In a phone interview, Brian Cashman spoke candidly with Kat O’Brien (Newsday) about his off-season haul, discussing CC, Burnett and the rotation, in general. Here’s an interesting bit on Burnett.
“This is a guy that our players wanted desperately,” Cashman said of Burnett. “They felt that this guy was a difference-maker. Guys kept banging on my door [after] we had Sabathia in the fold – Alex [Rodriguez], Johnny [Damon]. It was a full-court press. You wouldn’t believe the calls I got over him. It was very unusual.”
Cashman also spoke about the Burnett–Pavano comparisons, which are highly problematic when you compare both in terms of skill. The disabled list is really the only common thread between the two (that and the Marlins).
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9 Responses to Cashman discusses his 2009 rotation
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TIQ IQ
That would be a poor reason to sign AJ. There are good ones, but saying that the other players wanted him is just not one of them.
He also explains the Burnett signing by saying it’s a very high-risk, high-reward situation. It makes sense, but he probably should have said, “A.J. has turned a corner, he’ll be healthy for us.”
I am setting the Over/Under of # of pitchers that start games for the Yankees this season at 9.5. Over or under?
Under. I’ve got the starting 5, Aceves, Hughes, Kennedy, and either Alan Horne or Kei Igawa making a start.
You forgot Dan Giese and Sidney Ponson. That would make 11. :)
If Sidney touches the field this season I think Cash will be fired.
If he’s not fired, I’ll kill him.
I’m going to bet:
Sabathia 34
Wang 32
Pettitte 33
Burnett 28
Chamberlain 20
Hughes 10
Kennedy 4
Giese 1
That’s pretty optimistic, but there is no reason to believe that anyone on this list will miss any more time than projected other than pure luck. Whomever steps on 3rd base wrong due to luck misses half the season. I’m not prepared to predict any of that yet. As of now, the Yankees for the first time in forever are going into the season with 5 starters who are both highly capable of pitching major league baseball and no major health concerns.
I think Burnett needs to be classified as a health concern. He has broken 200 innings twice, if I remember correctly.