WHY BURNETT CAN BE TRADED FOR DUNN

The Burnett trade rumors are everywhere. It is amazing that so many Yankee blogs are talking about it. People really have had enough of AJ Burnett. I feel sorry for the guy. I know, people tell me, “The guy's a millionaire, don’t feel sorry for him, he can’t do his job.” OK I understand where you're coming from, but I’ve said this since day one, AJ Burnett is not an ace, he's a good pitcher. AJ Burnett has never been an ace. He came to the Bronx with CC Sabathia surrounded by headlines of “1,2, PUNCH” and media hype and we all bought into it. Sure, we won in 2009 and while it showed a good, yet, slightly inconsistent AJ Burnett, we learned to live with it. After 2010 we became annoyed and now, after 2011, we're pissed. Something needs to be done. Well, we did something by getting Michael Pineda, a 22 year old who’s supposed to be better than AJ Burnett, but let’s not forget, Pineda’s got less experience. Plus, we also have Ivan Nova, a question mark if you think about it. Can Nova have the same year he had last year?

We have Phil Hughes who had a “dead arm” situation all last year and we really don’t know what to make of him in 2012. Oh yeah, and we have 37 year old Hiroki Kuroda who may not be able to hack the Bronx because it’s a hitter’s park compared to Dodgers Stadium….and of course Freddy Garcia. Sound solid to you? Yes, behind CC, we have a much better rotation minus AJ Burnett, but that’s if everything positive we see on paper comes to light in the Bronx, then we're unstoppable. All I'm saying is let’s face reality here. AJ may be inconsistent, but at least we know what we’re getting. I’m really not sure what to make of these other guys.

After the Jesus Montero trade, my buddy in Miami sent me a note that read: “I’m still not sold on Pineda.” I get it. We, much like the Mariners have no idea what to expect from our new acquisitions. Sure, they can both have amazing years, or they can both struggle. Or, like I’ve said a ton, Montero may become a superstar and maybe Pineda can't crack the Bronx code and shits the bed. I’m not getting down on my New York Yankees, I’m offering a harsh reality. We need to wait and see. Bottom line...in some regards, I feel like it’s 2011 all over again.

So back to AJ Burnett. While Yankeeland wants him gone, rumor upon rumor suggests trading him for a DH. I guess the thinking is, get your DH, get rid of Burnett, and everyone is happy. There have been names like Billy Butler, and Adam Dunn floated. I definitely don’t see Billy Butler being offered by Kansas City; the Royals should hold onto that guy, but let’s face it, the Royals could use some pitching, and like I’ve stated in WHY NOT TRADE AJ BURNETT FOR BILLY BUTLER?, Burnett could be the Ronald Miller of Kansas City. A leader and mad popular. For anyone one of you that missed my Ronald Miller reference from Can’t Buy Me Love, I am clearly too old and use too many obscure movie pop culture references… I’ll work on that.

Adam Dunn, while interesting, would fix the problem quickly, a crappy contract for a crappy contract and both the White Sox and Yankees get the parts they need but still have the money to deal with. That being said, it’s not a bad solution. The only issue is Adam Dunn has 3 years left on his contract, AJ Burnett has two. If the White Sox and Yankees were to pay the rest of each of their own players contracts for 2012 and 2013 and then split the last year of Dunn's contract in 2014 down the middle, I say... it sounds easy enough. To be specific, the Yankees pay $16,500,000 in 2012 and $16,500,000 in 2o13. The White Sox would pay $14 million in 2012 and $15 million. Then the Chisox and Yankees would split $15 million down the middle of the remaining money of Dunn's contract. Read about that rumor HERE.

There is no doubt in my mind that Brian Cashman will trade AJ Burnett, or hell, I’ve heard Phil Hughes as another suggestion. Now look, I can’t see the Yankees "Golden Boy" going anywhere, but maybe they’re willing to unload Hughes for a DH, we shall see. Cashman said today that he’d looking in trading pitching excess for hitting, that, according to this report HERE. That doesn’t mean he won’t, I believe it means he will, he just needs to find the right combination of pitcher for hitter and get the deal done. Will he? I can’t officially say, but there goes my gut again, I think so. Could someone like Adam Dunn be coming to New York for AJ Burnett? Well, in my trade scenario it's very possible, although, I’m still partial to a Johnny Damon reunion.

Whatever happens though… I support my New York Yankees…I just want to start Spring Training already. How many days again? 28?

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