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    Big League Stew

    At least Burnett’s time in the Bronx was interesting

    By 'Duk | Big League Stew – Fri, Feb 17, 2012 2:43 PM EST

    A.J. Burnett will pitch for Pittsburgh in 2012. (AP)The New York Yankees aren't likely to agree, but that was a really fun three years they just spent with A.J. Burnett.

    Yes, it was a disaster from a baseball perspective. The best you can say about Burnett's time with the Yankees is that it opened up a fascinating debate on whether his one clutch victory in the 2009 World Series was worth the $69.5 million the Yankees paid him — a figure that includes all three years in New York and part of the next two seasons he'll spend in Pittsburgh after Friday's completed trade.

    The worst that you can say about Burnett's tenure in pinstripes is that he utterly failed at becoming the No. 2 pitcher the Yankees were expecting when they signed him (and CC Sabathia) after the playoff-less 2008 season, leading them to sacrifice Jesus Montero to the Seattle Mariners this offseason in exchange for Michael Pineda.

    But mercifully for the Yankees, it's finally all over. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Yankees will get two prospects in return and that the Pirates will pay $5 million of Burnett's 2012 salary and $8 million in 2013. (Burnett is owed a total of $33 million over the next two seasons.)

    Yankees fans may not miss him, but from a Stew perspective, Burnett in the Bronx was blogging gold. Consider the following "achievements" we were able to document:

    • The time he showed up to a pitch with a big ol' shiner and refused to explain.

    • His oh-so-hilarious cream-pieings of Yankee teammates who had actually contributed to victories. Looking back, it's amazing that he didn't set another eight-figure contract aflame by injuring someone during a postgame interview. (We even called for a ban.)

    • A consistent ability to provide Slumpbot with bad performances to analyze.

    • Claiming his stuff was "nasty" when it was really anything but.

    • Setting records for wild pitches thrown.

    • His attempt to start a new fad among Williamsburg hipsters by sporting a Dennis the Menace haircut was one of our favorite Fashion Ump posts in 2011.

    A.J. Burnett hits Robinson Cano with a cream pie. (Getty)

    • Being bad enough during the 2011 season to make Rob Iracane laugh at the prospect of Burnett saving the season Game 4 of the ALDS. But somehow just good enough to make Iracane eat all of his words the next morning.

    Burnett surely must have inspired even more Big League Stew material over the years, but our Internet search functions are acting rather limited right now. But we're confident that he's sure to write a few more at PNC Park as the Steinbrenners hope he forgets to send them the forwarding address for the $20 million worth of paychecks still due.

    Yeah, yeah. Sore subject. But we'll miss the guy.

    Pitchers and catchers report this weekend, so don't miss a beat ...
    Follow @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk and the BLS Facebook page!

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    69 comments

    • Daniel L
      Daniel L  •  West Palm Beach, Florida  •  3 months ago
      So basically my Yanks paid this guy 69.5 million over three years for one clutch world series performance, and the rest was for throwing pies in people's faces when they hit game winning home runs... Wish I had his job lol
      • Heywood Jablome
        Heywood Jablome 3 months ago
        Yet some morons will call Brian Cashman a genius? This is just one example of his inadequate work and money wasting as a GM.
      • welcome to the big show
        welcome to the big show 3 months ago
        When MLB allows teams to spend as much as they want, this will always happen sometimes.
      • Bartman
        Bartman 3 months ago
        This wasn't Cashman's fault. George was "the Boss" when he was signed. The only 2 times the Yanks won under GS was after suspensions. They won in the 70s back to back and were in 3 in a row. Then GS started writing checks and they won nothing in the 80s, the only decade the Yanks didn't win a WS. Then he was suspended in the 90s and won 4 out of 6 WS and brought up the likes of Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Andy Petitte, Mariano Rivera and others that GS would have traded for a washed up big name. 6 WS in 37 years as Yankee owner, for that Yanks that sucks. Now with what looks like Cashman in charge watch them rise again. Anyone of the other major league teams would jump at the chance to have Cashman.
    • Alex N
      Alex N  •  3 months ago
      I don't think the issue is him not being able to pitch in the big city. He just can't pitch anywhere. His stuff was filthy, but he labored late in games, often couldn't throw strikes, and melted-down when runners got on base...and that was as a Marlin with no one in the stands. Mentally, he's just not fit for being an ace. He has a great arm and that made him a lot of money--but he's very aggravating to watch.
    • wallyonew
      wallyonew  •  3 months ago
      Goodbye.
    • Michael
      Michael  •  Oakland, New Jersey  •  3 months ago
      Only the Yankees could over pay for a pitcher in the first place, then dump him and pay him to pitch for another team, then spend another 10m to sign kudora and they say they are watching a budget. Ha!
    • R J
      R J  •  Camden, New Jersey  •  3 months ago
      he did more than pavano. thanks for the championship game A J and good luck in pitt.
    • Jack
      Jack  •  New York, New York  •  3 months ago
      You wouldn't qualify as a sports agent if you hadn't noticed that $5 Million is the new minimum salary for mediocre pitching talent. In 2013 Burnett will earn $8 Million and should he have a fair season that sum will raise the bar even for the lowly Pirates. Other than pitching against San Francisco and Philadelphia Burnett will do well in the National Leauge.

      Yankee fans will long remember the day the franchise traded away the next Mickey Mantle, and if Jesus Montero is taught to keep his head on straight he will become the most prodigious power hitter over the next decade. The Yankees will have the chance to buy him back when he reaches Pujols status. The kid has tremendous power to all fields and knows how the strike zone works for him.

      He never had the skills needed to catch at the major league level and likely played because of his bat. He did have a decent arm and I believe the Yankees should have taught him to play the outfield. I like Swisher but it is time for him to be traded for young talent and Montero could have been put in right field and hit clean up.
    • Ben
      Ben  •  Perris, California  •  3 months ago
      No fan of Burnett, but he probably did more for Yanks than the Carl Pavano disaster.
    • john
      john  •  3 months ago
      I didnt think this would ever happen. Finally it did. If the Yanks want another ring they need to build a strong pitching staff, period. Lets hope this is the beginning of this quest.
    • Dogwelder
      Dogwelder  •  3 months ago
      At least he doesn't have to worry about living up to expectations anymore, given that the Pirates have none.
    • stan
      stan  •  Biloxi, Mississippi  •  3 months ago
      do yall know that our yanks will still be paying the balance of this bums contract? pitt pays 13m of 33m, were still on the hook for the rest. i did not realize this until i watched moneyball.
      • 99sm
        99sm 3 months ago
        I don't remember reading about the yankees eating Burnetts contract in Moneyball... must have missed that chapter
      • StonersAreEvil
        StonersAreEvil 3 months ago
        @99sm--I just rented the movie today. It made mention once or twice about trading one player or another but still being on the hook for what's left of his contract. I think Stan was talking about the irony of that concept in general. I should hope that the way that applies to Burnett would stand as an object lesson to Cashman that he's still got a lot to learn.
      • Kevin S
        Kevin S 3 months ago
        Yankees have been buying series titles for years. So the Bombers are on the hook for 20 mil. Big deal. Stop whining.
    • "Rich"
      "Rich"  •  3 months ago
      No big deal. This is MLB where the big teams can just write off a bad contract and then dole out another one. No penalty for this signing really. Wish the rest of the teams could do that.
    • Bergie
      Bergie  •  3 months ago
      It would appear that the only thing he will contribute in Pittsburgh is boosting local bakery sales.
      • Malan
        Malan 3 months ago
        His cream bill should be more affordable.
      • Frank
        Frank 3 months ago
        The pirates have to win a game first.
    • jack
      jack  •  Greater Sudbury, Canada  •  3 months ago
      As far as the money part goes dont blame A.J. Blame those dumb owners.
    • JeffB
      JeffB  •  Oakland, California  •  3 months ago
      "Was AJ worth what the Yankees paid...?"

      In Yankee money, the answer is yes. Many teams trade away their best prospects at the deadline for the chance to even REACH the post-season, let alone win a World Series.

      Also, if the price of a decent starter is about 12 mil per year, then the Yankees didn't waste nearly 70 million, but they paid about twice what they should have. So really, the question becomes "would you add $36 million on top of your payroll (broken down over three years) to win the World Series?" I think the answer for every team (Ok maybe not Frank McCourt's Dodgers) would be yes.
    • Heywood Jablome
      Heywood Jablome  •  Miami Beach, Florida  •  3 months ago
      AJ is laughing all the way to the bank at Cashman's expense. Burnett has had only one good year in 10 years and thankfully for him, it was his opt out year with Toronto. There was only one man on the planet stupid enough to believe that Burnett was worth $16 million per year and that is #$%$ who mascarades as the Yankes GM. Nice pick up Brian.
    • sl33py
      sl33py  •  3 months ago
      Not that it matters but did anyone bother to check if the prospects the Yankees got for AJ have 2 arms and 2 legs?
    • michael
      michael  •  Oneonta, New York  •  3 months ago
      But as the man said ,he was fun to have around. As a Cardinal fan of 40 plus years,3 years ago I was hoping he'd go to ST.L-------I'd still take a shot at him if the Cards got the same deal as Pittsburg.April I'm going to Pitt to watch the cards play----hopeing AJ pitchs.I always thought he'd win a CY award before he retires and he may in the National League
    • Who's Ur Daddy
      Who's Ur Daddy  •  Albany, New York  •  3 months ago
      Wild Thing....
    • Master Pain
      Master Pain  •  New York, New York  •  3 months ago
      Williamsburg hipsters.... trade them to Pittsburgh with Burnett
    • MaineBowhunter
      MaineBowhunter  •  Wells, Maine  •  3 months ago
      As a lifelong Yanks fans, I'm glad that AJ Burnett/Carl Pavano are gone. A couple of drags on the organization. Good luck elsewhere, fellas. Go Pineda, and go Yankees!
     Post a comment

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