I don’t want to sound like a total Red Sox groupie here. But the Yankees, having signed CC Sabathia, now seem to be on the verge of landing A.J. Burnett as well. And wouldn’t you say both are pretty good bets to be injury-riddled busts?
Burnett’s injury history is well-known. Sabathia pitched 252 innings last year, and 240 the year before. He pitched well down the stretch before fading in his only post-season game, but that there’s a lot of innings.
Sabathia and Burnett could lead the Yankees back to the World Series. Right now, though, I’m not too worried about these signings.
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Suldog
As good as C.C. has been during the past couple of regular seasons, he’s been quite the bust in the playoffs. He doesn’t worry me.Now, the new uniforms, on the other hand…
Aaron Read
If you’re not terrified that the Sox will lose it all and it’s not even spring training yet…then you’re not really a Red Sox fan.Hell, you probably wear one of those goddamned pink hats. :-PI, of course, am sweating bullets.If Teixeira gets snapped up by the Yankees, then I would say the Sox are hosed. After all the trouble the Rays caused, and the thermonuclear damage that a HEALTHY Sabathia, Burnett, Wang, and Chamberlain rotation can do…the AL East just got mighty tough for a team with two Aces and a great closer – but precious little else on the mound – and a questionable offense saddled with four players that can’t hit worth a damn and three more that can’t ever seem to get hot at the same time.
Dan Kennedy
Aaron: I think Teixeira’s coming to Boston At least I hope so!
Mark
I’m not worried about the signings, but it’s because the Yankees did not need pitching this winter, not because of injury worries. They needed to upgrade their offense, which is old and getting older, and dropped more than a run per game last year from 2007.If I see Tiex putting on pinstripes, then I’ll start getting annoyed.
acf
The Yankees want a top of the line team for their new stadium. Last year’s team wasn’t going to do it. With their cash flow, they have what it takes to do what they want.
Mike F
I thought the Sabathia contract was atrocious (the years, not the player), but that Burnett deal is just staggering (though rather fitting given that Carl Pavano’s deal finally came off the books this year.) Looks like Hank Steinbrenner’s calling the shots down there – good news for New York’s sports pages, bad news for Yankees fans. Not to say that I’m unafraid of the Yanks, but this is not how you build a perennial championship contender.
Steve
CC’s a horse. I wouldn’t count on him to break down. AJ is a flake – back when we were considering which Florida pitcher to woo, we picked the right one (Beckett).The Yankees will be the Yankees. It was so sad to see them suck so bad last year, and I’m glad to see them resurgent. 🙂 The Rays ticked me off, though.Let’s concentrate on our own house – who’s the catcher? I say, sign Josh Bard. (He’s still there, right? Mike?) And find some way to keep Varitek here without committing to more than a couple of years. Boras or no, it should be doable.
Mike F
It would be interesting to see what the Sox would do if Varitek demands too much. They bowed to sentiment and caution by bringing back Lowell last year and that’s hurting them now. Thankfully, the market for Varitek seems thin (and I think his bat is good enough to last another year, maybe two.) Whether or not he comes back though, they really need to find someone to split time with him and who can gradually take the job full time. And given their level of interest in Texas’ catchers, they sure don’t seem confident in what they have in the minors.
mike_b1
Bard returned to his level last year (.202 BA/.279 OBP/.549 OPS). I think Kevin Cash + someone else would accomplish the same.For CC, it seemed to me the Yankees were bidding against themselves. I wonder why they didn’t offer him slightly more money per year but for fewer years. Burnett, of course, pitches often (and well) only in walk years.
Don, American
C’mon, the season’s over and you know it, Dan. Sorry.