Andy Pettitte To Retire (Again) After This Season

From the man himself:

“I’m announcing my retirement prior to the conclusion of our season because I want all of our fans to know now—while I’m still wearing this uniform—how grateful I am for their support throughout my career. I want to have the opportunity to tip my cap to them during these remaining days and thank them for making my time here with the Yankees so special.

I’ve reached the point where I know that I’ve left everything I have out there on that field. The time is right. I’ve exhausted myself, mentally and physically, and that’s exactly how I want to leave this game.

One of the things I struggled with in making this announcement now was doing anything to take away from Mariano’s day on Sunday. It is his day. He means so much to me, and has meant so much to my career that I would just hate to somehow take the attention away from him.”

It's never as big a deal the second or third time around, but it's still newsworthy that another member of the Core Four is hanging 'em up.  This one is especially newsworthy simply because Andy, like Mo, proved he can still get it done this season and the Yankees could definitely use him in next year's rotation.  Oh well, that's 40% that needs to be replaced with Kuroda still up in the air.