AL East

After the way last season ended, it's hard not to put "Boston Red Sox" and "disappointing" in the same sentence. 

Although, after one of the most historic collapses in baseball history at the end of the 2011 regular season, Red Sox Nation has plenty to be excited about with one of the most potent offenses in the majors and capable pitching.

Today was a monumental day for the New York Yankees.

Fans all over were in shock, but for good reason, as they found out one of their long-time fan favorites was coming back to the Bronx in 2012.

Jack Curry of the YES Network broke the news first on his Twitter account, announcing that Andy Pettitte had signed a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

I know this is the New York Yankees, and I know it's their business of giving themselves as many options as possible each season, but bringing back Andy Pettitte for another go in 2012 shows a lack of faith in their current arms.

Let's list all of them, shall we?

1. C.C. Sabathia (guaranteed)

2. Hiroki Kuroda (guaranteed)

3. Phil Hughes

4. Ivan Nova

5. Freddy Garcia

We've read the accounts and chronology of how Andy Pettitte reconsidered retirement and signed a one-year minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the New York Yankees.

General manager Brian Cashman is said to have wanted Pettitte to return since the end of the 2010 season, but that Pettitte felt it was time to retire.

In a move that shocked nearly everyone in the baseball world, Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees agreed on a one-year deal, this morning, worth $2.5 million, effectively ending Pettitte's retirement.

The deal is a minor league pact with an invitation to the Major League Spring Training.

Pettitte retired after an 11-3 season with a 3.28 ERA in 2010, leaving many fans wanting more. He was an All-Star that season, and many believed that he had retired too soon.

It's been a good start to spring training for the Boston Red Sox, winning every game they've played thus far with minor speed bumps along the way. 

This past offseason brought a lot of changes to Boston, including a new manager, a new general manager, a slew of new coaches, and, most significantly, some new players.

Last year at this time, Rick Peterson was getting ready to take a trip to Italy, not the place where one of pitching’s most innovative minds usually spend March. It was just the second time in more than 35 years that Peterson had been away from a baseball diamond for any substantial stretch of time.

Talk about beating a dead horse, right?

Just when I was fully prepared to turn the page on the whole Roy Oswalt coming to Boston notion, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo had to lure me back into the saga.

I'm like Michael Corleone, just when I thought I was out...

23-year-old Michael Pineda has been the target of the firestorm known as New York media since his arrival via trade in mid-January. The New York Post criticized him for showing up to camp pushing 280 pounds, nearly ten pounds heavier than at the end of the season.

The Yankees were no match for the newly-extended Andrew McCutchen and the Pirates today in Bradenton. To celebrate his new six-year contract with Pittsburgh, McCutchen killed the Yankees for two hits and two RBI.