Pettitte close to re-signing

from the AP -

Andy Pettitte and the Yankees are closing in on a one-year contract that would bring the left-hander back to New York. A person familiar with the negotiations said the agreement could be reached later Monday.

Awesome.

UPDATE 8:17 p.m.: Thanks to bkcowboy for finding a story that says it's official. The Times has it also. (Official as it can be before Pettitte actually signs his name.)

As for analysis, this is great on several levels. It guarantees a(nother) reliable starter for the rotation. Pettitte hasn't pitched less than 200 innings since 2004, and has had a below average OPS+ just once in his career (2008), although that was largely due to bad luck. This is a much better situation than having to rely on Phil Hughes, Al Aceves and Ian Kennedy to fill that 5 spot. We still don't know what we'll get from them on a consistent basis. Pettitte we do. He'll give us about 200 innings of average pitching, which is actually worth a lot these days. Now Hughes and co. can continue to refine their games in Scranton until an inevitable injury occurs. Then we will be forced to lean on them, but only then (and if).