wonder what Righetti’s World Series memories are like now. I wonder if Righetti can stomach those two innings with the Yankees much easier now that his club has won two of the last three World Series. The Giants edged the Tigers, 4-3, to sweep the series in four games on Sunday night, a series that was dominated by Righetti’s pitchers. San Francisco had two shutouts in the series and compiled a 1.46 ERA across 37 superb innings.

While Righetti hasn’t tossed a pitch for the Giants across the last three seasons, he has played a part in virtually every pitch the team has thrown. When FOX’s Ken Rosenthal interviewed Buster Posey after the game, the catcher quickly mentioned how Righetti deserved praise for devising the game plans that silenced Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and the toothless Tigers. But Righetti deflected the praise.

“I didn’t do it; they did it,” Righetti told The New York Daily News. “For the last four or five years, they’ve been pretty darn good and, when they put their minds to a series or they have a couple of weeks to get through, they’ve been pretty good with that challenge.”

As I watched Righetti hug manager Bruce Bochy in the dugout on Sunday, I thought about his journey. He pitched for the Yankees for 11 seasons, winning 74 games, saving 224 and twirling a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox on July 4, 1983. He has been with the Giants for 13 seasons, making him the longest tenured pitching coach in the Major Leagues. He has reminded his pitchers that being aggressive and letting your adrenaline push you is a positive approach in the postseason, something he forgot in 1981.

Every player longs to win a championship. Righetti came close to doing it as a kid pitcher with the Yankees, but never returned to that same precious position. Now Righetti has won it all twice as a coach. Righetti didn’t throw a pitch for the Giants, but he still had an impact. Those are unforgettable baseball memories, too.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

Pablo Sandoval was about to play an exhibition game against the Chinese Taipei National Team in Taiwan last November, but he wasn’t comfortable. Sandoval needed to get some swings. He needed to find a batting cage. So, as his teammates relaxed in the dugout, Sandoval bolted past them to find a place to hit.

Sandoval’s determination to get his pre-game hacks was surprisingly intense. As important as it was for Major League Baseball to send a team to play in Taiwan, Sandoval’s at-bats weren’t going to be scrutinized. No one was going to criticize or praise Sandoval for what he did against a bunch of 20-year olds. But Sandoval, the San Francisco Giants’ third baseman, treated those at-bats seriously.

As I watched Sandoval’s magical three-homer performance against the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series, I recalled what I had witnessed in Taiwan. If Sandoval treated some meaningless at-bats in Taiwan that intensely, how seriously would he treat his chances on Wednesday night? Sandoval answered that simple question with two homers off Justin Verlander and another off Al Albuquerque to power the Giants to an 8-3 victory.

“Man,” Sandoval said, “I still can’t believe it.”

Detroit’s starters allowed only two earned runs in sweeping four games from the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. That stretch of dominance didn’t last against the Giants. It didn’t last because of Sandoval. He hammered an 0-2 fastball for a homer in the first and then hit Verlander’s 2-0 fastball for another homer in the third. Both pitches hummed in at 95 miles per hour. He also belted Albuquerque’s slider for a homer in the fifth and singled in his fourth at-bat, completing a hitting clinic of a game.

In Taiwan, I watched Sandoval and Robinson Cano have animated hitting discussions. They would show each other their swings and then mimic each other’s swings. If there was a point that needed to be emphasized, they would stop each other in mid-swing and make it. This happened on planes, on buses and at the ballpark.

If you had told me back then that one of them would hit three homers in the first game of the next World Series, I would have guessed that it would have been Cano. If you asked for a percentage, I would have said 75-25 for Cano. Remember, at that juncture, Cano had hit six homers in his last 45 postseason at-bats. But I would have been wrong, way wrong, with that guess.

Sandoval is the fourth player to hit three homers in a World Series game, joining the legendary names of Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols. By having such a memorable game, Sandoval changed the enduring image I had of him. That image was linked to music and bleary eyes, not hitting.

When we left Los Angeles for Taipei on the MLB tour, the media members sat in the back of the plane. It was extremely comfortable since about 10 reporters were scattered in 50 seats for the 14-hour flight. Eventually, word of our spacious digs trickled forward. Sandoval and a few others joined our neighborhood.

Several hours later, the lights were dimmed. It was time for everyone to sleep for a few hours, but not Sandoval. He busted out his music docking station and pumped up the volume. The back of the plane turned into a house party. There was singing and dancing and little sleep. When you lose sleep, it’s hard to forget how you lost it.

Now that Sandoval had his magical game, I’ll naturally think about those three homers more than I’ll think about how he turned into Skrillex on the flight. I’d rather watch his swing than listen to him sing. So would the Giants.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

It was bold, gutsy and daring. When Joe Girardi decided to use Raul Ibanez as a pinch-hitter for Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning on Wednesday night, it was one of the more delicate decisions he has made as a manager. It was also one of the smartest decisions he has made.

Even before Ibanez drilled a game-tying homer off Jim Johnson and a game-winning homer off Brian Matusz in the 12^th inning, inserting Ibanez for Rodriguez was the proper move. Even if Ibanez had made an out and the Yankees had lost to the Orioles, I believe Girardi did the right thing. The manager’s job is to give his team the best chance to win. That’s what Girardi did.

Because Ibanez had a dream of a postseason game, the Yankees defeated the Orioles, 3-2, in Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees need to win one of the next two home games to advance to the A.L. Championship Series. If not for Ibanez, the Yankees would be facing elimination in Game 4 on Thursday night. If not for Girardi’s decision, Ibanez never would have batted in the ninth.

“I just had a gut feeling,” Girardi said.

It wasn’t easy for Girardi to simply go with his gut. This isn’t Strat-O-Matic where the manager replaces one player card for another. This was Girardi telling a player who has won three Most Valuable Player Awards and has 647 homers that he preferred the 40-year old who had been sitting in the dugout for eight innings.

While Girardi explained how Ibanez was a low-ball hitter who could shoot for the right field fence against Johnson, a low-ball pitcher, his initial words to Rodriguez were, “You’re scuffling.” If Rodriguez was right, Girardi would have never considered replacing him. But Rodriguez isn’t right. He is 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts, a proud hitter who can’t catch up with fastballs and who has turned into a guess hitter. So Rodriguez was told to put his bat in the rack and become a spectator, the rarest of demotions for such an accomplished player.

“It’s about 25 guys,” Rodriguez said. “It’s about whatever it takes to win.”

Once Ibanez was told he would be pinch-hitting, he took swings in the batting cage behind the first base dugout. As patient as Ibanez is, he becomes more aggressive in late-inning situations. I think Ibanez outwits pitchers. Since the scouting report is that Ibanez will take pitches, I think he intentionally changes his approach to try and attack early in the count.

On a 1-0 count, Johnson, who didn’t want to fall behind 2-0 while protecting a one-run lead, threw a two-seam fastball that ran across the middle of the plate. Ibanez clubbed it into the right field seats. Rodriguez, who admitted that he became a cheerleader, gave Ibanez a two-handed high five near the dugout. It was a signature moment for Ibanez and Rodriguez, but for much different reasons.

After Ibanez’s amazing homer, the next eight Yankees were retired. Then Ibanez loped to the plate in the 12^th. Ibanez had hit .197 with no homers in 61 at-bats off left-handed pitchers, but, once again, he was in attack mode. When Matusz unleashed a first-pitch fastball that was up in the zone, Ibanez pounced again and hammered it into the second deck in right. In two at-bats, he saw three pitches and hit two homers. It was a night where Ibanez reserved a cool spot in Yankee postseason discussions. 

“It was kind of a blur what happened,” Ibanez said. “I think sometime down the line I’ll kind of remember it and recall it.”

After the dramatic victory, Girardi was asked how his decision to bench an iconic player could impact his relationship with Rodriguez. Those are interesting questions, but not for Wednesday. During the postseason, there’s no time for wounded feelings. Rodriguez was correct when he said it is about the team and that he was happier than anyone for Ibanez. If Rodriguez uttered anything that was selfish, he would have looked foolish. The manager made a decision. It worked. Everyone should move forward.

Will everything be copasetic on the Yankees? Rodriguez never forgave Joe Torre for batting him eighth in a 2006 postseason game. But, again, there’s no time and no need for Rodriguez to review that history. The Yankees are trying to win a title. What Girardi did, as bold, daring and gutsy a move as he’s ever made, worked and the Yankees won. That’s what matters. That’s all that matters.  

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

Before Alex Rodriguez took his first swing against the Orioles in the American League Division Series, I exchanged text messages with an AL scout. I asked the scout for his evaluation of Rodriguez, who had been repeatedly beat on fastballs as he faltered at the end of the regular season. His response was blunt.

“A-Rod will only show up if the pen does not have good stuff,” the scout wrote.

In one brief and damning sentence, the scout gave an accurate appraisal of what has happened in the first two games of the best-of-five series. While Rodriguez is 1-for-9 with five strikeouts overall, he is 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against Baltimore’s relievers. He is 0-for-2 off Darren O’Day and 0-for-2 off Jim Johnson.

With each unproductive at-bat by Rodriguez, the questions about him hitting third in the lineup have intensified. The Yankees can’t afford to have Rodriguez doing little to nothing in front of Robinson Cano, who is their most ferocious hitter now. Since manager Joe Girardi didn’t guarantee that Rodriguez would hit third when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday, my guess is he will demote Rodriguez to fifth in the order, shift Cano from fourth to third and bat Mark Teixeira in the cleanup spot for Game 3.

It makes sense for Girardi to drop Rodriguez, who hasn’t homered in 77 at-bats. Yes, Rodriguez drilled a line drive that a slick-fielding Robert Andino turned into a double play and also lashed a single in his first two at-bats against Wei-Yin Chen on Monday. But he hasn’t looked comfortable in these two games or over the last month. Sometimes, Rodriguez seems as if he is guessing instead of attacking at the plate, which isn’t the sign of a confident hitter. By batting Cano third, the Yankees will get him to the plate earlier and more often.

On the workout day at Yankee Stadium last Friday, I asked Rodriguez what his expectations were for himself in the ALDS. Rodriguez said, “I just want to help contribute to a winning team.” Obviously, I wanted more insight so I asked Rodriguez about his personal goals for the series. Rodriguez didn’t want the focus to be on him. He mentioned the importance of continuing to get on base in front of Cano and helping the offense in any way he can.

On that workout day, Rodriguez didn’t want to be the focus. But, after two games, a lot of the focus is on Rodriguez. Rodriguez isn’t the only Yankee who has sputtered, but he is the only $30 million Yankee that seems overwhelmed about hitting in the three-spot. It’s time for Girardi to make a change.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

Sometimes, you actually get to save your season at the end of the season. Sometimes, the travails of April through August are pushed aside because of what you do in September and October.

Russell Martin is experiencing that rare opportunity now. He is saving a season that had been woeful.

As CC Sabathia used a fastball, slider and changeup combination to fluster the Orioles for 8 2/3 innings and help hoist the Yankees to a 7-2 victory in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Sunday, he was the most important player at Camden Yards. The Yankees need Sabathia to be their ace and their guarantee. When Sabathia starts, the Yankees want to believe they are as close to notching a win as they can get.

The second-most important Yankee on the field was Martin, the catcher who called Sabathia’s pitches, who guided Sabathia through some dicey innings and who blocked a few pitches in a way that would have impressed Martin Brodeur. When Martin shed his gear, he managed to smack Jim Johnson’s 2-0 fastball for a tie-breaking homer in the ninth inning. Before Martin’s homer, he had gone deep once in 86 postseason at-bats.

Still, there is a relaxation about Martin in those crucial situations. After Johnson fell behind with two fastballs, Martin had to know that Johnson was going to throw a meatier fastball. There’s no way Johnson wanted to walk the leadoff hitter in the ninth inning of a tie game. Martin pounced. It was his third walk-off homer in 2012.

“It’s just, you know, you either want to be in that situation or you don’t want to be in it,” Martin said. “I love being in that situation.”

It’s rather bold of a .211 hitter to say he wants to be up in those stressful spots, but Martin said it with conviction. Truthfully, he isn’t a .211 hitter anymore. From August 29 until the end of the season, Martin hit .269 with seven homers and 18 runs batted in. He finished with 21 homers, a career high.

Before Martin victimized Johnson, the seemingly invincible closer, he had a memorable fifth. In that inning, Martin’s contributions weren’t about offense. They had everything to do with defense. After Chris Davis’ leadoff single, Lew Ford hit a ball that dribbled toward the mound. Martin instantly sensed that he was the only player that could make the play. He rushed forward, grabbed the wet ball and flung it to first as he tumbled forward on the grass. Mark Teixeira made a terrific scoop on the one-hop throw to collect the out. It was an athletic play and a hustle play.

Once Davis advanced to third, Martin twice blocked sliders that Sabathia had bounced near the plate. If Martin didn’t get his body in front of either pitch, Davis would have cruised in with the go-ahead run. Not only did Martin block the pitches, he gave Sabathia the confidence to keep throwing that nasty slider with runners on base. Martin explained his defensive role as “taking care of my pitcher,” which he did over and over.

It was a trying season for Martin, long stretches of lousy at-bats and an average that was under .200. But Martin is playing in October now, which is a chance for him to continue to save his season and help the Yankees push toward a World Series title. He was the second-best player on the field in Game 1. Suddenly, the .211 hitter looks imposing in the most important month of all.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

In the middle of September, in the middle of a Yankees’ post-season dash that was much tenser than they ever expected, there were some doubts about CC Sabathia. The Yankees need Sabathia to be a certainty, but he had lost four straight starts, he had lost velocity on his fastball and there had to be a loss of confidence in Yankeeland.

Sabathia is a proud pitcher, a pitcher who is confident enough to say when he should and could dominate hitters. Across Sabathia’s last three regular season starts, that dominant pitcher returned. He went 2-0 with a gaudy 1.50 earned run average, minimizing the doubts with a rejuvenated fastball, with better location and with an effectiveness that the Yankees were desperate to see again.

“It was vintage CC,” Manager Joe Girardi said.

As the Yankees prepared to play the Orioles in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Sunday, they were relieved that Sabathia had resurrected himself in his last 24 innings. There are a multitude of things that must unfold for the Yankees to win 11 more games and capture a World Series title. Getting powerful starts from Sabathia is one of the primary items on that post-season list. A solid Sabathia will make everything else unfold more smoothly for the Yankees.

When General Manager Brian Cashman has discussed Sabathia, he has stressed how vital it is to have a number 1 starter who can dominate. Cashman wants to be able to analyze the first game of a post-season series and believe that his ace will prevail. While no pitcher is automatic, Cashman noted that there are certain elite pitchers that offer their teams that feeling of ultimate confidence.

Did Sabathia achieve enough to give the Yankees that comfortable feeling about him again? He whiffed 28 batters in his last three starts, another sign of dominance. But Sabathia also has an unsightly 5.84 E.R.A. in his last two post-seasons, which is the opposite of dominance. The Yankees need Sabathia to be their security blanket, their sure thing, their certainty. If he is, their path to a possible title will be smoother.

Robinson’s Cano sweet swing has never really changed. He has always had that smooth lefty stroke, which starts with him remaining planted on his back leg, lifting his front leg, rotating his hips toward the pitcher and using his quick hands to pump the bat through the strike zone.

“That’s the way he has always swung,” said Jose Cano, Robinson’s father and the man who has thrown the most pitches to Cano. “He’s always been like that.”

Cano looks like a natural hitter and, according to his father’s recollection, he is a natural hitter. Obviously, Cano has made some modifications to his swing as he developed from a boy who chased his father from batter’s box to batter’s box in the Dominican Republic into a professional hitter. But Cano’s basic swing, that he-looks-so-comfortable-up-there swing, has been with him forever.

“I didn’t teach him that,” said Jose Cano. “That’s something he had.”

As Cano has terrorized pitchers with 18 hits in his last 29 at-bats, including a titanic 446-foot homer in a 10-2 win over the Red Sox on Monday night, that always gorgeous swing has looked even prettier to the Yankees. While Ichiro Suzuki had a superb September and Derek Jeter has been typically reliable, teams often need a power hitter to help carry them. Mark Teixeira has been injured and Alex Rodriguez has been absent, so that left Cano as the most likely player to carry the Yankees. And that is precisely what he has done.

Across Cano’s last seven games, he has been the feared, ferocious hitter that he is expected to be and has notched at least two hits in each game. How talented is Cano? I’m more surprised when Cano goes 0-for-12 than when he goes 8-for-12. He is that skilled, a player with few weaknesses at the plate. Hitting coach Kevin Long frequently counsels Cano about pitch selection and about not helping pitchers by chasing balls outside of the zone.

“If he doesn’t do that,” Long said, “it’s so much tougher for them to get him out.”

Cano was in attack mode against Boston’s Clay Buchholz on Monday. In Cano’s first at-bat in the second inning, he belted a first-pitch fastball for a homer off the Mohegan Sun Casino bar in center field. Later in the nine-run inning, Cano smashed another first-pitch fastball for a two-run double. Two at-bats, two pitches and two doubles, which is two more extra base hits than Rodriguez has in his last 60 at-bats.

There have been stretches in which Cano, the Yankees’ best player, has been an unproductive player. Before this splurge, he had been 9-for-53 with one homer. He has also struggled with runners in scoring position. But, for the last week, Cano and his sweet swing have helped carry the Yankees, carry them achingly close to a division title.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

When Andy Pettitte was six years old, he cried after a flag football game because he couldn’t understand why his teammates were so casual. Pettitte wanted to win. They wanted to play. The boy that wept in the backseat of his father’s white Plymouth developed into the determined pitcher who always wants to win, too.

As Pettitte tossed six scoreless innings in a much-needed 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night, the image of him as a feisty six-year old flashed into my head. Pettitte has always been a tenacious competitor, a pitcher who scolds himself on the mound after poor results and a pitcher who has fashioned a superb career out of dodging dangerous situations.

The familiar sight of Pettitte allowing baserunners and stranding those baserunners played out on Monday. The Twins loaded the bases in the first inning, but Pettitte retired Justin Morneau and Ryan Doumit. The Twins had two runners on in the third, but Pettitte got Josh Willingham to hit into a double play. The Twins had men on base in five of Pettitte’s six innings, but none scored.

“It’s the same old Andy,” said manager Joe Girardi. “We’ve seen it for years. When he needs a double play, he finds a way to get it.”

The same old Andy. The Yankees needed the same old Andy against the Twins, they need him in his next start against the Blue Jays and they will need him even more if they clinch a postseason spot. In Pettitte, the Yankees trust. Pettitte is a security blanket for Girardi because he has been there and done that in October.

After Pettitte missed almost three months with a fractured left ankle, he has returned to fire 11 scoreless innings in two starts. Pettittie has pitched effectively because he has pitched smart. He mixes his pitches, he steers away from the middle of the plate and he makes adjustments. Pettitte employs a two-seam fastball, a four-seam fastball, a cut fastball, a slider, a curveball and a changeup.

As Pettitte discussed how he escaped the bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first, he said, “You know the situation, but you keep it simplified.”

How did Pettitte keep it simple? He wanted to get Morneau to hit into a double play, but once the count stretched to 2-2, he realized he could secure a strikeout. Pettitte said he “set him up” for the called third strike, a fastball that nailed the outside corner. With Doumit, Pettitte uncorked a slider, the new element in his arsenal this season, to nab a double play.

While Pettitte held the Twins to one hit in six at-bats with runners in scoring position, one of his most impressive displays came in an at-bat came with no runners on base. When Trevor Plouffe opened the second, Pettitte threw a curveball for a strike. Pettitte followed with a cutter that rushed inside and that Plouffe fouled off. Then Pettitte threw an outside fastball for a ball. Then Plouffe fouled off a slider, another pitch that hummed inside. Finally, Pettitte unleashed a 2-2 changeup, a pitch Plouffe hadn’t yet seen, to strikeout Plouffe. So Pettitte threw five pitches, each a different pitch and each at a different velocity and each in a different location. It was savvy pitching that resulted in a confused hitter.

The perfectionist in Pettitte called himself “a work in progress,” and said that he still needs to refine his pitches to make them as sharp as they were before the injury. Pettitte is scheduled to make one more start before the postseason begins, so he will have had three starts to get ready for the most important games of the season.

“That’s what we got,” Pettitte said, “so it’s going to be enough.”

The Yankees trust in Pettitte and hope he is right. Actually, after 11 innings in September, the Yankees might trust Pettitte more than any of their starters, especially if he continues being the same old Andy.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES