{"id":1325,"date":"2008-12-13T07:55:23","date_gmt":"2008-12-13T11:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.calvertgames.com\/cgblog\/2008\/12\/13\/jilted-braves-are-lucky-to-be-spurned-by-burnett\/"},"modified":"2011-06-25T10:55:18","modified_gmt":"2011-06-25T14:55:18","slug":"jilted-braves-are-lucky-to-be-spurned-by-burnett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.calvertgames.com\/cgblog\/2008\/12\/13\/jilted-braves-are-lucky-to-be-spurned-by-burnett\/","title":{"rendered":"Jilted Braves are lucky to be spurned by Burnett."},"content":{"rendered":"

So A.J. Burnett decided to play closer to home, and opted to sign<\/a> with the Yankees instead of the Braves. Good for the Braves.<\/p>\n

ESPN.com reported the Yankees\u2019 offer to Burnett was worth $82.5 million. The Braves\u2019 offer was believed to be worth $80 million, after the Braves increased an initial four-year, $64 million offer by turning a fifth-year option into a guarantee.<\/p>\n

Burnett, who will be 32 in January, struggled with injuries throughout his career before having his best season for the Blue Jays. He never had more than 12 wins before 2008.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can understand there is a shortage of good arms, but I think it would have been a poor move to give Burnett such a huge contract. It may turn out that Burnett is worth every penny, but I like where a writer from the Boston Herald<\/a> (right, no bias here) takes this one.<\/p>\n

The Yankees have committed five years, with an average annual value (AAV) of $16.5 million to a pitcher who has won more than 12 games exactly once in his major league career. That\u2019s a curiously modest track record for someone with Burnett\u2019s stuff.<\/p>\n

But there are times \u2013 too many times \u2013 when Burnett looks like a classic underachiever. Despite the quality of stuff, he\u2019s a mere 11 games over .500 in his 10-year career. And durability is hardly his calling card, topping 200 innings only three times.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So the premise here is that Burnett has great stuff, is frequently injured, and only pitches big in contract years. Sounds like a perfect fit for the Yankees.<\/p>\n

Now maybe the Braves will focus on trying to shore up the farm, and only signing (or trading for) a value pitcher instead of going after an overvalued big name pitcher.<\/p>\n

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