AL East

Via Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

Andy Pettitte announced his retirement from baseball at Yankee Stadium today, bringing an end to a 16-year career that saw him a 240-138 record between his time with the New York Yankees and Houston Astros.

The five-time World Champion was a fan favorite everywhere he went and he shone in the playoffs as if it was his own stage. His 19 postseason wins are the most in baseball history.

We’ve tried to fill the offseason gap in fantasy baseball with our series of prospect reports, which started with Dustin Ackley back in early-December.

Now on the cusp of Spring Training starting (pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks), it is time to put a wrap on the prospect series so we can get right into the swing of things prepping for our, and your, fantasy baseball drafts.

After 16 seasons, 13 with the New York Yankees, Andy Pettitte has announced his retirement, ending any speculation he'll pitch in 2011.

Yes, he may still make a come back during the season, and certainly most Yankee fans hope he will, but for now, let's operate on the assumption that he's gone for good.

Over the next two weeks, I’ll examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis.

The players at each position will be ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.

Today, the series continues with a look at the first basemen.

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Jonathan Papelbon's recent "struggles" in Boston have been well documented. Between his increasing contact and walk rate, and his penchant to occasionally melt down in dramatic fashion, Papelbon looked (gasp) downright hittable at certain points during the 2010 season.

Now that the Cliff and Andy questions have both been answered and put to rest, the biggest immediate concern across Yankee Universe going into spring training appears to be the two big question marks in the back end of our starting rotation.

How crucial is the back end of the rotation to a successful season for us?

Not as much as some might think. Certainly not as crucial as a kevlar bullpen, which we now have.

Andy Petite, an all-time great pitcher, announced his retirement from the New York Yankees after 16 Major League Seasons—13 of them pitching for the Yankees.

He will be introduced at a press conference on Friday at Yankee Stadium, providing him an opportunity to take a bow in front of the New York fans and media.

The Yankees will likely honor him with a "Day" at Yankee Stadium during the upcoming season when the fans will have a chance to show their appreciation.

Andy Pettite says he has thrown his last professional pitch. The first of the Yankees famed "Fab Four" has called it quits after 16 seasons, 13 spent in the Bronx. He retires with 240 wins, a 3.88 ERA, 1.357 WHIP and 2,251 career strikeouts. But more impressive than those numbers are his postseason tallies. He pitched in 13 playoffs, 30 playoff series, and eight World Series. He finished his career with 19 playoff wins, including five in the Fall Classic.

"Dear fellow Yankee fan,

Man up.

It's Andy Pettitte after a loss. He's going to be completely out of gas, and find a way to hold them to two runs anyway."