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For his career he posted a 240-138 record, including 25 complete games and four shutouts. He struck out 2,251 batters in 3,055.1 innings and finishes his career with a .635 winning percentage, which ranked as seventh-best among active pitchers before he made his announcement.

And as a loyal Orioles fan, more than just a part of me is thrilled that Andy Pettitte has finally called it quits. It seems like the O’s never had a chance when Pettitte was on the mound, even late into his career.

And as the numbers on the last slide bear out, it was a lot uglier for the O’s against him than I thought.

But Pettitte didn’t just torment the O’s. He was just as filthy against plenty of other teams. In fact, Pettitte only has an ERA over 5.00 against one team that he had more than three starts against. Kudos to you Texas Rangers!

So, here they are, without further ado, the ten teams most happy to bid farewell to New York Yankee Andy Pettitte.

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I hope you all enjoyed my picks for the top 10 draft slots in the 2011 MLB Draft, which can be found here.

And if you’re still finding yourself slightly less-than-adequately informed about the top talent heading into draft season, feel free to check out my primer on the top talent available here.

And for those of you following along with my scouting reports over at ProDraftCentral.com, we appreciate your support and comments. We’ve gotten some good debates going and attracted a little bit of relevant attention in the form of presumed No. 1 pick Anthony Rendon’s aunt. Her comment can be found here.

Now, it’s time to move on to more serious matters, as in part deux of my 2011 MLB Mock Draft, version 5.0. The top 10 is set, and now, it’s time to move on to picks 11-20. This area is pretty much a shoo-in to have someone drafted and not signed come the August deadline. It’s happened two of the past three years. Keep that in mind when rifling through my picks.

So let’s have at it…picks 11-20, headlined by one of the most impressive athletes to hit the draft in the past decade.

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Few divisions in baseball have benefited as much from top-level prospects over the past few seasons.

Just take a look at the World Series champion San Francisco Giants, who were led to the title on the bat of Buster Posey and the arm of Madison Bumgarner.

Drop one rung down in the standings, and you’ll find a team, the Padres, who were guided by a fantastic season by Mat Latos, who if healthy the entire 2010 season would have been worthy of some Cy Young attention.

Move on to the Rockies, and you’ll find Carlos Gonzalez, a former top prospect in three different organizations and star of the Rockies 2010 season. Car-Go warranted serious MVP consideration as the Rockies made a late push for the wild-card.

Move even further down, and you’ll find a Dodger’s effort boosted by rookie John Ely and the usual consistent efforts from homegrown players Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.

And last but not least, the Diamondbacks, where former top prospects Daniel Hudson and Barry Enright emerged as major pieces in Arizona’s rebuilding effort.

2011 should be another banner year for the NL West in the prospect race. There are several top-notch talents ready to arrive on the scene and once again play major roles and potentially impact the pennant race.

Let’s meet them, the top 25 prospects in the National League West.

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The battle for prospect supremacy is on.

And not just who’s the top overall player. Or the top overall hitter. Or the top pitcher.

Rather, I think it would be more entertaining to try to rank the top hitter-pitcher duos in each organization, starting from the bottom and working our way up to the very, very best that the minor league system has to offer.

Taking into account, of course, level of play, ceiling/potential, injury history and any position (starter-reliever) issues.

So, let’s check it out, the best hitting/pitching combinations in the minor leagues, ranked from 30th to first.

Enjoy!

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The 2011 MLB Draft is less than five months away. 

Football season is over, and for those players committed to both sports (Bubba Starling and Archie Bradley), the primary focus is back on to baseball, where a more financially secure and immediate future awaits them.

I’ve done up a few mock drafts over the past few months:

MLB Mock Draft 1.0

MLB Mock Draft 2.0

MLB Mock Draft 3.0

MLB Mock Draft 4.0

Not to mention, I tried to bring attention to the top players available in the draft:

50 Names You Need to Know for the 2011 MLB Draft

But now it’s time for a more analytical look at the top players available, and where they might find themselves on draft day.

Granted, the draft is still a long ways off, and if any draft can be synonymous with “unpredictable,” it’s the MLB version.

So here we go, version 5.0, with added analysis, extra info, and updated stats.

And this is just the first part of my 5.0 mock draft. Stay tuned for picks 11-20, and 21-33.

Enjoy!

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The Cliff Lee signing really shook up a few things, but the biggest effects should be on American League teams like the Yankees and Rangers, who now must turn to the Royals, Rays and Twins for a backup plan.

Over in the National League, things are a little quieter. 

A few big trades have already gone down. The Padres got a huge haul of top-notch talent in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez. The Braves added slugger Dan Uggla and a solid bullpen piece in Scott Linebrink. And the Brewers bolstered their rotation by swapping top infield prospect Brett Lawrie for Shaun Marcum.

Now, aside from the on-again, off-again Justin Upton trade market, there isn’t much to be all that excited about, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t teams out there looking to deal.

Here’s who’s looking to try to make a deal, what they could use, and who they could package to swing a trade.

Check out my American League summary here.

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“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

It’s not the most original statement, but for baseball fans, especially those of middle-of-the-road teams, there are few times of the year that hold as much excitement as the months leading up to spring training.

Hope is alive (even for my Orioles) and everyone is on (somewhat) even footing. Teams like the Padres and Royals have the ability to become headline news-makers, even if it’s just for a day, and teams like the Brewers and Blue Jays can give the Yankees and Red Sox a run for their money in terms of “offseason rankings.”

It’s the time of the year when you’re favorite team is just one or two trades away from contending, or rebuilding.

It’s already been a busy season, with high-profile players like Mark Reynolds, Adrian Gonzalez and Dan Uggla already traded and settling into new homes, and for all we know, that’s just the beginning. Kansas City’s Zack Greinke, Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano and Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder all could be on the road fairly soon.

So, without further ado, let’s examine what exactly it is that each team should be looking for, who’s left in terms of “tradeable” talent and check out what kind of prospect chips each team has to play with.

Starting with the American League.

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It really seems like the Orioles are running in quicksand, doesn’t it?

On the day of the biggest trade to hit Baltimore since the Erik Bedard deal, the team is still overshadowed by Boston’s trade for Adrian Gonzalez and Toronto shipping Shaun Marcum off to Milwaukee.

Such is life in the American League East.

So, these are the facts: The Orioles completed a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks this morning. The deal will send third baseman Mark Reynolds to Baltimore and relievers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio to Arizona.

Despite Reynolds’ swing-for-the-fences-at-all-costs style of play, he still is a fantastic power threat. And he immediately becomes the best power hitter who the Orioles have on their roster, no competition.

And luckily for the Orioles, his contract is pretty friendly, too, which means for all you O’s fans who see Reynolds and have night terrors featuring Garrett Atkins, you can rest easy. Reynolds is here to stay, and should be a fixture at the hot corner for at least the next three years.

But as great as the trade sounds, how solid a move will this turn out to be for the Orioles? And what about replacing the talent that left town? And furthermore, what do the O’s now do with Josh Bell, the third baseman they traded for two years ago?

As many holes as the O’s just filled (power hitter, check; third baseman, check), they just opened up a huge barrel of questions.

First up…

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Rumor has it that the Orioles have emerged as the front-runners for third-baseman Mark Reynolds.

Buster Olney reported the whispers this morning, confirming what Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman suspected last night.

So far, the only real pieces being discussed in a possible trade are Chris Tillman and David Hernandez, who has been linked to more teams this off-season than Adam Dunn.

Tillman, 22, emerged as one of the Orioles top prospects after coming over from Seattle in the trade that sent Erik Bedard to the Mariners. He made his big-league debut in 2009, and over the course of two seasons has posted a 4-10 record with a 5.63 ERA.

Hernandez, 25, began with the Orioles as a starter, dominating with a extremely deceptive delivery at every level of the minors. He arrived in Baltimore in 2009 also, struggling as a member of their rotation. However, he thrived last season after being moved to the bullpen, and that is where his future almost certainly lies.

It would likely take more than two players to get a deal done for Reynolds, who last season became the first player in Major League history to strike out more than 200 times in three consecutive seasons. Both sources believe that the Orioles side of the deal will be very “pitcher centric.”

One would have to think that Tillman, Hernandez and possibly a lesser known arm, maybe like Ryan Berry or Wynn Pelzer could get the deal done.

The only two other teams really in on Reynolds are the Blue Jays (please God no) and the Padres, who if another set of rumors are true, aren’t actively pursuing the slugger.

Reynolds hit a paltry .198 last season, making him the most sought-after hitter in history to fall short of the Mendoza line. He did, however, crank 32 homers, good for sixth in the N.L. last year. He also drove in 85 runs and walked a career-high 83 times.

Now, on to the news on the Konerko front.

The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec thinks that any interest the Orioles have had in Konerko has been extremely overblown, stating that “the next person I speak to in the organization who feels the O’s have a shot at Konerko would be the first.”

Meaning that the Orioles’ dire need for a power-hitting, corner-infielder simply makes them one of the more plausible scenarios, not necessarily the most likely. Especially in the eyes of the O’s front-office who missed out on Victor Martinez, and low-balled Adam Dunn, who spurned their offer to sign with the White Sox for $16 million more.

The longer Konerko remains a free agent, the more likely it appears that he will re-sign with the White Sox.

In other news outside the Charm City, the Red Sox have apparently agreed to a deal that would bring San Diego first-baseman Adrian Gonzalez to Beantown.

Most believe that this makes the likelihood of them bringing back Adrian Beltre very, very unlikely. 

But imagine if they had them both.

This makes me think the O’s might make a serious run at Beltre. They could use a third-baseman a tad bit more than a guy at first anyways. Brandon Snyder should get his chance this season, and he could thrive, but I know one thing—he certainly won’t thrive at third-base, where the Orioles best minor league hope is strikeout king Brandon Waring and on again-off again third-baseman Billy Rowell.

Beltre just makes too much sense to not consider.

He makes your team instantly better, gives you a legitimate middle-of-the-order presence, and offers solid defense. Not to mention the fact that he gives the O’s some star-power and takes some of the attention off of their young core.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s official.

Dan Uggla‘s somewhat rocky tenure in South Beach is over, and he’s on his way to Atlanta to join what should be a star-studded cast of Braves for the 2011 season.

The Braves surrendered infielder Omar Infante and reliever Mike Dunn to get Uggla.

Uggla is currently in the midst of one of the most impressive runs ever for a second baseman, at least in terms of power. He has hit at least 31 home runs in each of the past four seasons. He also has driven in at least 88 runs in each of his five big-league seasons.

He doesn’t offer much in the way of high average (set a career high at .287 this season) and he certainly strikes out more than a few times (760 in five seasons), but considering he offers more power than any other second baseman in the league (no offense, Chase Utley), you know the Braves won’t complain.

This trade is all fine and dandy for the Braves, but you kind of get the feeling the Marlins got screwed, and that they were just looking to dump Uggla. 

However, I find it hard to believe that the most they could get for him was Infante, a 28-year-old utility player who has only played in 100 games in one season three times, and Dunn, a 25-year-old rookie reliever with 29 games of experience under his belt. He’s only pitched 23 innings!

As an Orioles fan, I was kind of hoping Andy MacPhail would jump in on the Uggla sweepstakes, but I feared the Marlins would want too much. Had I known that he could be had for a unproven reliever and a Julio Lugo-type, I would have called MacPhail and the Marlins and scheduled the meet myself.

I don’t think there’s anyway in heck that you can argue that the Marlins came out on top in this one, even if Uggla is a free agent at the end of next season.

Convince me I’m wrong.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com