BRADENTON, Fla. -- From his vantage point about an hour south of Yankee Spring Headquarters, Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett watched with interest when Andy Pettitte came out of retirement to put the pinstripes back on this month.

Reaction?

"It doesn't surprise me, he's such a competitor," Burnett said. "Every time I saw him last year, he looked like he was still in playing shape. He looked great.

"The way he finished his last year, going 10-and-something at the break [Pettitte was 11-2 with a 2.70 ERA at the All-Star break in 2010], it was ridiculous."

The way Burnett sees it, if anybody can take a year off at 39 and then come back to pitch, it's Pettitte.

"He'll do it again," Burnett predicted. "He can pretty much wake up and throw strikes."