Yankees Sign A.J. Burnett

Still so many holes in that line-up to be spending this much on pitching too.

opening day whats it gonna look like:

1. Damon (possible hole if not healthy)
2. jeter (hopefully for yanks fans he can get back to old jeter and not hit into so many dp's)
3. Arod - what need i say .220 w/RISP or whatever it was... he needs to step up though i'd hardly call A-rod a "hole".
4. Nick swisher: I dunno. Lets see. Not going to comment until a few weeks into season. AL East is a whole new ballgame that can rejuvinate or destroy a career.
5. Posada - Health again an issue. I have faith in his bat more than glove to come back
6. Matsui - yet another health risk. solid clutch hitter. Still a good DH
7. Nady - Great pick-up for the Yanks last year. Expecting him to perform.
8. Cabrera - Weakest spot in lineup. one of the worst starting CF in baseball right now. needs a replacement.
9. Cano - 2007 or 2008? almost a batting champ? or just a chump?

How many innings can Joba pitch this year? 120-130?

Posted by: Xycosis | December 12, 2008 at 04:21 PM
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Probably 150. Might go 160 but don't expect more than that

"Homegrown position players in the Boston lineup"

See thats a NY bias.

Maybe Lowrie? Who the hell else would it be?

Possibly one of Bowden/Buch/Masterson...It's possible (read: not likely) 2 make the rotation coming out of ST and the last joins them at some point.

Probably 150. Might go 160 but don't expect more than that

Posted by: No27in2009 | December 12, 2008 at 04:24 PM

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How can he get a 50% jump in innings? He is a huge injury risk.

He needs to be babied.

You have to spend money to make money.

I honestly am not a real big fan of this deal, but I can live with it. And what's with all the hostility about the Yankees spending a lot of money. It's their greatest asset, and they should and do use it to their advantage.

I couldn't care less how much they spend.For all I care they can do it ever year, because ever year it has failed for them. I'm just laughing at the Yankee fans who are gonna pull off the same act as they have done every year since 2003 and fall short. A conglomeration of big names that signed because of money is not going to win a championship.

About time Wang officially becomes the #3 he always has been.

I cant help but think that this deal and the CC deal will come back to bite the Yankees. Unless he become totally enamored with NY, i think CC will opt out after 3 years. also as far as burnett goes, whats the over under on him hurting himself seriously? I've got 2 years before he does

Opting out likely benefits the Yanks, particularly if they continue locking themselves into 5 year deals.

Adam H.:
"First of all you speak as if I'm a Red Sox fan. Secondly, there is a difference between developing your own talent and paying them once they require bigger contracts and throwing your team together with a bunch of random FA signings by throwing as much money as possible at players. The last time the Yankees won the world series their major core was developed from within or was a building process such as Tino Martinez and Paul O'neill. They didn't find half of the team on the FA market in a 2 year span."

Can you explain how the Yankees are a team comprised of "a bunch of random FA signings."

yankee fans should take comfort in that the other team going after burnett was the braves. i hear they have good health evaluators.

"that is not the best in the al east at all garza best year of is career kazmir overrated price look great in the post season but he remeber hughes a had no hitter going in three start point being still too young"

Garza has amazing stuff, he's comfortable in Tampa Bay and still young. Theres no reason to rule out a better 2009.

Kazmir may be overrated, doesn't mean he isn't a filthy pitcher. He was injured most of last year as well.

Almost throwing a no hitter means NOTHING. Buchholz did throw one, I guess he's better than any pitcher you have.

"Awesome, good stuff. Now I would love to pry Halladay away from the Jays and things would be awesome.

When Halladay becomes a FA, we can sign him and our rotation would look like this"

Sigh...

Shields
Kazmir
Garza
Price
Sonnanstine

Still the best in the AL East

Boston is still better. This is just nothing compared to the big three because of experience. Besides I cant see Kazmir or Garza winning twenty games, everyone in the big three either has potential to or has gotten twenty.

Kenan thats what he was saying, hughes almost pitched a no hitter and look at the season he had in 08, thats why saying price will dominate next year is a little premature.

"that is not the best in the al east at all garza best year of is career kazmir overrated price look great in the post season but he remeber hughes a had no hitter going in three start point being still too young"

Just so we can make sure we're on the same page, this is the same rotation that was "too young" to make it to the World Series last year, correct?

Kazmir overrated? You realize he has a better career ERA than both Burnett and Sabathia, right?

Of course it was Garza's best year of his career, considering it was the first full season of his career at 24 years old. I fail to see how that proves anything. Price was the first pick of the draft last year and was dominant in the regular season AND playoffs. I see no reason to assume he will do anything other than continue to excel in the MLB.

Great argument. You sure proved a lot.

Hughes had a no hitter into the 6th or 7th, not a no hitter.

And ever since then Hughes has been abysmal...congrats yankees fans.

I have never hoped for a player to get injured besides Barry Bonds before, but Im hoping the entire pitching staff for the Yankees goes down in flames.

"Awesome, good stuff. Now I would love to pry Halladay away from the Jays and things would be awesome."

The Jays will be holding on to him as long as he wants to be a Jay. If he wants out, he'll be traded & it certainly won't be to the Yanks.

even dice-k and okajima are "homegrown" as they have never been linked to any other MLB team. they are not really "bought". they are scouted like any other prospect

not to mention Tazawa

The argument is about homegrown players is really asinine. The two teams have about an equally number of players that are homegrown. Stupid argument.

Santana/Beckett you really want to believe that?

Cashman need to go out and get a hitter. We don't have anyone to protect A-Rod and that will be a problem. They struggle to score runs with Boby and Giambi, imagine without them.

This is the first season in awhile the yanks are buying players. Cashman and Hal have really turned the team around (not trading the farm for Santana) they value their prospects now and are doing things the right way. OF course they do have money though and they owe it to the fans to spend the money that the fans give the organization, which is what CC and Burnett are. People seem to think they buy all their players still, thats the 2000-2003ish yankees, not so much anymore.

i_spit_hot_fire

That was funny, it hurt a lot, but it was funny. Easier to laugh now that the Braves are no longer actually giving Hampton money...

As for the Yankees, they now have the most overrated rotation in the MLB. Congrats. This brings up plenty of memories of Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown, Esteban Loaiza, Jaret Wright, Carl Pavano, Hideki Irabu, Randy Johnson, and Jose Contreras, all of whom were signings that were supposed to create the "best rotation in the MLB."

As usual Yankee fans will be crowning themselves World Champs in the winter, and as has been the case sinse they have began buying teams in 2003 they will fall short.
________________________

(Sniff....sigh) Ahh the smell of hate. Take it in fellow Yankee fans. It means we're doing something right.

I will rarely side with the yankees, but the above comment about the signing of CC and AJ being reminiscient of the previous pitchers? are you serious? Johnson was on the decline when he said, Irabu was signed from Japan, so thats always a wildcard (same with Contreras, from Cuba, but point still stands), Pavano, Wright, and Brown all had injury plagued careers before signing. The CC signing pisses me off, but thats usually a sign of a good signing by the yanks. AJ has a ton of upside, but is very injury prone so that can go either way. The rest of the rotation, besides Hughs, doesnt have a history of injuries (Wang's more than likely being a fluke)

posada, jeter, rivera, pettite, wang, chamberlain, cabrera/gardner, cano, veras, edwar ramirez, dave robertson, phil hughes, ian kennedy

Burnett threw 221 innings last year. Good luck with this more expensive Pavano. The only other two times in his career he's thrown over 200 innings, he's had a major injury the next season. Combine that with CC (300 pounds, over 500 innings the last 2 years), I wouldn't be surprised to see them both on the DL come June

"People seem to think they buy all their players still, thats the 2000-2003ish yankees, not so much anymore."

When you lock yourself into 400+ million in total contract value last off season, and another 243.5 million (assuming theres no opt out) after signing two pitchers this year, it's kinda hard to say that "youth movement" is anything but bull****.

Every team develops players and every team buys them. The Yanks just happen to do a little more of the latter...

Burnett has put up solid numbers in the AL east while facing the yanks. Now he gets to face a horrible offense in the jays and most likely improve those numbers. Hes a good pitchers, and you cant look at Yankee and Red Soxs signings like other clubs because they can afford to be wrong about players and not kill payroll.

"The Braves will have to figure out a Plan B."

Which is not Lowe. Is it Sheets? Back in on Peavy?

Buccholz will be a solid pitcher, just needed more time in the minors, same with hughes and kennedy. Bucchols offspeed stuff is too good to not be a good pitcher eventually.

I dont know that it's obviously better. There are more question marks though and to some extent less performance.

Burnett coming off a 105 ERA+ season as your #2? He's got his own set of problems. Joba is in the same boat. CC will always be a question mark, but he has continually pitched well so there's no reason to assume he won't

I dunno, I'm really not impressed with the Yanks until they add a good bat.

Just me though

"even dice-k and okajima are "homegrown""

Umm...you lost me there. Homegrown doesn't mean paying millions to talk to a player exclusively and negotiate a deal. I didn't know Boston's farm system consists of all of Japan.

That being said, you definitely can't say Boston "bought" Beckett and Lowell...because they used Hanley Ramirez (really homegrown) to get them, and they didn't change contracts. So while they aren't homegrown, they don't fall into the bought category either. Lets all have a little perspective here people, even the New York and Boston fans.

"Buchholz may be homegrown but he isn't in Boston he was sent down becasue he is a head case."

Right. It had nothing to do with his numbers.

Nothing.

Whatever. He was too high priced & injury prone for the Braves anyway. Wren can make something else happen.

Ok I know this is a silly arguement since no one can predict what a player will do in 09 but since someone put it out there. Let's assume everyone is healthy.

Shields vs Sabathia
Kazmir vs Burnett
Garza vs Wang
Price vs Joba
Sonnanstine vs Sheets or Pettite

How is that OBVIOUSLY better?
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Because, you're going by what's on paper, as I predicted Yankee fans will do. Not shocking to see that's already going on.

jjyankeesfan2:

And you spankees fans have spent over 1.6 billion (now closer to 2 billion) with nothing to show for it. Thats about the same we spent in our 80+ with no championship

homegrown players in boston: Papelbon, delcarmen, youk, pedroia, lester, masterson, bucholz, lowrie, ellsbury... need i go on?

Posted by: Santana/Beckett FTW ______________________________

homegrown players in yankees: rivera, wang, hughes, chamberlain, pettite, jeter, cano, posada, cabrera, coke, gardner, do you want me to go on?

tell me asides from damon, CC and Burnett what FA's are on the yankees....

matsui doesn't count since he was an international FA. Arod, nady, swisher, marte were trades...

santanta/beckett please, the sox do all the same stuffget off your high horse. Arod, Abreu and randy johnson were all traded for. And you forgot Mussina under the "bought" category.

Ok I know this is a silly arguement since no one can predict what a player will do in 09 but since someone put it out there. Let's assume everyone is healthy.

Shields vs Sabathia
Kazmir vs Burnett
Garza vs Wang
Price vs Joba
Sonnanstine vs Sheets or Pettite

How is that OBVIOUSLY better?
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Because, you're going by what's on paper, as I predicted Yankee fans will do. Not shocking to see that's already going on.

Posted by: Adam H. | December 12, 2008 at 04:50 PM

And what the hell are you doing????????

Yankees are ruining baseball

Its december all we have to go on is paper. Unless you want to close down this website and we can start talking again in april?
Im not a yankees fan at all, but i certainly can realize theyre turning around the way they do business.

This is so ridiculous I wish you had to earn your commenter status its so hard to actually talk baseball on these things with all the bullsh*t that is spewed everywhere

Santana/BeckettFTW:

How was Abreu bought?

And since when is there a rule you aren't allowed to sign free agents? I just don't get what everyone is harping on? If the Yankees have a hole, they try to fill it with the best available talent at whatever cost. Burnett could be out with injuries the whole five years or his contract, like Pavano was, do you really think the Yankees care about his salary? The answer I would say would be no. They make plenty of money were they can make mistakes in free agency, and still be competitive.

@ sjdurfey

The reason I feel we would have the best chance is because we would give the most money and we have his good friend Burnett now. Its the yankee way.

@islezynkeez

Question: hows having the highest payroll in sports history working out for you?

"They have potential."

If they have potential then how you can say they're "NOT" better than what you have?

It's up in the air, there's question marks on both sides. If you account for salary obviously the Rays have the more attractive rotation, but to say one is undoubtedly better than another is short sighted.

Let's the start the bidding on when Burnett will get hurt... 10 games mark? 15 games mark? Now the question is: Do the market for Lowe will drop and will he find a new home in Boston?

Kenan and Kel:

Exactly, you never have a point, you're just ignorant. You honestly believe that you have this amazing fanbase that doesn't act the same way some of the Yankees fans on here act. Guess what? You're wrong. Ever fan base, of every sport has a idiots. And to be honest, I would group you in with some of the Red Sox idiot fans that comment on here, e.g. RED SOX DYNASTY!.

Abreau was bought same as every other free agent. He came to NY because they offered him top dollar. No other team came close to the Yankees offer. I'm fine with both these signings as a Red Sox fan.

Burnett - injury prone and signed for 5 years? anyone else smell carl pavano back there in the dust?

Sabathia- a dominant ace they desperately needed. But how well has he been taken care of. he's thrown well over 500 innings the past two years and is 300 lbs. You cant tell me signing him to a 7 year deal is a smart move. they did it because they HAD to. not because they WANTED to.

oh but the red sox didnt sign any FAs since 2000.

damon, manny, drew, lugo, dice-k, ortiz

i am sure there are plenty more.