Sabathia/Burnett Press Conference Liveblog
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So today’s the day: the Yanks will be introducing their two new prize pitchers at a 1pm press conference at the Old Yankee Stadium. Supposedly you can watch it on YES, but their TV schedule doesn’t agree. You will, however, be able to follow along on MLB.TV or ESPN/ESPNEWS. If you can’t get near a TV (stupid work), then follow along here, I’ll be liveblogging the whole schabang.
Now that the signings are official, I’ve updated the 2009 Draft Order Tracker. The Yanks surrender their first rounder to the Brewers and their second rounder to the Jays. Remember, they can’t lose the comp picks for Gerrit Cole and Scott Bittle, so their top pick is #29 overall, followed by #76 overall. There’s no possibility of that changing; that’s when they’ll pick come June no matter who else they sign. As it stands right now, the Brewers have three of the top 36 picks with the potential to add two more if Ben Sheets signs elsewhere.
So stick around for the next … I dunno, half-hour to an hour and follow along as CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett are thrown to the media wolves welcomed to New York.
i cant believe the yankees are kissing ass
That’s the entire point of these press conferences. The team says how great the player is, the player says how much they love coming to the team.
but these are the yankees youre talking they shouldnt bow down
Hmm. How old are you? PR is PR, no matter who you are: the Yankees, the Pope…
So they should just completely bash their free agent signings?
no i understand they have to do it but not that much
im probably saying it because i dont like the burnett signning
Yeah, too bad they didn’t get Peavy instead.
65Hughes- You also had nothing but negatives to say about CC taking too long to sign. Grow up kid
first off when did ever mention i didnt want the yanks to sign him find i comment were i posted something like that before you cant talk shit to me
Yeah ese, don’t you know he’s loco?
At the least we can look forward to 5 years of AJ’s wife.
Haha
Hell yeah man. That girl is HOT
pavano’s wife was a hotttie too
Gotta admit, they both looked pretty comfortable and seem to have personalities.
I concur on Burnett’s wife…..
Burnett needs to take a public speaking class
aj signning is already looking bad
What, because he doesn’t speak well?
yes indeed
That makes no sense to me. They aren’t paying him to speak.
it just the start of it
peavy speaks good english and hes better than burnett what are u waiting for cashman
Don’t encourage him!
it seems you guys cant stop sending those peavy bombs
It is the cross you must bear.
Among the dumbest comments ever on RAB.
I know a lot of these press conferences are BS and for show, but honestly, I am very happy to see these guys in pinstripes. I’m pretty damn excited about what could be.
i feel the same way, randy. i wasn’t the biggest burnett fan, but i have faith in both of these guys.
CC said all the right things without spewing the “Ive always dreamed about playing for the Yankees” BS.
He is going do very well with the media here.
You know what’s going to help him deal with the media the most? Winning.
i loved the comment about selling his marlin’s ring if the Yanks win a WS…classic stuff
that was awesome.
What does “AJ” actually stand for? Anyone know?
Wikipedia is your friend: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.J._Burnett
It’s “Allan James.”
Ah, gracias.
Why waste time on Wiki when I’ve got you guys?
Laaaazzzzyyy
i conrcur lol. this is usually my approach to stats. someone like tjsc will post them below me and sometimes im right, sometimes im wrong
jsbrendog, career Stat-Lookup Average and IsoAutonomy+ (park adjusted):
2001- .056/65+
2002- .014/32+
2003- .000/00+
2004- .276/78+
2005- .195/12+
2006- injured
2007- .000/00+
2008- .074/27+
That’s bad, my friend. Varitekian.
BEST. POST. EVER.
yeah, 2006 was a rough year. how was i supposed to know the george foreman grill was still on? i felt like jeff kent washing his truck
ps your ass is mine in fantasy football this week. also no homo
I am gonna straight up MURDER YOUR ASS!!!
I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!!
i think it’s a very smart move that CC made it clear that what he did in Milwaukee will be very hard to replicate.
Also, just to ease some of you who raised an eyebrow at both CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett mentioning Joba Chamberlain in the same breath as Mariano Rivera, Sabathia mentioned both Burnett and Chamberlain in the same breath when being interviewed by Bob Lorenz and Michael Kay.
yea i’m pretty sure cc was just listing the people he was happy to have on the team like Mo joba jeter etc. I dont think they made an implicit joba in the bullpen reference.
in other words I agree with you.
Yep no need to be worried bout Joba going to the pen
aj and cc are b-jobbers!
I thought that was interesting that he mentioned Joba at all, when it was Wang that outdueled him earlier in the year and on one mentioned Wang once.
Made me wonder if they were prepped by the Yanks to mention Joba? Doubtful, but possible, from a marketing perspective.
I am pumped for CC. It seems like he’ll fit right in.
I didn’t know Burnett had that thick an accent.
He’s from Arkansas, what’d you expect?
Allan James
4 minutes too slow
yeah
OMG HE SAID DEVIL RAYSSSS!
Lol, I still call them that.
“OMG HE SAID DEVIL RAYSSSS!”
LOL..I thought the same thing!
Michael Kay is hilarious to watch
BRO-BOT… I AM A BRO-BOT…
hahahaha burnett was a riot. talking to the reporter about not needing to go into his long injury history…admitting that the money was obviously a moderate factor…and his despisal of his marlins WS ring.
he’ll give it to ya straight
Yeah, the reporter was saying “I think it’s 7 times on the DL,” and AJ cut him off “you don’t need to say how many times.”
Why you gotta bring up ol’ shit?
Yankees List:
CC—check
AJ—-check
Teix–up next
Sucks, I’m stuck at work and can’t watch any of the press conference. Does anyone know if a full broadcast is going to be available on mlb.com, espn.com, youtube, etc? I’d think it would be.
It was shown live on mlb.tv
What? Mike’s liveblog wasn’t good enough for you?
I don’t think I’m going to liveblog another PC. I can’t type that fast.
Ryan, Im pretty sure it will be on Yankees.com
Gotta love Cashman’s answer when Kim Jones asked if he was going after the next big fish or taking a break.
“When the other 29 teams take a break, then we might take one”
If you use the “Reply to this comment” button in the lower-right corner of the comment box, it really makes the various thread convos easier to follow. Just a tip.
I caught it anyway. Thanks Yankeegirl.
Wow MLBTR just put up the free agents of 2010 and there are a redic amount of good pitching talent. Maybe we shoulda waited one more year and not signed AJ
Free Agent Starters 2010:
Brandon Webb,John Lackey, Rich Harden, Becket, Hudson
Beckett and Webb have cheap options that will be picked up. Hudson is out most of next year with TJ.
webb’s very good, lackey…ehhh yeah he is good too. harden, meeeeh ok. becket, yeah, hudson no……i dunno, i dont necessarily see any of them that would on the otuset mean we should wait for them instead of burnett except maybe webb but even so he des that in the nlwest
lackey is eh? I’d say quite a bit better than eh.
I’d also say Lackey’s probably an 80% chance of being extended and never hitting the market.
Check out the outfielders… Pending further moves prior to the ‘09-’10 offseason, the Yankees might be in the market for outfielders. Bay, Holliday, Crawford (club option for ‘10, possible FA)… Might be some pretty nice pieces out there for the taking.
it will be interseting if the rays pick up the option. he is a cronerstone of the team, but that is a lot of money for him especailly coming off a down year. unleess he is aweful, at the very least i see them picking up the option and attemtinjg to trade him
beckett and harden haave team options at below market value…harden and hudson are major injury issues – especially harden who is hurt more than burnett. hudson seems to have lost a step in atlanta as well
Where can I watch this since I missed it?
New Yankee additions (and numbers):
CC Sabathia – 52 – Mainly worn by coaches, currently by Dave Eiland. Luis Vizcaino, Jose Contreras, and (GASP!) Ed Yarnall are the three most recent to wear it. It’s a number with basically no name attached to it… may CC don it with pride and make it his for 7 years.
A.J. Burnett – 34 – Clete Boyer for a few years, Dick Howser and Mel Stottlemeyer for a decade each, and most recently, Damaso Marte and Phil Hughes. I imagine Marte will give it up; 34’s been A.J.’s both in Florida and Toronto.
Nick Swisher – 30/33 – 30 belonged to first Mel Stottlemyre and then Willie Randolph from 1964 through 1988… and then to Willie the coach for another decade from 94-04. Since then, Matt Smith, Cory Lidle, Scott Patterson, and now David Robertson. 33 is Bill Dickey as a coach, followed by brief spurts of all sorts of players (Ken Griffey Sr, Eric Plunk, Melido Perez, Charlie Hayes, David Wells, Javy Vazquez, Jaret Wright) and now Brian Bruney. Tough to say what he’d do, as both numbers are currently taken…
Mark Teixeira – 23/24/25 – He seems to be adding a number at each stop, so perhaps he’d want #26? 26 is El Duque, followed by the smorgasbord of backup catchers (Sal Fasano, Wil Nieves, and now Jose Molina). He could ask for 25, now that the Giambino’s gone… 24 is taken (Cano), 23 is out of the question as DBHOF would hunt him down and kill him like the dog he is… 27 is Dear Leader Girardi, 28 is the Melkman… I say 26.
Manny Ramirez – 24/99 – As mentioned, 24 is taken by Cano… but wouldn’t it just be AWESOME to see Manny in a pinstriped #99? Purists would roll over in their graves… which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Murray Chass as well.
Mike Cameron – 25/44 – 44’s obviously retired for Action Jackson, so it looks like 25 from Giambi is the most logical fit. He’s a short-term hired gun, Giambi was a long term hired gun. He used PED’s, Giambi used PED’s. He has a giant cranium, Giambi had a giant cranium. It works on so many levels.
wow, forgot about cory lidle. poor guy
anyone else find it a little obnoxious that they asked CC why it “took so long” to sign?
Is there any place where I can watch the PC because I wasn’t able to watch it.
New poster here on the blog. I have a question for you fellas, who seem to know a great deal about Yankees baseball: Do think the Yankees plug Burnett into the number 2, or does Wang get that spot considering he’s been the Yankees ace , aside from last year obviously? I ask because I feel like Wang is a bit of a forgotten man in this mix, and also feel he deserves to be the number 2 guy until he proves he doesn’t deserve it, on the field. I don’t think a demotion would effect Wang negatively in any way, but being the #3 could ease Burnett’s transistion here even more, since it’s obvious he didn’t want to be the #1 in Atlanta. Anyway, thoughts?
are you asking what order the pitchers will pitch in?
the Yankees “#2 starter” will be the non-Sabathia pitcher who pitches the best.
until the playoffs, the order they are actually lined up in doesn’t really mean anything.
I’d go:
1) CC
2) Wang
3) Burnett
4) Pettitte
5) Joba
Break up the lefties, put the sinkerballing Wang between the power pitching CC and Burnett to give opposing teams a different look, and keep Joba in the 5 hole so we can skip his turn in the rotation frequently during April and May. CC’s the ace so he gets opening day, but I like giving Wang the ceremonial honor of being the #2 (not that it really matters).
While I still want one of the Manny/Tex/Dunn troika, I also want to bring back Pettitte. He’ll eventually bite on the 10M… he’s just coming around to it.
Joba, Hughes, and IPK still have innings restrictions (although Hughes and IPK are further along), and there’s a chance that when we make the playoffs, all three of them may have been shut down. I want more options to be our 4th starter for the postseason other than just Aceves, Coke, and Hungry Hungry Humberto if all of the Triumvirate are shut down come October.
For what it’s worth, Yankees.com depth chart currently has CC 1, AJ 2, Wang 3
makes sense to have a sinker baller after a high K guy following sabathia – it can be adventageous to misx up pitching styles to keep other clubs off base.
obviously not a a good reference for comparison but the sox alwasy seemed to have wakefiled lined up in between 2 power guys
Another thing that hasn’t been discussed that much is that the 2010 class of free agent pitching is pretty shallow.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....the-2.html
I know that people say the Yanks overpaid this year, but if they didn’t sign the guys this year, the plan failed, and they were left with next year, we could be facing another Wright/Pavano-esque era in Yankee pitching. It’s like buying a house. Would you rather buy the house of your dreams (or pretty close to it) for what constitutes above/over market year or would you rather wait a year, pass on the good house, and hope that you can find a comparable house next year for a better price? I don’t know about everyone else, but I’d rather get the house that I watned, isntead of waiting around for next year, even if it costs a little more.
holliday for left field 2010…. screw manny
Holliday for right field 2010… AND Manny.
Good feeling on burnett even with all the risks I think he’ll suprise everyone with his sucess.