AJ Burnott

I have one really small thought today. Just something I'd like to say to the Yankee front office..........

DON'T SIGN AJ BURNETT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haven't we learned anything from the past???

Can anybody tell me the last player the Yankees signed to a massive contract because he had a great contract year, but had been prone to injuries before?

Does the name Carl Pavano ring a bell?

Look, I'll admit that Burnett had a great year, and he has had success before, but a player whose statistics in their contract years are so much stronger than every other year, has to cause you concern. And of course, so does his injury history. In his 8 full seasons he has thrown over 200 innings only 3 times. He has won more than 12 games only once (last year), and in 4 of those seasons, started only 25 games or less.

The biggest red flag has to be this fun little list though:
1)April 2004, Placed on 15 day DL (recovering from elbow surgery)
2) June 2004 transferred to 60 Day DL
3) March 2006, Placed on 15 Day DL (Right elbow soreness)
4) April 2006, Placed on 15 Day DL (Right elbow soreness)
5) May 2006, Transferred to 60 Day DL
6) June 2007, Placed on 15 Day DL (Right shoulder pain)
7) July 2007, Placed on 15 Day DL (Sore right shoulder)
8) November 2008 -- Declares free agency after not suffering any injuries in his contract year

See what I'm getting at? I think the Yankees should learn from their mistakes and refrain from signing a pitcher whose pitching arm seems to be made of fine tissue paper.

Go sign Derek Lowe. He's reliable. He's pitched in the big games before. He's a tough competitor and a gamer. He's a sinker baller which will prevent the short-porch home runs that Yankee Stadium is known for (the dimensions in the new ballpark are the same). He also commands less money. It just makes sense.

If the Yankees sign Burnett, I hope I'm wrong. And if you think I am...go ahead and tell me.

Baseball Loyalty

In a previous column I talked about whether or not CC Sabathia signing a huge contract with the Yankees was good for baseball. Most of what I was discussing had to do with the dynamics of the league and how small market teams have to be creative/strategically sound in order to compete with the mega-franchises. Yet, I overlooked a key point -- and I have to give credit to my friend Aaron for bringing this up -- there is very little loyalty left in the game of baseball. With the blockbuster contracts that high profile (and even some low profile) players are signing these days when they hit the free agent market, it is very rare to see a player that stays with the team that brought him up/gave him his first shot.

With this in mind, I went around the league and tried to find players that have shown great loyalty to their team. Here are the criteria: Since at least the 2000 season they have, a) spent their entire career with one team b) were traded early in their career and have remained with the team that traded for them

*I acknowledge that the D-Backs and Rays are only 10 years old and therefore it is difficult to include them in this discussion.


Here are the results:
Arizona Diamondbacks: None

Atlanta Braves: John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, *special mention here for Greg Maddux who spent
the majority of his career with the Braves, and then signed with the Cubs, the
team that originally brought him up when the Braves wanted to move in a
different diretion

Baltimore Orioles: Melvin Mora, Brian Roberts

Boston Red Sox: Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek

Chicago White Sox: Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko

Chicago Cubs: None

Cincinnati Reds: None

Cleveland Indians: Jake Westbrook

Colorado Rockies: Todd Helton

Detroit Tigers: Brandon Inge

Florida Marlins: None

Houston Astros: Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman

Kansas City Royals: None

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Scott Shields

Los Angeles Dodgers: None

Milwaukee Brewers: None

Minnesota Twins: Michael Cuddyer

New York Yankees: Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettite (Though he did
leave for a couple years to play for the Astros, he did come back to the
Yankees, and had played over 10 years for them at the start of his career)

New York Mets: None

Oakland A's: Eric Chavez

Philadelphia Phillies: Jimmy Rollins

Pittsburgh Pirates: Jack Wilson

San Diego Padres: Trevor Hoffman

San Francisco Giants: None

Seattle Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki

St. Louis Cardinals: Albert Pujols

Tampa Bay Rays: None

Texas Rangers: Michael Young

Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells

Washington Nationals: None



So there you go, 29 out of over 750 ball players. There are several pretty big names on here, but not all of them are household names. I don't mean to suggest anything by this, I simply think it is interesting to point out.

A Quick Thought on the NFL Playoffs

I have read several stories in the past few days about how the NY Giants backed into the playoffs this week. To catch everyone up who may not be a Giants fan; the Giants lost on Sunday to the Eagles, but when Dallas lost to Pittsburgh later in the day, it clinched the NFC East title for the Giants. So these articles are saying that because the Giants didn't win their game on Sunday and won the division because another team lost, that they backed into the NFC East title.

Ummm.......EXCUSE ME??!!!

How is this backing into the playoffs?? Did we all just forget the 11-1 start that the Giants had that put them in position to win the division in Week 14 of the season? Or the fact that up until Sunday they hadn't lost to anyone in their division, let alone the entire NFC? They beat the 1st place Arizona Cardinals, the 1st place Steelers, and demolished the likely playoff bound Baltimore Ravens.

Backing into the playoffs is a team that wins its division with a 9-7 record, after it loses its final regular season game, and only goes to the playoffs because the other teams in their division also lost their last games and ended up with worse records.

The Giants just happened to lose this week when they were able to clinch the division early. They put themselves into that position on the shoulders of their 11-1 start. They didn't back in because Dallas lost, they earned their spot by being dominant over the first 13 weeks of the season.

I feel bad for the Cowboys, Panthers, and Vikings who all have to face the Giants in the final 3 games of the season, because as we've seen in the past, the G-Men don't take too kindly to being disrespected like that, and they tend to take it out on whatever team they happen to be facing that week.

And if you disagree....go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.

Hot Stove League

Not every post here is going to be about destructive off-the-field decisions. Hopefully I'll be able to make more posts of this variety, where I can discuss whether a team or a player made a good or bad decision in relation to the game. So here are some thoughts on the recent baseball signings.

CC Sabathia to the Yankees:
The Yanks had to get this one done, and sure enough they got their man. In order to compete with Boston and Tampa Bay right now, the Yanks needed to land that top-of-the-line started that other teams fear going up against. What this also does is that it moves every other pitcher in the rotation down one spot in the pecking order, which means that Chien-Ming Wang will now be the #2 starter. That's one helluva #2 guy, and makes me feel so much better about the Yanks taking on Boston and having to go up against Dice-K as their #2.

Of course the Yankees were able to get Sabathia by throwing an entire-team's-payroll more at him than the next highest bidder. The obvious questions come up here -- is this good for baseball? and is it fair?

1) I always question -- even as a huge Yankee fan -- whether or not it's good for the sport that the Yankees always seem to get the marquee free-agent player because of their enormous payroll. You can really argue the case both ways, but I think it's just fine. When the Yankees had their dynasty in the 90's they weren't going out and signing every major free agent. They started that trend in 2001 and haven't won a world series since. They have grossly overpaid for players, destroyed their farm system, and spent tons of money on good players that they didn't necessarily need. It would seem to me that other teams don't mind it, as long as the Yanks continue to not win championships.

2) Is it fair? You'll always hear fans of smaller market teams like the Royals and Pirates complain that it's not fair that the Yanks spend this ridiculous amount of money. I think this is BS. All you have to do is look at teams like the Twins, who have been consistently competitive for the last decade and have one of the smallest payrolls in baseball. How about the Rays reaching the World Series this year by building a fantastic young ball club through shrewd drafting and trading. They too have one of the smallest payrolls in baseball. In baseball, it's not about the money you spend, it's about making good decisions.

The Yankees spend this much money because they can. It doesn't guarantee them anything, not even a spot in the playoffs. You want to complain if you're a Royals or Pirate fan that it's not fair? Well then maybe you shouldn't be handing out (proportionally) giant contracts to guys like Jose Guillen and Reggie Sanders if you're the Royals, or trading your top three trading chips (Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, Damaso Marte) for next to nothing, if you're the Pirates.

Mets get K-Rod:
Great move by the Mets. This is the kind of contract that just makes sense for both sides. 3 years, $37 million, option for a 4th year based on innings pitched. I really think they are getting a good value on one of the top 3 closers in the game, and by the same token, K-Rod is getting quite a nice payday. The other aspect of this deal that is so smart for both sides is that at the end of this contract, even if they go to that 4th year, K-Rod will only be 30 years old. The Mets get him in his prime and, if they so choose, can move in a new direction at the end of the contract, knowing that they got what they wanted from K-Rod. And from K-Rod's point of view, since he will only be 30 he will be able to get another big payday, knowing that he still has plenty left in the tank.

Great move by both sides. The Mets get exactly what they needed, and K-Rod puts himself in a nice financial position for the rest of his career.

It'll be very interesting to see how the rest of the big chips fall now that some of the biggest names have been taken off the table. You gotta love the baseball off-season. Great moves by both the Mets and Yankees this week, let's see if other teams can be just as shrewd.

And of course, if you disagree...go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.

Pests vs. Parasites: The Sean Avery Story

Pests. They're the guys you love to hate. That really scrappy player that loves to get under the other team's skin. The guy that puts up good numbers even as he's annoying the heck out of the opposition and their fans. He's the 5'6" second baseman that your team can never seem to get out and who always hits in the clutch against your team (I'm looking at you Dustin Pedroia). He's that running back that only gets 10 touches a game, but still manages to put up monster numbers because teams just can't seem to wrap him up -- Leon Washington comes to mind.

No sport values the "pest" more than hockey. It seems that every team needs one. The guy who is constantly buzzing around the ice, hitting everything in sight, drawing penalties by annoying opposing players, and contributing the occasional goal here and there.

Besides that loving hatred though, I bet there is one other thing that each of these players gets from you....respect.

Well there is one hockey player that has all the traits of a pest, but is the epitome of DISRESPECT -- Sean Avery. He's not a pest. He's a parasite.

He is not a player I love to hate. He is a player that disgusts me. His antics in last year's playoffs when he started waving his arms and stick in front of Devils' goalie Martin Brodeur's face were so ridiculous that one of Avery's own teammates on the Rangers yelled at him on the ice to cut it out and get back into the play. This is a man who during a pre-game interview told reporters that he was going to "rip the stitches out" of Islanders' defenseman Radek Martinek's chin -- which he then "attempted" to do during the game. This kind of nursery school behavior has no place in hockey, in sports, or anywhere for that matter.

Several days ago though, the impossible happened...he stooped even lower. Avery transcended the game of hockey and went from being a childish, unsportsmanlike athlete, to being a despicable human being. If you haven't heard about this, Avery (now playing for the Dallas Stars) called some TV cameras over before a game and made this incredibly disgusting and sexist statement, "I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about, but enjoy the game tonight." This was in reference to his ex, actress Elisha Cuthbert, now dating Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames, the team that Avery's Stars were playing that night.

Much has already been chronicled about the human aspect -- the comments were disrespectful, sexist, disgusting, and altogether inappropriate -- so I am not going to be redundant and add to that here. However, I think there is one angle that is being overlooked, and that is Avery's competitive motivation behind this.

Aside from whatever reasons he had for making this comment, I have to believe that he said these things in order to really piss off Dion Phaneuf so that during the game Phaneuf would be distracted with trying to get revenge on Avery. No doubt he was hoping that Phaneuf would take a whack at him with his stick and get a penalty, maybe even get him to retaliate so strongly that he gets kicked out of the game.

How low do you have to stoop to get under another player's skin? Is this what he has to resort to these days? You want to yap at other players while you're on the ice? Fine. You want to give a guy an extra shove after the play is over? Fine. But this? THIS??? Just so you can get your team two minutes of power play time? Never.

Sean Avery is not a pest. He's a parasite, and it is time for the parasite to go away.

And if you disagree...go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.

First Post: Cat Nipped

With all the craziness going on in the sports world right now, I definitely had my options over what to write my first post about: the Plaxico Burress incident, the drug violations and suspensions of several NFL players, the disgustingly sexist and inappropriate comments made by Sean Avery (I'll get to him later), and the unfortunate circumstances involving the BCS and the Big 12 South title. Instead, I decided to write my first post about a topic very near and dear to my heart.

After an excellent regular season, my Northwestern Wildcats sit at an impressive 9-3, ranked #22, 24, and 22 in the BCS, AP, and USA Today polls, respectively. Yet with several days to go before Bowl invitations are sent out, there is a great deal of speculation (almost to a point that it seems like a lock), that the unranked 8-4 Iowa Hawkeyes will be going to a more prestigious bowl than the Cats.

Now, aside from NU being my Alma Mater, as a sports fan I have a some problems with this potential decision:

1) First is the obvious....Northwestern went into Iowa City and beat the Hawks on their home turf 22-17. In my opinion this fact should end the discussion right now. How can their be a better tie breaker -- since, in fairness to the discussion, both teams were 5-3 in the Big Ten -- than head-to head competition?

I have read arguments that we have to discount that game because it was the first Big Ten Conference game of the season. So let me get this straight....we are supposed to penalize NU and give Iowa a pass because of the date that the game was played on? Do the Washington Redskins say to the NFL, "Well you can't really count that first game of the year against the Giants because it was early in the season and we hadn't really hit our stride yet?" NO! Of course not!

And shouldn't this early season excuse apply to both teams? If Iowa hasn't hit its stride yet because it's early in the season, then by that logic, Northwestern hasn't hit its stride yet either. The point is, is that you have to play your games when you are scheduled to play your games, and you have to respect the result.

2) Iowa is reportedly slated to go to the Outback bowl over Northwestern because of the "relative prestige of the programs." So the argument here is that Iowa has a better (football) pedigree than NU, and therefore, because NU is not a well respected program, it will get pushed down in the pecking order, despite the team's on field accomplishments. This creates a vicious cycle -- NU lacks prestige and therefore won't be selected for this bowl, and by not being selected for this bowl NU is denied the opportunity to gain a measure of prestige, and this lack of prestige will prevent them from being selected into a better bowl, which will prevent them from gaining prestige, which will...well you see what I'm getting at.

If teams' on field accomplishments are pushed aside for this euphemism "prestige," it becomes very difficult for teams to change the public's perception of them....which brings me to my final point --

3) It's all about the MONEY!!! According to just about everyone, Iowa has a bigger fan base, Iowa will be a better draw on TV, and Iowa will put more butts in the seats. Plain and simple, it's about money. The bowl selection committee will choose the team that will bring in the dough.

As a sports fan of any kind, this should anger you. This is the worst reason of all to choose one team over another. This reason completely ignores ALL of this year's on field accomplishments and defers to the power of the one thing that college sports should not be about...the Almighty Dollar. Shame on the selection committee if this is ultimately the reason that they choose Iowa over NU.


This post is certainly not to discredit the accomplishments of the Iowa Hawkeyes. They had a great season as well, and knocked off Penn St., which is no small accomplishment. When you get right down to it though, I think NU has earned the right to the better bowl game.

I hope the predictions are wrong. I hope my Cats will get the respect they deserve this year. I hope the committee will make the right choice. And I hope to be watching my Cats on January 1st in Tampa, FL at the Outback Bowl.

And if you disagree....go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.

Welcome Sports Fans

Face it; when it comes to sports we love to complain, second guess, scream at the TV, scream at the ref/umpire, and generally question any and every decision that's made by players, coaches, officials, management, and the sports media.

We can't help it. It's the inherent desire we all have to be in the positions that these people that we are questioning are in. Because we all know that if we were calling the shots....boy would things be different. And regardless of whether we're right or not, the point is is that it makes for great conversation. I know people (myself including) who could, and will, debate for hours over the most minute details, as long as it involves sports. It is just one more way for us to feel involved and connected with the teams we are so passionate about.

I started this blog with the intent of expressing my own personal opinions about, what I feel, are poor decisions made in the world of sports. With that said, I hope that everyone who reads this will leave their own opinions on the subject at hand. That's part of what makes sports and sports talk so exciting. Everyone has their own opinion. So go ahead and tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm an idiot for thinking something, it just makes for better discussion.

Welcome to Sports Blunders and enjoy!