Poor A.J. Burnett. The past few weeks have probably been worse than any of the bad stretches he’s gone through the past two seasons pitching for the Yanks.

We’re now three days out from the first official day of Spring Training and as of now, Burnett is still a Yankee. Although we keep getting reports, via Twitter, that the Yankees are really close to finally getting rid of him. (Their words, not mine.)

There are also reports that Burnett turned down a trade to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Bobby Abreu. The Angels are one of the teams listed in his no trade clause. Not because he doesn’t like them, but because his wife Karen is afraid of flying and Burnett wants to stay East.

For now, the main players in this ongoing saga are still the Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates though there have also been reports of a mystery team entering the fray.

Hopefully a deal gets done within these next couple of days or Sunday morning will be really awkward for everyone – fans included. Having Burnett report to camp and then trading him would be pretty obnoxious and even the most ardent A.J. Burnett haters would agree with me on that.

Hi guys, it’s Stacey.

I was just wondering when the A.J. Burnett deal to the Pittsburgh Pirates was finally going to be finished?

Oh? You want it done by Saturday? Well, yes, I can see why. With pitchers and catchers reporting on Sunday it would make for a pretty awkward day for Burnett if he had to show up to the camp of the team who desperately wants him gone.

Plus, some New York writers have trashed him this week with the hope that Burnett be gone and they wouldn’t have to see him face to face, so it’s probably better for him – and for them – if he were in Bradenton instead of Tampa on Sunday. “Hey A.J. how does it feel to know the Yankees were so close to trading you away?” Yup. Oof. Extremely awkward.

So what’s taking y’all so long to make the transaction?

Ah, right, money and players. You can’t exactly just give Burnett away for nothing. I get that. But you were the ones who were silly enough to sign him to that insane amount of money in the first place when he was a barely over .500 career pitcher. And you know how the saying goes, “you made your bed, lie in it.”

And you still want to sign a DH and don’t have the money for it?

Wow. Really? What is this world coming to? The New York Yankees are suddenly budget conscious? Maybe the world really is ending in later this year.

My advice is get it over with. Just end the misery – for both A.J. Burnett and for the fans. Rip the band-aid off – the faster the better. Jump into the freezing cold water – if you just dip your toe in, you’ll get scared.

It will be okay, I promise.

Your friend, Stacey

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
baseball is almost here
WOOOO HOOOOOO!

Okay, so that was pretty terrible – I’m better at writing angry poems – but you know what isn’t terrible? The reports we’re getting from Tampa about the players who have arrived early to camp.

Thanks to Twitter, we can get real time reports about what’s going on down in Florida?

For instance Eric Boland of Newsday tweeted a few minutes ago about watching Michael Pineda throw a bullpen session. And just as I was writing that sentence, Boland tweeted again that the session was over and that Pineda was running sprints in the outfield.

I love modern technology.

Let’s stay with the Twitter and pitcher news theme shall we? Boland also reported via the Twitter that Joba Chamberlain threw off a half mound today. Chamberlain also said he’d be speaking to Dr. James Andrews later this week to find out if he can increase his workload. Joba seems like a man on a mission which could be a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, it’s nice to see him so determined to come back but on the other hand you don’t want him to risk injury by rushing his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

Phil Hughes, another pitcher who wants to make a comeback of sorts after a not so stellar 2011, has added muscle to his physique.

“I replaced some weight with some muscle,” said the 6-5 Hughes, who said he now weighs 240. “I didn’t lose like 40 pounds or anything, but I feel a lot better, and hopefully it will pay off.”

For Yankee fans hoping they’d be rid of A.J. Burnett as a Valentine’s Day present, well, you may have to wait a few days. It looks like the deal – as sure as it is to happen – may not happen until the weekend at least according to Bob Klapisch. Too bad, so sad for you.

Johnny Damon still doesn’t have a job and according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, it’s because he wants to hit the 3,000 hit milestone. He wants it so badly that he’s losing his good eye at the plate.

Damon’s batting average dropped 10 points from 2010 to 2011, but his on-base average fell a more dramatic 29 points to .326 from .355, his career average entering last year. His walk percentage fell to 7.9 per 100 plate appearances after he had averaged 10.7 over the previous five years, never falling below 10.0.

Hmm, that’s interesting.

And how could I forget? Happy 8th Anniversary of A-Rod Day everyone!

Happy Groundhog Day! It’s Thursday February 2, 2012 and it’s the early so you know what that means. It’s news time!

Brian Cashman stands behind A.J. Burnett. Hey, I wrote about that yesterday! Curt Schilling felt the need to open his big mouth to declare that the Yankees are the favorites in the American League East. Oh and that he thinks the Yankees did an unbelievable job trading for Michael Pineda – Can this guy just go away already? Oh, wait, he won’t go away. It’s almost time for him to be up for the Hall of Fame vote, isn’t it?

We will never be rid of Curt Schilling.

In case you missed it, Joe Pawlikowski of River Avenue Blues wrote a piece featuring the suggestions of RAB readers regarding some future free agent signings the Yankees should make. It’s pretty amusing.

Over at Pinstriped Bible, Steven Goldman reminisces about Shane Spencer and if you missed it yesterday, my girl Rebecca Glass introduces Yankee fans to Jim Hendry, the organization’s newest hire.

Michael Eder of The Yankee Analysts took a look at Michael Pineda’s rookie season and compared his numbers to some big names in the game. Conclusion: His rookie year was – as Larry David would say, pretty, pretty, pretty good.

With all the talk about Mark Teixeira and the shift yesterday, Brien Jackson of It’s About the Money, Stupid wonders if it’s even relevant.

William Juliano from the Captain’s Blog goes in depth on Teixeira’s numbers and wonders if Tex would be sacrificing too much by going the way. He looks at Teixeira’s numbers from the left side and right side.

And finally at Pinstripe Alley, Jedi Master A-Rod, writes about the Curious Case of David Adams. It’s a pretty interesting read about how Adams’ ankle played a specific role in the Yankees’ dealings with Seattle in 2010 and what effect it had in 2012. Considering the fact that David Adams has never set foot onto Yankee Stadium grass makes it even more entertaining.

*Okay, so it’s not exactly ruminating, it’s more like babbling. I can’t help it.*

It’s a late January afternoon and as I sit here listeing to the cars and trucks on the main road just above my house, I am thinking about how much closer we are to baseball season. In fact, we’re just 36 days removed from the Yankees’ first Spring Training game!

This off-season has been a relatively quiet one by Yankee standards. The biggest splash came when the team traded away one of its best known prospects, Jesus Montero for Seattle’s righty phenom Michael Pineda.

They were able to sign free agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and agreed to one-year deals with Brett Gardner, Boone Logan, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Russell Martin.

» Continue reading “In Which I Ruminate About The Yankees On A Winter Afternoon”

Goooood Morning everyone! It’s Thursday January 26, 2012 and here’s what’s going on with your New York Yankees.

The Yankees signed 10-time All Star Andruw Jones to a one-year deal worth $2M. The deal which was agreed to last month and finalized this week, includes performance bonuses. Jones who was signed to be the fourth outfielder last season hit .247 with 13 home runs and 33 RBI with the Yanks. His stats picked up in the second half when he batted .291 overall and .344 off left handed pitching.

Over at the Yankee Analysts, Michael Eder wrote a “controversial” post on why A.J. Burnett should be the fifth starter. He compares some of Burnett’s numbers with another major leaguer to prove his point. That other pitcher? Tim Lincecum.

Mike Axisa of River Avenue Blues answers a question from the Mailbag about the Yankees chances in acquiring Domonic Brown and Jason Heyward.

And in a post close to my heart, Brien Jackson of It’s About the Money, suggests the Yankees should go after someone from the recent past to fill the DH role: Jason Giambi. He thinks it makes sense, well, kind of. I wholeheartedly agree! Bring Big G and the Golden Thong back!

In real estate news, Alex Rodriguez was able to sell his NYC condo for $8M dollars. What a bummer! I would have loved to make that place my own.

Happy Thursday!

After the Yankees made the trade for Michael Pineda and signed Hiroki Kuroda, the question that’s been on everyone’s mind has been “What will they do with high priced, low performing starter A.J. Burnett?”

In three full seasons with the Yankees, Burnett has been just a tad below mediocre record-wise with scant flashes of brilliance and with many abysmal outings under his belt.

Since joining the Yankees, Burnett has amassed a 34-35 record. His best year was in 2009 when he was 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA and helped the Yankees with a big start in Game Two of the World Series. Facing the prospect of heading to Philadelphia in an 0-2 hole, Burnett out pitched Pedro Martinez to knot the series at one game apiece and helping the Yankees to their 27th Championship.

Let’s take a trip down ‘bad’ memory lane, shall we?

» Continue reading “The A.J. Burnett Conundrum”

Well here we are. Again.

As MLB.com so aptly points out for the Yankees fans popping Tums today like peppermint candy at Christmastime, 2011 seems like a repeat of 2006 thus far.

In the ALDS that year, in which the Yankees and Tigers were facing each other, New York won the first game, before dropping two games to force a must-win Game 4 situation.

Recall, the Tigers won that, went on to sweep the A’s in the ALCS, and lost to the Cardinals in five in the World Series.

So, here we are.

The Yankees are behind in the best-of-five series against Detroit, 2-1. Tonight, it’s A.J. Burnett on the mound against RHP Rick Porcello.

They’re on “the brink” as Yankees.com would have you think.

In fact, we’re reminded quickly of the man on the mound for New York tonight, and what he’s done for New York lately.

“Believe it or not, I’ve got pretty good confidence every start,” said Burnett, who’s 1-2 with a 5.67 ERA in six postseason starts. “I try to go out and believe I can throw a no-hitter. Even last year, when I couldn’t get out of the first inning, I still took the mound with belief, and I did so this year.”

Burnett has put up a 5.20 ERA the last two seasons, and in 2011, he set career highs in homers and wild pitches, all while contributing just 10 quality starts in 32 appearances.

But, remember bandwagon fans, there’s Yankees Fans Optimism. Just check out a few Facebook friends and their predictions tonight:

• “A.J. Burnett dominates tonight. You heard it here first.”
• “Everybody needs to stop shitting on Burnett seriously. Not when your season is on the line you fair-weather fans.”
• “Prediction: Burnett pitches well, Yankees win, everyone forgets how bad Burnett was in the regular season.”

Either we’re suckers for a great storyline and late nights watching games with everlasting agita.

Or we don’t know to stop touching the hot stove top.

—–

See also, “Porcello or Jeter: A mother’s dilemma,” LoHud Yankees blog.

Step 1: Sway to this.

Well, hullo bandwagon fans. Hop on in, there’s plenty of room.

Lucky for you we get a bunch of you every year. And not just on the first day of the postseason.

But if you find yourself rifling through www.Section203.com and you’re not exactly sure why Nick Swisher’s saluting to the right field crowd in the Bronx, or if you don’t know the right moments to cringe, or if you need to know when it’s time to go make some popcorn, flip the channel, maybe come back to the game later…

Well, that’s where we come in. Anyone can look up stats. Anyone can read postseason previews and make picks.

But it’s time to look past the numbers, for now. Keep reading, kids, we’ve got some learning to do.

» Continue reading “Welcome to the Bandwagon: New York Yankees”

“I just wanted to come out and give him a headache. I’ve given him headaches all year. Why not give him a good headache?”

A.J. Burnett talking about his manager Joe Girardi after this afternoon’s 6-2 victory over the Red Sox.