Andy Pettitte

While reading about Andy Pettitte and if he will or will not play this year for the Yankees, I thought about his Hall of Fame chances.
He has a 240-138 record and a somewhat high 3.88 era. Plus add 19 post-season victories. But when looking at his stats, a couple of things jumped out at me that I was unaware of.
Pettitte, in 479 starts over 16 seasons has just 25 complete games and only 4 shutouts. For a big strong guy like Pettitte I would have thought those totals would be much higher. Plus, he hasn't had a complete game since 2006 when he had two with the Astros.
By comparison, Pettitte's one time teammate Mike Mussina, who I think should be a Hall of Famer for not only his outstanding numbers but the fact he did it during the steroid era, had 57 complete games and 23 shutouts over his 18 seasons, 10 with the Orioles and 8 with the Yankees. Mussina has 270 wins and only 153 losses with an era of 3.68. He should get into the Hall of Fame.
One reason for Pettitte's lack of shutouts and complete games is also probably a reason for many of his wins. That would be Mariano Rivera. With a great closer ready to slam the door, Joe Torre and Joe Girardi, the Yankees managers during Pettitte's time in New York, would go to the guaranteed win. By bringing in Rivera, the Yankees and Pettitte would be insured of the win but at the cost of a complete game or shutout for Pettitte.
Pettitte though, right now, falls a little short. If I were in Pettitte's shoes, I would definitely play this season and try to play in 2012 as well. Another 30 or so wins might be enough to get into Cooperstown. The Yankees are always contending for the World Series as well. Of course, I don't know if those thing matter too much to Pettitte right now who is torn between pitching and spending more time with his family.
I believe when the time comes to look at Pettitte's credentials for the Hall of Fame, his lack of complete games and shutouts will be looked at as well as his admission that he used, briefly, HGH.
Still, Cooperstown or not, Pettitte has had one outstanding career, a career I hope continues for at least another season.