So much for the good old days, huh?
Left-hander Andy Pettitte had to crawl his way back to the Yankees, and Joe Torre would do well to stay low around several Yankees employees and fans these days. In case there wasn't enough anticipation for spring training, the Yankees had their usual dose of drama recently.
The biggest one, of course, came from Torre -- whose book "The Yankee Years" with respected Sports Illustrated veteran Tom Verduccci has created tons of headlines and headaches for his former team.
With thoughts on everything from a rift with general manager Brian Cashman to passages critiquing former players' flaws, Torre won't be getting any Old-Timers Day invitations in the near future.
And his treasured status as a fan favorite on the road to four World Series titles, which had fallen a bit during his final years in New York, collapsed even more as angry talk-show callers screamed of betrayal.
Somewhere in the midst of that storm, Pettitte swallowed his pride and accepted a one-year deal for $5.5 million with incentives that can get him up to $12 million for pitching a certain amount of innings and staying on the roster.
Either way it was a far cry from the $16 million he originally sought -- and the $10 million he initially took as an insulting pay cut.
The Yankee Years -- as Torre and Pettitte knew them back in the glory days of the 1990s dynasty -- certainly are over.
