Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Lots To Report!

Its been a while since we've last updated, but there was a reason for that. My brother and I were hanging out in the RJG head quarters when we got a frantic phone call from Brian Cashman telling us that Roger Clemens was on his way to our office with a shotgun because he found out that we had leaked his performance drug use to the public. We quickly ran into our safe room, and locked the doors behind us, turning on the video camera's to scout the area. As we did, we did not see Clemens, but we did see Brian Cashman walking over to an extension cord that extended from our headquarters into his apartment where we've been stealing his electricity to power our offices for the last couple years. He then unplugged it. We sat locked in the safe room in darkness, and it was about then that we realized that we hadn't leaked the Clemens PED use to the public, it was Brian McNamee. Ironically enough, Brian McNamee was the only one who responded to our SOS plea's as he is an amateur morse code enthusiast. So are we, which meant that for the first few days we were sending out morse code to the beat of Party Rock, which no one responded to. Luckily, the safe room does have flash lights and Guinness, which meant it wasn't waisted time. But now that we're out, here's what has occured in our absence:

Mariano Rivera has said that he will retire after this year. What this means is that a lot of focus will be placed on Dave Robertson and Rafael Soriano. Robertson is a better pitcher, but Soriano makes closer money so that will be a tough call for the Yankees. In the meantime, I'll be praying for a change in heart, and that Mariano Rivera will return to be our closer forever.

AJ Burnett has been traded to the Pirates freeing up $13 million off the Yankees payroll, which they then turned around into two contracts for Raul Ibanez ($1.1 million) and Eric Chavez ($900,000). Incentives could bring those deals higher, but the truth is, the age of throwing money at all our problems may actually be over. To think that the Yankees had enough restraint to free up $13 million before committing $2 million to two players is bizarre. I don't like it. It makes me want to buy something expensive on my credit card just to set it on fire. Burnett had his good moments in pinstripes, but he also had bad ones, and the bad were the most memorable. But he was an integral piece in that 2009 championship run, so we can't be too disappointed in how that deal turned out. It wasn't a good deal when they made it, and time just proved that to be true. Kind of like the A-Rod deal.

Lastly, and most importantly, spring training has officially begun! There isn't too much to figure out this spring training. We have 6 starters for 5 jobs, so that will have to get worked out, and you always hope that some prospect will knock the screws off the balls, revealing that one of our pitchers has been putting screws in the baseballs, and starting a new controversy. Mostly, I'm just interested to see how Pineda, Nova and Hughes do this year, and how well Kuroda will adjust to the American League East. Time will tell! Baseball is here!

5 comments:

Rich Mahogany said...

I'd say Burnett's most memorable Yankee moment was game 2 of the 2009 WS, which was a gem. Of course, he then pitched a total dud in game 5.

I remember the biggest concern about Burnett was that he would get hurt, but he was consistently durable. I don't think anyone predicted that he would give us lots of innings, but many of them would be below average. The bottom line is that he was never really that good.

I'm surprised the Pirates took him on. What do they have to gain from paying Burnett $13 million? At best he will be a slightly above average pitcher for them, which might get them out of last place.

Anonymous said...

Baseball is here! :)

Fernando Alejandro said...

I think its a low risk move for the Pirates. They're paying $6.5 million per season for a starter with a lot of big league experience, and who has proven durable over the past few years. Assuming a performance bump from pitching in the NL Central as opposed to the AL east, and the Pirates have a inning eater, who could potentially pitch decently, who is a veteran in a mostly amateur clubhouse, who costs them $6.5 million per season. And on top of that, they only had to give up some nominal prospects for him. I think its a decent deal on their end, but ultimately, how he does this season will show whether it was a steal for them, or just a low risk dud.

Rich Mahogany said...

That's a reasonable assessment, but I wouldn't put any value on Burnett being a veteran. Do you really want your young players learning how to pitch from AJ Burnett?

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

He may not have a lot of pitching knowledge to impart, but I'm sure he can tell them the best places to get tattoos . . . and cocaine.