Stupid rule, anyway

Rico says Jack Curry has the story in The New York Times, but it's always been a stupid American League rule; if everyone plays, everyone should have to hit:

Andy Pettitte held his black Louisville Slugger bat close to his chest, treating it as carefully as if he were carrying a three-month-old baby. He wore blue-and-white batting gloves and a blue helmet. He was a pitcher trying to prove that he could fake it as a hitter. “I’ve got my name on it,” Pettitte said, happily displaying the barrel of the bat. “I’ve got my own signature model.”
Now that the setting for the World Series has switched to this National League city for the next three games, the Yankees will watch pitchers bat against the Phillies. The Yankees will try not to grimace as pitchers who have not swung bats for four months will swing them in the most important games of the season. Pettitte will be the first to take some cuts, in Game 3 on Saturday night. “Hopefully, I get a hit somewhere,” said Pettitte, who did not sound too hopeful.
Actually, the Yankees will probably not cringe when C.C. Sabathia hits in Game Four or Five. More than any Yankee pitcher, Sabathia, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall and more than 300 pounds, looks and acts like a hitter. Sabathia stands tall in the batter’s box, holds the bat steady, takes a short stride into the ball, and has a fluid swing.
Sabathia also has a strategy that could be called the Babe Ruth approach. Pettitte laughed as he explained that the difference between him and Sabathia is that Pettitte is trying to “get the ball through the infield” and Sabathia is trying to bash the ball 400 feet, but Pettitte was not joking. Sabathia confirmed Pettitte’s characterization. “I’m trying to hit a homer,” Sabathia said. “If I hit a single, I hit a single. I hit a double, I hit a double. I’m trying to go deep.”
In addition to looking the part of a hitter, Sabathia also has the best statistics among Yankee pitchers. Sabathia is 24 for 92 (a .261 average) with three homers and fourteen runs batted in. Surprisingly, Sabathia has only one walk and three sacrifice bunts in his career, overwhelming evidence that he considers himself a hitter and not a pitcher who is trying to hit. He uses a 35-inch, 33-ounce bat, which is heavier than Albert Pujols’s bat.
Pettitte, who swings a 34-inch, 31-ounce bat, is much more of hacker. As Pettitte took his initial swings against Tony Pena’s 70-mile-per-hour fastballs Friday, he showed little bat speed. Still, the bar was so low that Robinson Cano gave Pettitte a high-five because Pettitte lifted a ball to the outfield.
“There was never any point where I was the best hitter on my team,” Pettitte said. “I think I hit like .350 in high school, but I didn’t have any home runs. Even in my senior year, I only hit on the days I pitched.”
The more Pettitte swung Friday, the more comfortable he became. Pettitte hit several line drives to left field, prompting Derek Jeter to shout, “That a boy, Pe-tee-tay.”
Reggie Jackson, the Hall of Famer who is a Yankees adviser, challenged Pettitte: “You got the line drives,” Jackson said. “You got any pop?”
Pettitte pulled off his helmet and smiled. But Pettitte met the challenge and followed with a shot that nearly hit the left-field warning track. Pettitte, who is 25 for 186 (.134) with one homer, is the only current Yankee pitcher with a hit in the World Series. He had a single in a 15-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game Six in 2001 and is 2 for 16 in the postseason. “Being in the National League definitely helped me,” said Pettitte, who played with the Houston Astros for three seasons. “At times, I felt like I had a chance.”
If Chad Gaudin starts Game Four, does he have a prayer of getting a hit? It would be stunning, because he is 1 for 32 with 16 strikeouts. A.J. Burnett, who is a candidate to start Game Five, was with the Florida Marlins for seven seasons and has more at-bats than any other Yankee pitcher. But that also means Burnett has failed a lot. He is 35 for 266 (.132) with three homers and a whopping 126 strikeouts. Mostly, Manager Joe Girardi hopes the pitchers are skillful enough to produce some sacrifice bunts.
Throughout Sabathia’s batting practice, Jeter teased Sabathia after the pitcher clubbed some impressive shots. During Sabathia’s last round, he lined a ball over the right-field fence for one of those homers that he routinely tries to deliver. “Yeah, we can go now,” shouted Jeter, who began walking off the field.
Two minutes later, all the Yankees walked off the field, too. Sabathia and the other pitchers were finished hitting. Soon, the Yankees will discover if they are finished hitting for their entire visit here.