AJ Burnett...

[HondaCop]

So what does AJ Burnett do on his first start with the Pirates? Throws 7 shutout innings, striking out 7 and allowing only 3 hits. LOL Good for him, I really liked AJ.

[djhitman01]

I still cant stand him, the yankees should get a restraining order on him......dont come anywhere near the ballclub.....lol

[35Knucklecurve]

I liked AJ too, even though he was his own worst enemy. I hope he can make it in the NL, on a team where the pressure to win isn't nearly as high as NY.

BTW - has the pie-in-the-face been passed along to anybody? I can see Swish doing it.

[Black Sabbathia]

I hope AJ has a CY caliber season, just know it wasn't going to happen in pinstripes

[TierReservedCreature]

Good for him. I hope he has a 20 win season.

[snapple]

I hope AJ has a CY caliber season, just know it wasn't going to happen in pinstripes

Agreed

[d32123]

I honestly like the guy and he actually tried during his time over here. It's not his fault that he was signed to such a dumb deal with such high expectations attached.

[ThePinStripes]

why is this surprising to anyone? It's not like he never had the stuff to shut teams down. He did so fairly often. It's just that he didn't more often and when he didn't, man was it ugly.

[conkermaniac]

I caught the highlights of the game and it looked like he was throwing 93-94. I remember him throwing 91-92 in his last year with us....

[NY Dude]

I guess he joins the long list of ex-yankees who suddenly enter a renaissance after leaving the yankees now.

It really doesn't surprise me though. It seems like every expensive free agent pitcher we sign these days ends up sucking for us.

[rajah]

I honestly like the guy and he actually tried during his time over here. It's not his fault that he was signed to such a dumb deal with such high expectations attached.

High expectations are not an excuse for low performance.

As for the "dumb deal", I was not for the deal myself when it was mde, but the Yankees needed pitching and probably would not have won in 2009 without paying AJ what was necessary to sign him.

[BxBomber44]

AJ pitched (well) in the single biggest game in all of 2009. Game 2 of the WS after CC lost game 1. To me - that was worth every penny.

[False1]

I honestly like the guy and he actually tried during his time over here. It's not his fault that he was signed to such a dumb deal with such high expectations attached.

It wasn't? Did it get signed by someone else, without his permission? If someone offers me a job today at better than market rates and I end up sucking at it, do I get a pass because hey, it's not my fault that my employer didn't get what they thought they were paying for?

Not so much in this thread, but in another thread where this came up it seemed like there was a fair degree of revisionist history taking place. I mean, I doubt he tried to suck, he kept himself in shape, he took the ball when offered to him, seems like a decent guy and all, and yes he did come up big in a few critical spots... but on the balance he was terrible. He also had some traits I wasn't a personal fan of... showing up Girardi on the mound several times, not being willing to work with Posada, puching a plexiglass window with his pitching hand... You want a guy to be competitive, but those things to me along with his general suckage didn't and still don't make him a very likeable Yankee for me.

Not wishing him ill will or anything, just don't get the outpour of love for the guy when you look at the big picture. Was it the pies?

[JL25and3]

It wasn't? Did it get signed by someone else, without his permission? If someone offers me a job today at better than market rates and I end up sucking at it, do I get a pass because hey, it's not my fault that my employer didn't get what they thought they were paying for?

Not so much in this thread, but in another thread where this came up it seemed like there was a fair degree of revisionist history taking place. I mean, I doubt he tried to suck, he kept himself in shape, he took the ball when offered to him, seems like a decent guy and all, and yes he did come up big in a few critical spots... but on the balance he was terrible. He also had some traits I wasn't a personal fan of... showing up Girardi on the mound several times, not being willing to work with Posada, puching a plexiglass window with his pitching hand... You want a guy to be competitive, but those things to me along with his general suckage didn't and still don't make him a very likeable Yankee for me.

Not wishing him ill will or anything, just don't get the outpour of love for the guy when you look at the big picture. Was it the pies?

Love? No, but I wish him well. Let him go ahead and win 30 games a year for the Pirates. I'd still be glad he's pitching for them instead of for the Yankees.

[Yanksfanintoronto]

It wasn't? Did it get signed by someone else, without his permission? If someone offers me a job today at better than market rates and I end up sucking at it, do I get a pass because hey, it's not my fault that my employer didn't get what they thought they were paying for?

Not so much in this thread, but in another thread where this came up it seemed like there was a fair degree of revisionist history taking place. I mean, I doubt he tried to suck, he kept himself in shape, he took the ball when offered to him, seems like a decent guy and all, and yes he did come up big in a few critical spots... but on the balance he was terrible. He also had some traits I wasn't a personal fan of... showing up Girardi on the mound several times, not being willing to work with Posada, puching a plexiglass window with his pitching hand... You want a guy to be competitive, but those things to me along with his general suckage didn't and still don't make him a very likeable Yankee for me.

Not wishing him ill will or anything, just don't get the outpour of love for the guy when you look at the big picture. Was it the pies?

I think a lot of the positivity around AJ has to do with the fact that he won us a crucial game 2 in the WS against Pedro. Also, his discretion on the mound against Girardi, might have been overlooked because of the general disdain a lot of folks have for his Managerial skills. Plus the other positive (if you want to call it that) with his stint in NY was that he was rarely unavailable to take the mound unlike his previous years with the Marlins/BlueJays and after what Yankees fans went through with Pavano, I think that in itself was important.

I am indifferent to AJ....glad to see him go but will not forget his contribution to winning the 2009 WS either.

[NerfBall55]

I think a lot of the positivity around AJ has to do with the fact that he won us a crucial game 2 in the WS against Pedro.

That's it for me. Nothing much more after that.

[False1]

I think a lot of the positivity around AJ has to do with the fact that he won us a crucial game 2 in the WS against Pedro.

I get this to a degree, because that was such an important game against a guy Yankee fans love to hate. But people forget that he got absolutely smoked in game 5 of that same WS, leaving with no outs recorded in the third, men on 1st and 3rd and it took some solid relief by Robertson to keep the damage at 6 runs going into the next frame. We ended up losing that game 8-6 due primarily to his start, and we also had to tax the bullpen for 6IP of relief which could have had a downstream impact. I think Burnett pitched better in the playoffs in '10 than his line looked (Girardi should have gone to the pen earlier), and same goes for '11. But still...

It's cool that people feel otherwise, but really for me he was one of the more frustrating players to root for in a while (in spite of a few bright spots) given his absolutely miserable last two seasons and some of those traits I mentioned in my prior post.

[2JAY]

What frustrates me the most about AJ was his talent as he had all the "stuff" to be a solid starter. Yet with the Yankees it was his inconsitency that seemed to dominate and it is only fitting in his first start away from the Bronx that he pitches a strong game.

[CalYankeeFan]

I liked AJ too, even though he was his own worst enemy. I hope he can make it in the NL, on a team where the pressure to win isn't nearly as high as NY.

BTW - has the pie-in-the-face been passed along to anybody? I can see Swish doing it.

What about the pressure to finish .500?

[effdamets]

While in NY, AJ stood up and took responsibility. I don't remember him making excuses for poor performances.
That's why I wish him well.

[b0mber]

I liked AJ too, even though he was his own worst enemy. I hope he can make it in the NL, on a team where the pressure to win isn't nearly as high as NY.

BTW - has the pie-in-the-face been passed along to anybody? I can see Swish doing it.

I was wondering this myself. We havn't had an opportunity to find out yet, but i wonder if some of the guys voted on a new "pie-guy". As for AJ i'm very happy for him, you can definitely say he was a huge piece of our '09 squad and was a big reason we got a ring. Wish him the best of luck, he's a great athlete, but some people just can't handle ny.

[Black Sabbathia]

While in NY, AJ stood up and took responsibility. I don't remember him making excuses for poor performances.
That's why I wish him well.

That, staying healthy while he was here, always wanting the ball, and being a good fit in the clubhouse have me rooting for the guy. I rooted for him through his dodgy performance with the Yankees, why stop now?

And he left us with some great memories, 2009 playoffs obviously, and last year's emergency start against Detroit. I'll always have a soft spot for somebody who contributes to a championship team.

And let's be honest, against a bar set by guys like Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano, he did ok.

[effdamets]

That, staying healthy while he was here, always wanting the ball, and being a good fit in the clubhouse have me rooting for the guy. I rooted for him through his dodgy performance with the Yankees, why stop now?

And he left us with some great memories, 2009 playoffs obviously, and last year's emergency start against Detroit. I'll always have a soft spot for somebody who contributes to a championship team.

And let's be honest, against a bar set by guys like Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano, he did ok.

Ya know - everytime he took the mound, I thought he was gonna pitch great... And look - I was one that HATED the signing.....

[ober0n98]

That, staying healthy while he was here, always wanting the ball, and being a good fit in the clubhouse have me rooting for the guy. I rooted for him through his dodgy performance with the Yankees, why stop now?

And he left us with some great memories, 2009 playoffs obviously, and last year's emergency start against Detroit. I'll always have a soft spot for somebody who contributes to a championship team.

And let's be honest, against a bar set by guys like Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano, he did ok.

Not gonna lie; i liked the signing. More than anything i was expecting good aj and maybe an injury or two. Instead we got two face but no injuries...no regrets either way, he helped win a championship. Not like we outbid ourselves by 100MM a la arod ~_~

hell, even when he sucked nuts i still held out hope for aj.

[a-RobinsonCano-Fan]

I liked AJ too, even though he was his own worst enemy. I hope he can make it in the NL, on a team where the pressure to win isn't nearly as high as NY.

BTW - has the pie-in-the-face been passed along to anybody? I can see Swish doing it.

Did he pie anybody last year? felt like ages since our last walkoff...