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SPORTS ZONE 2: Andy Leaves NY, Signs with Astros

On Thursday, December 11th, Andy Pettitte, former starter for the New York Yankees, took a 7.5 million dollar pay cut, and signed a $31.5 million, three-year contract with the Houston Astros. Pettitte's decision centered around his family, who live in Deerk Park, Texas, a location near the Astro's Minute Maid ballpark.

"They really wanted me here," said Pettitte. "My heart started pulling me and tugging me to come back down here and play in front of the Astros and the Houston fans."

Pettitte, however, doesn't plan on playing alone in Houston. After four World Series championships and six AL pennants in New York, he's far from satisifed; in fact, Pettitte hopes former teammate Roger Clemens will play one more year, joining him in Houston for what could become a quite memorable pitching rotation.

Nevertheless, whereas forces from all sides are pushing Clemens to return, the 41-year old future hall of famer stalwartly states he's "still retired"... but there's a small chance of him returning: the difference between 99.99% and 99%, as he would later tell his agent, Randy Hendricks, who's also Andy Pettitte's agent.

"I left him this morning. He's still working out with me. We'll see what happens," Pettitte said of the Rocket. "I know the media's already hit him up on that, and if I feel there's a chance, I'll hit him up on it, too."

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Read SPORTS ZONE 1: The 2003 Heisman Trophy