[4] It would be perfect for him: absolutely no expectations about contending or even lasting a full season. He'd be a hero if he gave them 6 innings of anything.
The Bucs will likely get AJ (if they want him) for about 2/$10. Look at some other SP contracts for that amount. It doesn't buy you much... and when all is said and done, AJ still has decent stuff. He simply can't function in NY. In Pittsburg, he might easily be an average Pitcher.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, seems in such a hurry to dump A.J. The Yanks see him as superfluous, I guess, but remember: the man gave them 190 innings last year, and the Yanks were 16-16 in his starts. However else you want to characterize it, that has a fair amount of value.
A.J. was never going to be an ace or a #2, whatever the fans might have hoped for. I hope the club gets something immediately useful for him, because he's worth it.
He never stayed healthy until he came to the Yanks. Maybe they figure that won't last. As a number 5 starter he has value. But I suppose they really want Hughes to have that spot.
[8] Plus don't forget, the organization brought him in as a #2, paid him as a #2 and told everyone who would listen he was a #2, and for the first year he was. They probably expected some amount of falling back, but not to this extent.
I think the rel problem is they didn't get what they expected (Cliif Lee) and may have pressed him too much as a major factor in their playoff expectations from there on. The ironic thing is he didn't pitch badly in the playoffs this past season, the bats let him down. The bottom line is the Yanks feel they have too much at stake to count on someone who they have no idea what he's capable of doing in a critical position, and now that they have more consistent options it's best to nip a potential crisis in the bud. He helped get a WS for the Yanks, so he did essentially do what he was brought in to do, but he couldn't maintain his performance at the level that was expected, especially at that price.
If he is traded, I wish him well; he's not a bastard personality you'll be glad to kick off the roster, but at this point he's more of a question mark than either Freddie or Phil. He almost certainly ends up being Pittsburgh's ace if he gets comfortable there.
[10] I'll be happy when if an when they are rid of that shit-stupid contract. Think about it---the last two years the Yankees have been nickel-and-dime-ing around the edges of the roster. They are now looking to trade AJ and eat most of his contract just to have a couple million dollars to sign some DH dreck like Damon or Ibanez. What could they have done had they AJ's whole salary to use toward someone useful.
That said, I actually like AJ as a player. He seems like an OK dude.
[4] He's fine for the Pirates, especially given that the Yankees will end up eating most of his contract just so they have a few million dollars to sign the corpse of Hideki Matsui or whatever. For the Bucs he'll give them 200 innings as a #5 starter, and that's for a team whose best starter last year was Jeff Karstens.
[11] That really puts it in perspective. I guess I would do it all over again for the championship and AJ's contribution. But I do think it's best that he move on now, given this unspoken rule that you can't demote guys who have big contracts without causing a media shitstorm, no matter now warranted.
I have a buddy who's a Pirates fan; on Friday, I thought I'd play a joke on him and sent him a report that the Yanks and Bucs were apart on the money issue but that the Yanks caved on that and were trading AJ + Ramiro Pena and Cervilli to the Bucs for Gerrit Cole, Garrett Jones and Alvarez (and added a quote from the Pittsburgh GM raving about Frankie). His response was that Cole was a minor leaguer and AJ would help him now and that the deal was a good one for the Pirates.
Sigh. My joke backfired -- I wish my friend was their GM! Actually, it's a bummer that Bucs fans basically expect deals like that.
Why are the Yankees even interested in Jones? Surely there's a younger 1B/DH out there that can give you 15-20 dingers and a .320 OBP. I much rather keep AJ. There are less guys like him than there are Joneses.
AJ Burnett for a 'Z', I'll take it any day.
For a lid and some rolling papers.
"I can see clearly now..."
Man.
When I heard that Cashman was trying to deal AJ, my only thought was: "Who the hell would want AJ?"
The Pirates. Of course! How stupid of me.
(3) the pirates inability to compete for so long..just one terrible GM after another. Why on earth would they want AJ??
[4] It would be perfect for him: absolutely no expectations about contending or even lasting a full season. He'd be a hero if he gave them 6 innings of anything.
The Bucs will likely get AJ (if they want him) for about 2/$10. Look at some other SP contracts for that amount. It doesn't buy you much... and when all is said and done, AJ still has decent stuff. He simply can't function in NY. In Pittsburg, he might easily be an average Pitcher.
6) I don't think it has anything to do with New York. He's the same guy, give or take a year in Toronto as he's always been.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, seems in such a hurry to dump A.J. The Yanks see him as superfluous, I guess, but remember: the man gave them 190 innings last year, and the Yanks were 16-16 in his starts. However else you want to characterize it, that has a fair amount of value.
A.J. was never going to be an ace or a #2, whatever the fans might have hoped for. I hope the club gets something immediately useful for him, because he's worth it.
He never stayed healthy until he came to the Yanks. Maybe they figure that won't last. As a number 5 starter he has value. But I suppose they really want Hughes to have that spot.
[8] Plus don't forget, the organization brought him in as a #2, paid him as a #2 and told everyone who would listen he was a #2, and for the first year he was. They probably expected some amount of falling back, but not to this extent.
I think the rel problem is they didn't get what they expected (Cliif Lee) and may have pressed him too much as a major factor in their playoff expectations from there on. The ironic thing is he didn't pitch badly in the playoffs this past season, the bats let him down. The bottom line is the Yanks feel they have too much at stake to count on someone who they have no idea what he's capable of doing in a critical position, and now that they have more consistent options it's best to nip a potential crisis in the bud. He helped get a WS for the Yanks, so he did essentially do what he was brought in to do, but he couldn't maintain his performance at the level that was expected, especially at that price.
If he is traded, I wish him well; he's not a bastard personality you'll be glad to kick off the roster, but at this point he's more of a question mark than either Freddie or Phil. He almost certainly ends up being Pittsburgh's ace if he gets comfortable there.
[10] I'll be happy when if an when they are rid of that shit-stupid contract. Think about it---the last two years the Yankees have been nickel-and-dime-ing around the edges of the roster. They are now looking to trade AJ and eat most of his contract just to have a couple million dollars to sign some DH dreck like Damon or Ibanez. What could they have done had they AJ's whole salary to use toward someone useful.
That said, I actually like AJ as a player. He seems like an OK dude.
[4] He's fine for the Pirates, especially given that the Yankees will end up eating most of his contract just so they have a few million dollars to sign the corpse of Hideki Matsui or whatever. For the Bucs he'll give them 200 innings as a #5 starter, and that's for a team whose best starter last year was Jeff Karstens.
[11] That really puts it in perspective. I guess I would do it all over again for the championship and AJ's contribution. But I do think it's best that he move on now, given this unspoken rule that you can't demote guys who have big contracts without causing a media shitstorm, no matter now warranted.
I have a buddy who's a Pirates fan; on Friday, I thought I'd play a joke on him and sent him a report that the Yanks and Bucs were apart on the money issue but that the Yanks caved on that and were trading AJ + Ramiro Pena and Cervilli to the Bucs for Gerrit Cole, Garrett Jones and Alvarez (and added a quote from the Pittsburgh GM raving about Frankie). His response was that Cole was a minor leaguer and AJ would help him now and that the deal was a good one for the Pirates.
Sigh. My joke backfired -- I wish my friend was their GM! Actually, it's a bummer that Bucs fans basically expect deals like that.
Why are the Yankees even interested in Jones? Surely there's a younger 1B/DH out there that can give you 15-20 dingers and a .320 OBP. I much rather keep AJ. There are less guys like him than there are Joneses.
According to ESPN, Jones is now off the table.
[14] Prett funny story though. But it is sad what's happened to the Pirates. All the cash in the world can't make up for that much mismanagement.