AL East

When talking about Andy Pettitte, it’s only fitting to thank God. And thank God that baseball's version of “Favregate” came to a quick conclusion.

According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, Vladimir Guerrero has signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Ken Rosenthal and Buster Olney have since confirmed the news.

The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a one year, $8 million deal with Vladimir Guerrero. Add him to fellow 2011 offseason acquisitions Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds, Justin Duchscherer and JJ Hardy and suddenly, this team looks like it can compete right now.

They will need Brian Matusz to mature a great deal, and it still doesn't look like they will be close to the Yankees and Red Sox, but to put it in perspective, they could finish with a better record than anyone in the AL West.

by Charlie Peters

Earlier in the week we took a look at ESPN's Keith Law's top five Blue Jays prospects. Today we'll have a look at the second half of Law's top 10 and what they need to do moving forward in 2011. As mentioned in the first half, this is purely a statistical analysis of each player and not a scouting/tools report.

The Boston Red Sox are stacked.

When the New York Yankees' GM says his rival has the better team, as Brian Cashman did last month, something must be working in Boston.

They have a solid team returning, and added two All-Star hitters and a number of bullpen arms. Fans are expecting full-throttle effort—it's truly World Series or bust in 2011.

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Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada are no longer the New York Yankees' "Core Four."  After a 16-year career, Pettitte announced his retirement today. 

In an official press conference in New York, the left-handed starter acknowledged thoughts of retiring after last season, but said he felt obligated to return after the Yankees were unable to snare free agent starter Cliff Lee.

If you're like me, watching Andy Pettitte sitting in front of the media to announce his retirement on Friday had the effect of your mind blowing out of the back of your skull.

Part of me will always see Pettitte and think of the 21-year-old kid who helped return the franchise to glory back in 1996. I'm 30 years old, which makes Pettitte the first great Yankee that I feel like I saw all the way through.

First, let me make this very clear.

The Boston Red Sox will win the American League East, barring a major injury bug or lack of team chemistry.

That lineup, full of left-handed hitting power (Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz), speed (Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury) and pure hitters (Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis) is a force to be reckoned with.

Andy Pettitte is that soft spoken lefty with the slow Texas drawl. A man dedicated to his faith and his family, tenacious, unflappable in the moment.

He may be among the best pitchers the New York Yankees have ever seen. But he’s also a confessed cheater.