It might seem a bit of a stretch, starting 40-year-old Andy Pettitte in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. After all, he's won only five games in the last two years!

But I think an under-reported story this season was how well Pettitte pitched, when he did pitch. He didn't pitch in 2011, then made only a dozen starts this season for the Yankees. But he pitched really well in those dozen starts!

Including his start against the Orioles in the Division Series, Pettitte's got a 2.95 ERA this season, which would rank fourth in the American League if he'd pitched enough to qualify. His 3.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio would rank 12th, right behind teammate Hiroki Kuroda and just ahead of Cy Young candidate David Price.

Would Pettitte regress some, given enough innings? Probably. But he really is a marvel. Oh, and he's looked great against the Tigers in Game 1 of this series. Which is still scoreless, heading to the bottom of the second.