Andy Pettitte Apologizes

Andy Pettitte probably didn’t prove anything or change anyone’s mind Monday afternoon.

I also think this public nightmare is a long way from being over for Pettitte. If Roger Clemens continues to push his charade and winds up in court, Pettitte will be forced to tell the entire sordid story again.

I believe Pettitte was sincere Monday. He used words like “stupidity” and “desperation” to describe why he used HGH. He talked about the “embarrassment” and apologized to both the Yankees and Houston Astros. Really, he is the only person that he should be apologizing to. Andy Pettitte let down Andy Pettitte. The Yankees don’t care that he used HGH. The Astros certainly don’t care. His fans might.

“I never want a young person to do what I did,” Pettitte said. “I’m sorry for the mistakes I have made.”

Once again, it’s all about the kids. The sad thing is that the best way to make sure that kids don’t make the mistake of spending large sums of money acquiring and then injecting themselves with HGH is to educate people that HGH is NOT actually beneficial to healthy people.

He admitted to considering retirement, but said he is committed to the Yankees and that hiding instead of facing the scrutiny was not the right thing to do.

He said things I didn’t like, such as that HGH was not banned by baseball at the time he used it, and annoyed me by referencing his faith on several occasions.

Pettitte definitely didn’t solve anything Monday, though he said now he can sleep better. What he likely did, though, was solidify the good will he has built among Yankees’ fans and baseball beat writers.

Say what you want about Pettitte’s HGH use and how long it took the facts to come out. Since being presented with the evidence, he has not hidden. He has stood up, told the truth and has faced whatever will come from that head on.

That’s one helluva lot more than you can say for Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmiero, Barry Bonds and just about everyone else.

You have to give him credit for that.