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You Got To Feel Blue For AJ Burnett

Posted by on 14 February 2012, 4:49 am
ANAHEIM, CA - SEPTEMBER 23: Pitcher A. J. Bur...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

You have to feel bad for New York Yankees pitcher AJ Burnett, as the New York and sports media has him already packing for Pittsburgh to join the Pirates.

I get that “baseball is a business,” as players have uttered this sentiment like a broken record forever to a point where it feels like they have been brainwashed.

The business world is harsh, but not many struggling businessmen get their dirty laundry aired out in the public eye like baseball players do.

And yes, people should get fired for not doing their job everyday but not like in baseball. When a team wants to dump a player, and are willing to eat millions of dollars just to get you out, can’t feel good.

All the blame lands solely on the player for underachieving, which usually entails fan and media backlash.

In Burnett’s case, the media and fans have pegged him as enemy #1.

There is some merit behind Burnett being ridiculed, as he has not been able to do his job consistently for sometime; but he was vital to the 2009 Yankees success. Along with some other shining moments, Burnett just continued to aggravate New York fans, which FYI is not a very hard to do.

There is not doubt that Burnett can pitch, and I mean like an unhittable ace when everything is flowing. Problem was that no one, including himself, knew what AJ would show up on the mound on any given night.

So, in a sense the Yankee fans are just as much at fault because Burnett’s biggest hurdle is in his head. And nobody seem to care enough to maybe try to be supportive to see if that would trigger the confidence, or tame the wild thoughts that continually have possessed Burnett throughout his career.

Well, Yankees Universe has been cheering to get rid of Burnett for three seasons, and I can only imagine how the six weeks have been on the righty.

Knowing that you have no choice in the matter just sucks.

And being forced to leave a winning team like the Yankees, to go play for the Pirates is basically career suicide.

It must be heartbreaking. Continue reading ‘You Got To Feel Blue For AJ Burnett’ »

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New York Yankees hot stove: Rosenthal please stop stirring the Burnett pot

Posted by on 10 February 2012, 6:08 am

AJ Burnett on the bump at Yankee Stadium.

I am kicking myself for presuming that the media would go dormant on trade rumors surrounding New York Yankees pitcher AJ Burnett.

As usual the spark came via FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal who reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates might land Burnett. He also wrote that the Yankees were willing to eat most of the $33 million Burnett is still owed, just so GM Brian Cashman can use the little money left over as leverage to sign a bench player?

Rosenthal wrote an MLB Buzz post on this supposedly breaking news, which led to a twitter freak out, and within a few hours he chalked it up to being due diligence, go figure.

Just for the record, I still believe that trading Burnett would be a bad move by the Yankees; and I have no intention of jumping on this ant-Burnett soapbox like the majority of Yankee Universe.

Honestly, Yankee fans need to stop acting so spoiled and entitled about getting rid of Burnett.

Paying a player somewhere between $25 -33 million over the next two seasons to leave is quite extreme in the case of Burnett.

He is a good teammate and a hard worker, but Burnett can also be productive but Yankee fans love to hate and it embarrasses the rest of us. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees hot stove: Rosenthal please stop stirring the Burnett pot’ »

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New York Yankees: Baseball Blogs Hottest Topic

Posted by on 30 January 2012, 12:52 am
Over the last two weeks, the hottest topic that has everyone from baseball fans, bloggers and expert analysts talking about is what the heck are the New York Yankees going to do about their now over-crowded pitching rotation, and more specifically AJ Burnett.
Yankee Stadium on July 1, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

Among the three contenders, which also include Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia, AJ Burnett has gotten thrown in the ringer.

This comes as no shock, because once Javier Vazquez got run out-of-town, Burnett has been deemed as the latest A-rod among pitchers in Yankee Universe; as God forbid Yankee fans don’t have someone to complain and heckle endlessly about.

Admittedly, I am still in the midst of being just as engrossed with this topic for already longer than I would have liked, but something’s you just can’t help.

What I can do is shut my mouth, and let other baseball bloggers do the talking.

So after countless hours of scouring the blogosphere, I have compiled a list of my 10 must-read posts about Burnett and the over-crowding of the Yankee rotation.

Click on article titles to be redirected to original author’s post website; and that this list is in random order.

Enjoy!

For Those Who Dissent, Our Fifth Starter Should Be AJ Burnett

Michael Eder, The Yankee Analysts

Dayton Moore, Get Brian Cashman on the Phone. Trade Soria for Burnett and Hughes.

Jeff Zimmerman, Royals Review Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Baseball Blogs Hottest Topic’ »

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New York Yankees: AJ Burnett Expects To Start And I Do Too

Posted by on 28 January 2012, 2:16 am
The hottest topic in Yankee Universe at the moment is who should win the fifth spot in the starting pitching rotation between Phil Hughes, AJ Burnett and Freddy Garcia.

So, over the last week I have read and heard many opinions on the topic from bloggers to analysts to the manager at my local Starbucks.

The most annoying trend is the immediate discounting of Burnett, as entitled Yankee fans have branded him as the pitcher’s A-rod.

Personally, I like both A-rod and Burnett because they work hard and when they are on, they are great. But getting into that discussion is for another time.

The point is that no matter what happens in Spring Training, Burnett deserves the fifth spot in the rotation. This has nothing to do with money because it is not like I am writing the paychecks.

The reason is Burnett has earned it, and here are three reasons why:

  1. Since signing with the Yankees, Burnett has been totally healthy making all 33 starts each season. This is not the case with Hughes as he has spent more time on the DL with multiple injuries than the mound; and Garcia had that kitchen knife accident last season, and was sidelined for most of August.
  2. If you look closely, four of Burnett’s 11 losses in 2011 were due to the Yankee hitters only scoring 0-2 runs because he posted an ERA of 3.00, gave up just four homers and maintained a WHIP of 1.00. Compared to 14 of 18 of Hughes wins from 2010 came on days when the Yankee bats scored 6+ runs. Hughes won ZERO games when the bats scored 0-2 runs, had just 3 wins were when the team scored 3-5 runs and one win he got coming out of the bullpen.
  3. If any player is going to step it up, especially in New York, it should be in the month of October. Burnett stepped it up BIG TIME last season to keep the Yankees in the playoffs.

Now I kept this list short by choosing three points that covered a lot of ground. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: AJ Burnett Expects To Start And I Do Too’ »

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New York Yankees: One, Two Princes Stand Before You

Posted by on 12 October 2011, 3:19 am

Imagine this scenario…. it is mid-December 2011 and the New York Yankees just sent word to the media that they would be holding a press conference at 2pm at Yankee Stadium.

The news spreads fast, and at 1:55pm both fans and haters of the Yankees were already tuned in to hear what this was all about.

As skipper Joe Girardi came to the podium, the camera flashes to a row of seats behind him. You saw both baby Steins, Pres. Randy Levin, GM Brian Cashman, the Captain, a man who looked a lot like super agent Scott Boras and what looked like a midget, but it was just Lonn Trost.

Even with all the swirling uncertainty of this situation, Yankee fans couldn’t control the butterflies in their stomach; while the Yankee haters’ faces were turning an all-to-familiar red, as their body temps were raising fast.

So when Girardi started repeating the exact words from when the Yankees welcomed CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett before the 2009 season, it felt like déjà vu all over again:

“You realize how fortunate you are to be the Yankee manager when you get a chance to sit in that clubhouse, but you also realize how fortunate you are to work for people like the Steinbrenner’s’; who make that commitment every year to put the best team on the field they can. And I thank you very much.”  (Click HERE to watch  – 12-18-2008.)

Ok…. WTF is all that came to mind, and the Yankees skipper went on to say:

“Well, since we disappointed everyone by not reaching our annual goal in 2010; my bosses wanted to make sure that never happens again. Huh..Huh..Huh… so they went out and added not one Prince, but two Princes for the pinstripes.”  (Fictitious quote).

And out walks Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols (aka Prince Albert), already donning their new Yankee uniforms. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: One, Two Princes Stand Before You’ »

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New York Yankees: Lots To Prove In Boston

Posted by on 30 August 2011, 3:10 am

The New York Yankees are leaving Baltimore after taking two of four against the Orioles on route to Boston, but sans the Captain and possibly A-rod, who both have minor injuries.

Any baseball fan is well aware that the Yankees are the team with something to prove against the Red Sox, who have owned the Bombers in 2011.

The worst part is the Yankees most reliable ace CC Sabathia can’t seem to stop the AL East leading Red Sox either, as he is 0-4 this season, with a 7.20 ERA. The Red Sox are hitting .324 when Sabathia takes the hill, as well as racking up 33 hits, five doubles, one triple, two home-runs, 16 RBIs and 10 walks in four starts.

Sabathia is also having a rotten August, posting a 4.95 ERA and a 2-2 record over the five starts he has made so far this month.

So, not only are the odds against Sabathia statistically but it must also be mentally taxing. Sabathia will try to right himself in enemy terrain, aka. Fenway Park on Tuesday night to open the three games set; the first of nine games the Yankees have left vs. Boston.

The Yankees need CC to have a CC kind of night to get the series momentum going in their direction.

With the Yankees sitting one and a half back behind in the division heading into this series, this could get really ugly if the Yankees don’t take two of the three games at Fenway Park this week. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Lots To Prove In Boston’ »

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New York Yankees: Hurricane Irene Got Nothing On The Bronx Bombers

Posted by on 26 August 2011, 11:17 pm

Up in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon, the New York Yankees started a hurricane with their bats.

Not only did their bats beat the Oakland Athletics 22-9, they also made baseball history along the way. As Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson all hit grand slams during the game, which is the first time that has ever happened in the history of the baseball.

The Yankees are in Baltimore to play five games in four days against the bottom feeding Orioles. Problem is that Hurricane Irene didn’t come soon enough to save pitcher AJ Burnett.

The right-hander had another night to forget to add to an ever-growing list, as he gave up six runs in the second inning. Unfortunately, for Burnett, the bats didn’t have a repeat performance in the 12-5 loss.

Regarding Burnett, I am one of the few not worried so much about him righting himself. Burnett’s determination to fix himself is genuine, and he is working hard to make sure that happens. I believe the encouragement from both his teammates, as well as the coaching staff and GM will boost Burnett back to a respectable level again very soon.

**Hurricane Irene is heading up the coast so it is doubtful the weekend games will be played, which includes the double-header scheduled for Saturday that has already been postponed. The latest news on MLB.com is the Yankees/Orioles will play two on Sunday pending on the weather. The Yankees were hoping to get two games in on Friday or one very early Saturday morning but the Orioles wouldn’t do it. Go figure….

On – Off-The-Field Gossip:

Even though I discourage turning athletes personal lives into Hollywood gossip, exceptions are made when it affects a player’s performance on the field.

So, the recent gossip conveyed on JustJared.com that Derek Jeter dumped Minka Kelly is applicable because the Captain’s boosted level of play since the All-Star break has been remarkable; and getting out of a stressful relationship has to play a part. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Hurricane Irene Got Nothing On The Bronx Bombers’ »

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