River Avenue Blues

River Ave. Blues » A.J. Burnett » Page 27

When does too much become too much?

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After Joe e-mailed me the news of the A.J. Burnett signing, I forwarded the confirmation along to my dad, and he and I had a brief e-mail exchange about it.

Dad: Well, it’s hard to know what to say. Don’t you see the sickness of the system?
Me: Yes I do. I hope the Yanks ask for some more tax-free stadium bonds too.
Dad: They don’t make it easy to be a pure fan.

Now, of course, that exchange is dominating by a bit of hyperbole. The Yankees are in reality spending money they have coming off the books, and the stadium construction, which somehow allows them to deduct from their revenue-sharing payments, is actually helping them afford these free agents. (In a poorly-constructed screed, FoxSports.com’s Mark Kriegel attempts to explain the Yanks’ economic position here.)

But my dad isn’t the only one unamused with and rather skeptical of the Yankees right now. Cliff Corcoran at the Banter utterly hates this deal (and later explained why.) Jay Jaffe isn’t a fan of this signing either. Even the Marlins’ team president David Samson had some choice words for the Yanks.

I’ll admit it. It’s hard to root for a team that’s simply trying to overwhelm everyone else by throwing money at a baseball problem, and if the Yanks do indeed sign a Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixeira or Adam Dunn to shore up the offense, this will truly be a team of highly-paid (and some may say overly-paid) mercenaries set to debut a ballpark that was built more as a major of revenue than as a true necessity.

But as my dad and I were later saying on the phone to each other, the Yanks aren’t doing anything against the rules. They’re overpaying for the best free agents because they can and because the system allows them to. So they’re willing to spend nearly $250 million on pitchers in a time of a deep recession. So they’re willing to jack up their payroll to astronomical heights. Baseball allows it; what should stop them?

Of course, I’ll root for the Yanks with way more emotion than any rational person would. I’ll continue to take it personally when they lose and continue to be more frustrated with their opponents than the players are. That’s just the nature of fandom. But at the same time, I can’t help but think that a system where the Yanks can toss money at problems may not be the best for the game and may very well be broken. I’m just glad I’m not the person in charge of fixing it.

Waiting for Godot

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A.J. Burnett is currently holding what has widely been reported as two five-year offers. The one from the Braves appears to be a few million dollars less than the one from the Yanks, and according to Jon Heyman, a decision is coming soon. Both Peter Abraham and Hal Steinbrenner feel that Burnett will wind up in the Bronx. We’ll have the news when it breaks, but I can’t say right now I’m thrilled about five years of A.J. Burnett.

Lunch time rumors: Teixeira, Burnett and Lowe

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Mike’s about to start his Rule V live-blog, but let’s sum up some Yankee rumors. The mill never stops around here.

Heyman: Yanks ready to go $80M and five for A.J.

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I don’t much like it, but that’s what Heyman says and that’s what ESPN says. Five years is a lot for a pitcher who will be 32 on Opening Day and has a history of injury. But the Yanks have money and needs. I’d rather see Sheets fill that high-potential, oft-injured slot, and at least with Ben, the Yanks would gain some roster flexibility that a five-year deal for A.J. does not afford them. A decision on this one may come sooner rather than later from Burnett.

Heyman: Yanks all in for top three pitchers

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Taking the old maxim that you can never have too much pitching, the Yankees, according to Jon Heyman, are making a play for all three top free agent hurlers. While we await word from the third meeting between CC and the Yanks, Heyman reports that the Yanks are willing to top the Braves’ four-year, $60-million offer for A.J. Burnett by adding more dollars and either a guaranteed fifth year or a vesting option. Heyman also feels the Yanks have “a good chance” at landing Derek Lowe as they are willing to go at least four years at $64 million. That’s a lotta pitching.

Update 12:19 a.m.: For those of you bemoaning Derek Lowe, Tyler Kepner has word of a different pitcher. The Times writer says that the Yanks are closing in on Ben Sheets. He doesn’t confirm or deny the Derek Lowe report, for what that’s worth.

Update 12:52 a.m.: One last update via the same Graziano piece from earlier. The NJ.com reporter says the Yanks may have floated the idea of an opt-out to Sabathia in case he truly doesn’t like New York. It’s an interesting idea, but after A-Rod burned them last year, I highly doubt the Yanks would go that route again. This may just be a sign of good faith on the part Cashman and Co.