And here we...GO. Alfredo Simon time. Let's DO IT! Early start today at 1:35.
If the Yankees grossly overpaid for anyone this offseason, it's A.J. Burnett, the nerdlinger we're matched up with today. The O's had a chance to acquire Burnett in 2005 during the "will they / won't they" period of buying at the deadline that petered out and turned into half an awful season of Eric Byrnes and nothing more. I was on the side for getting Burnett, and I still stand by that. Lots of folks didn't want to do it because Mike Lowell came with the deal, and he was having an awful year. Lowell since then has been quite fine and just last season started getting achy breaky. But it doesn't really matter now.
We would've given up Hayden Penn.
But it doesn't really matter now. The Marlins have Penn anyway, Burnett went to the Blue Jays, Lowell won a World Series in Boston, and now A.J. is a stuff-stuffed, injury-prone, overpaid, 32-year old Yankee. And yes I feel totally comfortable calling him overpaid. If he makes 25 starts they'll be lucky. I'm callin' it, yo. I got the fever. We're going 158-4.
(Please do not make a "cowbell" joke just because I said "fever." That is not the only prescription.)
Tim Smith at the Daily News had this gem: "[Burnett had] better be throwing lightning bolts or the Yankees will be looking foolish before they get back to their new billion dollar palace in the Bronx next week."
It is only with comments like that one when someone on the outside looking in can and even should truly try to appreciate what a complete circus playing for the New York Yankees really is with sportswriters like that infesting the populace. It's TWO GAMES, you guys. Two games. Maybe don't call off the season just yet.
Or hell, do, I don't care.
Note: The MLB Network ads running right now that include the phrase "All the Science" humor me. This from a network that has Harold Reynolds on TV going, "Man, statistics are RIDICULOUS," and then pretty much the entire panel completely agrees. John Hart is on there talking utter nonsense and gibberish every night. They have, like, none of the science.