TORONTO -- Shortly after the Yankees' elimination from postseason contention, Andy Pettitte was summoned to the manager's office at Rogers Centre and informed that his season was over.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Pettitte has been scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday at Boston's Fenway Park, with no need to continue to elevate his workload as the left-hander battles shoulder fatigue and possible tendinitis.

"I feel like I've been feeling," Pettitte said. "It's giving me a little bit of trouble. Now that I've thrown enough innings, there's not any sense in going out and continuing to kill myself. It's disappointing."

Sidney Ponson will make the start instead against the Red Sox for New York, as Pettitte closes his year on a high note. He pitched five-plus innings to log the final victory in Yankee Stadium's history on Sunday, and afterward spoke about feeling exhausted as though it was a playoff game.

Pettitte completed the year 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA in 33 starts, hurling 204 innings, and remains unsure if there will be a 2009 reprise. He had an MRI exam during the Yankees' 10-game homestand and believes that there is some tendinitis, but no structural damage that would rule out continuing his career.

"There's no doubt from time to time he was probably a little sore," Girardi said. "He's been through that before. It's just the way a pitcher feels this time of year. The body is not meant to throw 200 innings every year, but that's what we ask of our pitchers."

A free agent after this year, Pettitte revealed that Girardi has already asked him to consider coming back, though that decision ultimately lies with general manager Brian Cashman and the Yankees' ownership group.

Pettitte said that if he does pitch in 2009, it will be for no other team than the Yankees -- not even the Astros, for whom he pitched from 2004-06, and where has the added comfort of being closer to home in Deer Park, Texas.

"I want to play here," Pettitte said. "We'll see what happens."

Up for consideration is the fact that Pettitte has not been quite the same dominant second-half pitcher as in previous years -- he was 4-7 with a 5.35 ERA after the All-Star break, including losing five consecutive starts for the first time in his career -- which could be partially due to his whirlwind offseason.

He needed extra time to decide if he would even pitch in 2007, and his inclusion in the Mitchell Report and a trip to Washington, D.C., to testify before Congress severely impacted Pettitte's winter training. Instead of working out on a rigid program, Pettitte said there were some days he did not even feel like leaving the house.

"I'm sure it had some effect on him," Girardi said. "Andy's not going to make any excuses and I'm not going to make any for him."

Pettitte said that he will need a similar period to clear his head and decide what his next move will be. Pettitte believes he physically can hold up to the campaign, and wants to pitch in the new Yankee Stadium. But once again, he is questioning if he could -- or should -- tackle the six-month grind of a 162-game schedule.

"To me, I just need to get away for a little while," Pettitte said. "I don't want to drag it out. I hope I don't get home and I'm scuffling with it. That's the last thing I want to do."