From SI.com's Tom Verducci comes a distressing rumor:
The free-agent left-hander, who is strongly considering retirement, is said to be intrigued with the idea of returning to pinstripes and "could possibly have a deal by the end of the week" with New York, according to a baseball source familiar with the negotiations.
True or not, this underscores what I'd told Stros Bro in an email this morning: if you can do a deal with Schmidt for sure now, doesn't that beat doing a deal--maybe--with Pettitte later?
I won't bark up the loyalty tree, coz that'd get me nowhere, but if true, this story would show Pettitte to be at best disingenous and at worst guilty of deception in his statements to the club.