AJ traded to pirates

[Pharmcat]

thanks for the memories AJ

without you, we dont win the 09 WS, masterful performance in game 2 of that series, hopefully yanks fans always appreciate him for that

[Christophersp10]

Sorry I have been busy guys. Just busy helping BJ pack his bags, now I am carrying him on back through the dessert and then through the rain forest and then through the north pole so I can drop him off in Pittsburgh. Thanks for game 2, now good riddance pea brain.

[Dr. Detfink]

AJ Burnett was a great teammate, NEVER said anything bad about anyone. Took all the heat even when the Yanks gave him craptastic run support. Guy could just never get the right breaks and ultimately baseball is a game of confidence.

I do think AJ will have a great season in Pittsburgh. Pitcher plus, no more Fielder, Pujols, or Braun (for a while) IF his PED charge holds...People underrate pitching in the AL East. Those line ups are taxing over several months.

[Christophersp10]

BJ Burnout might have been a great teammate but the fans despised him and hated him. Guy was making 15 million plus a year during the Great Recession and we had to watch him throw a couple of gems and then suck for 6 months.


Fans hated/despised him due to his contract and due to him getting out pitched by the Nova, Garcia and Colons of the world. You know when you suck when some rookie who nobody ever expected anything from was 10 times better than you. You know you really suck when Fatso Colon comes over after doing nothing for years and pitches better than you.

[Dr. Detfink]

I don't really acknowledge the fans....remember how quickly every one got on Jeter when he started off slow? Then the injury allowed him to take a closer look at his mechanics and alluvasudden, every fan went back to being a Jeter fan. I never buy that plays on an athletes psyche especially now that Yankee stadium resembles an amusement park and the loud mouths who have an opinion on every thing are relegated to the nosebleed.

I still say the marriage was the bigger issue. Why you say? Guy nixed a trade to the Angels because his wife doesn't like to fly.

As for getting out pitched....run support contributes to confidence. Sure, Colon and Garcia matched up against the opposition's table scraps never had to face a #2 in the rotation.

Now that every one has exorcised their demons on AJ....did the Yanks get anything of value besides an increase in buy back?

[Knicksfan20]

Good. Getem out of here. No way should we be paying 17 mil for a Long relief quality pitcher. He had some good moments and i will miss his shaving cream pies...But i havnt disliked a yankee player as much as Burnett in a while. Id rather give a young kid a chance to fill his role then watch him walk the bases loaded and give up home run after home run.

Thanks for the few good memories AJ...I wont miss you.

[Christophersp10]

BJ Burnout blaming the Yankees for tinking with his delivery for his poor performance.


good riddance!

[Dr. Detfink]

You guys are forgetting Kuroda is a .500 pitcher in the NL, NEVER had the kind of career AJ had, and yet getting 11.7M at age 37 (2 yrs older than AJ)to be the #3...without ever pitching in the AL.

So its not like the Yanks have a LOCK....lots of questions in the rotation.

[DAntoniMustGo]

You guys are forgetting Kuroda is a .500 pitcher in the NL, NEVER had the kind of career AJ had, and yet getting 11.7M at age 37 (2 yrs older than AJ)to be the #3...without ever pitching in the AL.

So its not like the Yanks have a LOCK....lots of questions in the rotation.

W/L record is pointless. The Dodgers teams he played on were terrible and if you got 1 or 2 runs support it was considered a GOOD day. It's a lot harder pitching with no run support knowing you have to be perfect.

[Dr. Detfink]

Why was it too hard to pitch in the ball parks of the Padres, Giants, and D-Backs? Bull...the ENTIRE division could barely give any run support...save the Rockies.

Now, we'll see against killer line ups like the Sawx, Rays...with the DH...how he'll do not in April-June but second half baseball when he's got some 100+ innings on that arm at age 37....

the AL East eats up NL pitchers...and so, NO I don't believe you say "run support" in the NL West because EVERY pitcher padded their stats in that division.

Again, I hope Kuroda does well but it is FAIR to say, he has proven NOTHING yet.

[DAntoniMustGo]

Why was it too hard to pitch in the ball parks of the Padres, Giants, and D-Backs? Bull...the ENTIRE division could barely give any run support...save the Rockies.

Now, we'll see against killer line ups like the Sawx, Rays...with the DH...how he'll do not in April-June but second half baseball when he's got some 100+ innings on that arm at age 37....

the AL East eats up NL pitchers...and so, NO I don't believe you say "run support" in the NL West because EVERY pitcher padded their stats in that division.

Again, I hope Kuroda does well but it is FAIR to say, he has proven NOTHING yet.

Arizona was a top 10 offense last season and their ballpark is one of the better hitters parks in the NL.
Same with the Rockies.

I'll give you SD and SF obviously, terrible teams.

Rays aren't exactly juggernauts. They are going to be a middle of the road offense. Orioles are gonna be terrible. Boston is the one concern.

But again, this is a ONE year deal. He is essentially a stop gap for the 2013 pitching FA class. If he handles the pressure and the AL east well you can resign him, if he stinks up the joint you can let him walk on his merry way.

[PDXKnight]

I question this move a bit. He has what 3 seasons left and the yanks are paying all but 12 million of that? I can't imagine the Yanks find a better replacement for 4 million a year..

[Dr. Detfink]

Arizona was a top 10 offense last season and their ballpark is one of the better hitters parks in the NL.
Same with the Rockies.

I'll give you SD and SF obviously, terrible teams.

Rays aren't exactly juggernauts. They are going to be a middle of the road offense. Orioles are gonna be terrible. Boston is the one concern.

But again, this is a ONE year deal. He is essentially a stop gap for the 2013 pitching FA class. If he handles the pressure and the AL east well you can resign him, if he stinks up the joint you can let him walk on his merry way.

Yes IF you skew the stats on runs (as is that misleading ranking) but do it on hits? Ranked 22nd. 19th on batting average.

If you look at that roster, those guys are strike out machines. They'll score 22 runs one game then get shut out.

Hey, let's not forget IAN KENNEDY who couldn't pitch in the AL and begged out of the rotation looks like an ace in that division.

No, I'm sorry the craptastic NL West doesn't convince me that Oooooh we got a gem for overspending on a 37 yr old. Again, NL pitchers....if Kuroda did some time in the AL before signing then I would say "Ok, I feel we upgraded over AJ..."

I think he'll be ok...but no, I don't think it's THAT much of an upgrade.

[Dr. Detfink]

I question this move a bit. He has what 3 seasons left and the yanks are paying all but 12 million of that? I can't imagine the Yanks find a better replacement for 4 million a year..

Well, it's better than what the Pirates were originally willing to pay. Pirates were NOT willing to give up that prospect who ducked the Yanks and went back to college. So the Yanks used the Indians and other teams as leverage.

I still think AJ is a Good pitcher and don't be surprised if with Pittsburgh he does very well. The problem was, it's NY...it's HARD to succeed here. EVERY ONE second guesses. And NY is dog years. One season playing with the Yankees takes its toll.

It's why players are always trying to FLEECE the NY teams for money.