tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Do You Think We’re Stupid, Cashman!!!

I am not a Michael Kay fan. To me he is a self-promoting, over-hyping annoyance on the Yankee broadcast. But last night I give him some credit. During Kim Jones' early game update, she reported on Brian Cashman's presser where he defended AJ Burnett basically saying that if he wasn't making $82.5 million nobody would be screaming for him to be moved from the rotation. While first qualifying that he respects and likes Brian Cashman, Kay stated that this isn't about the money, this is about the fact that Burnett couldn't get a win after being staked with a 13-1 lead against Chicago and that he is 0 for August since AJ's been a Yankee.

Cashman's vehement defense of his so-called number 2 starter is another example of his arrogance. If The Boss was still around, the little elf who repeled down a building in Connecticut would be under fire right now. Does Brian Cashman think we are all stupid????

Cashman told the reporters that if it wasn't for the money, Burnett would be sought after by a number of teams. Really??? Like who and what would the Yanks get in return??? Some used baseballs and a beat-up ball cap??? He also lectured that Burnett just came off a good start against a playoff contending Angels team only allowing 4 runs over six innings against the Halos. By my math, that equates to a 6.00 ERA. Is that going to get in done in a playoff series in October??? Hardly.

The GM told reporters that they needed to "peel the onion back" and they would see that all this talk about moving Burnett into the bullpen is bull@#%* (his words). So I did look to peel the onion back. What I looked at was how Burnett has done against Detroit, Boston and Los Angeles. Here are the numbers: 23 2/3 innings pitched, 22 hits allowed, 16 earned runs, 9 walks and 20 strikeouts with a 1-3 record. The lone win was on April 2 vs Detroit (10-6). The three losses: May 5th vs Detroit (6-3), June 8th vs Boston (11-6) and August 9th vs LAA (6-4) Burnett's ERA over these 4 games is a whopping 6.10. In the playoffs, a 6.10 ERA typically means a loss and that's when it matters most.

No matter what Cashman says, AJ Burnett can not be trusted down the stretch or in October. Simply put: he's another in a long list of pitching head cases who has taken Yankee money but can't deal with the pressure that comes with being a Yankee. In fact, if you look at Burnett's career the most wins and strikeouts that he had was in his last year as a Blue Jay when he was 18-10 and 231 strikeouts. By the way, that was his walk year. The year where he suckered Cashman, hook , line and sinker.

As I have stated numerous times on this blog, Cashman has lucked out big time. His bargain basement signings of Colon and Garcia has masked the fact that his infatuation with Cliff Lee last year allowed other pitching improvements to go away (Dan Haren). In case anyone didn't notice, Ubaldo Jimenez pitched well against division leading Detroit. In the meantime, Yankee fans are being sold a bill of goods that they have enough to succeed in October. Cashman also made it clear yesterday that he won't be active at all prior to August 31st in bringing in anybody who is clears waivers. Arrogantly, he said that what you see is what you get. Well, what I see is no World Series this year.