AL East

The off-season keeps getting worse for the New York Yankees, as ace Andy Pettitte finally gave word that he was not physically ready for the 2011 season.
 
What does this mean exactly?
 
It construes that Pettitte has not been preparing this off-season for an on-time return to the Bronx, but he is could come back later on.
 

There’s been a new development in the “Will Andy Pettitte pitch for the New York Yankees in 2011?” question that seems to have Yankee fans on pins and needles this offseason.

What would you pay for a 6'3", 190 lb pitcher with a mid 90s fastball, who was ranked as the 5th best prospect in Indiana by Baseball America?  The Yankees decided that the price was the 440th pick in the 2008 amateur draft.

With Andy Pettitte continuing to lean toward retirement and the Yankees' stubborn refusal to give Joba Chamberlain a true shot at a rotation spot—despite his career 12-7 record and 4.18 ERA as a starter—New York must consider adding a free agent to replace Sergio Mitre as the No. 5 starter this season.

Mitre was 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA in three starts last season and holds a career 13-25 record and 5.48 mark in 64 career starts, so keeping him in the rotation for any extended period of time would be disastrous.

As the Rays continue to bargain shop, it appears that Kyle Farnsworth is the latest find in the bin. 

Early reports indicate the Tampa Bay Rays have signed Farnsworth to a one-year,$2-3 million contract.  

During the Steinbrenner era, the Yankees were not a team known for their patient attitude regarding their prospects.  They viewed these players as trading chips that could be used to acquire one of the games many stars; players that were already experiencing success at the major league level and were considered amongst the elite.  Yankees minor league players learned not to wait for the call to the majors, but rather for the call informing them that they had been traded.  After all, their chances of making the roster on one of the other MLB teams was much higher than the

Another day of no good news out of New York Yankees front office regarding signing a player who can help the team win in 2011. 

GM Brian Cashman’s latest rumored pursuant is pitcher Justin Duchscherer.

Once again, Cashman continues confusing Yankee fans, as Duchscherer is a nightmare version of ace Zach Greinke.

After 18 years in the major leagues, all-times saves leader Trevor Hoffman has decided to retire from baseball with 601 saves.  Long-time New York Yankee closer Mariano Rivera is 2nd all-time with 559 saves.  With Hoffman retiring and Rivera re-signing with the Yankees for two more years, is it possible that "The Sandman" will be able to surpass Hoffman and be the all-time saves leader?

The key to a successful fantasy baseball draft is maximizing the return value on each of your picks. At the start of each draft, everybody will have an equal value's worth of picks; therefore, unless you target players who could potentially exceed the value of the pick they were drafted with, you will finish your draft in the middle of the pack. One of the best types of player to target when attempting to maximize value is the player who disappointed the previous year. Logically, his value will be its lowest following a poor season; hence the appeal to targeting these players.

After defeating the Yankees in 2003 as a member of the Florida Marlins, Josh Beckett officially became an ace. While his ’03 season was impressive in its own right (3.04 ERA, 142 IP), his dominant post-season performance gave him the stage he needed to show the world how great he could be.