I think it’s fair to assume that most Yankee fans are a bit frustrated with AJ Burnett as he has never really panned out as the #2 starter that we anticipated. When he was signed in 2009, I think everyone envisioned him to be at least a capable starter who could keep the Yankees in the game. Ultimately, It seems that AJ may be one of the worst signings for the Yanks in recent memories. I’m sure everyone will get on Cashman for this signing, but Cashman isn’t the only GM out there making bad signings. It’s just the nature of the beast.
By all accounts, Theo Epstein is a great GM up in Boston and has delivered two World Series for Boston fans. It seems like anytime these two teams play on national television, Epstein gets thrown on TV from his luxury box and the ESPN announcers kiss his butt about what an incredible job he is doing in structuring this team. But Epstein made a signing very similar to the Burnett signing, which may actually be worse yet he doens't seem to take the heat, the way Cashman does. I’m talking about signing John Lackey to a 5 year deal, which is possibly the worst signing Epstein made since becoming the GM.
Prior to the 2010 season, the Red Sox signed Lackey to a 5 year deal worth 82.5 million dollars. A year before that, the Yankees signed Burnett for the same amount of 82.5 million over 5 years as well. Their contracts are nearly identical, as far as money goes, except Lackey actually got a 3.5 million dollar signing bonus on top of the crazy money they pay him over the next 5 years. I actually wonder whether Boston signed Lackey in response to the Yankees winning the World Series – A Reaction signing to which Yankee fans are all too familiar.
Since coming to the Red Sox, Lackey has been a failure. In his first season with the Sox in 2010, he went 14-11 with a 4.40 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. Anytime he faced a strong offensive lineup he struggled and anytime there seemed to be a high-pressure situation, he crumbled. 2011 has actually fared worse for Lackey as he is 9-8 with a 6.23 ERA and 1.55 WHIP.
From the moment that he arrived in Boston all his numbers dropped including his strikeouts. In 2005 Lackey had a 8.6K/9IP strikeout ratio which was the best of his career, followed by several years that were around 7K’s/9IP. Since coming to the Red Sox, Lackey’s strikeout ratio dove down to 6.5K/9IP in 2010 and sunk again in 2011 to 6.1K/9IP. If you take a look at his ERA, Lackey’s best season was 2007 with 3.00, but then it went downhill with 3.75 in 2008 and 3.83 in 2009 before coming to Boston. Once in Boston those numbers became inflated to 4.40 and 6.23. Even his WHIP has jumped from 1.2 (and change) in 2006 – 2009 up to 1.55 this season. With his numbers slipping gradually each year, I don’t see any indication these numbers will ever get better and he is signed through 2014.
It looks like all GM’s make some bad signings every now and then. I’m not ready to just give up on AJ yet (as I would if Lackey was with the Yanks) but I am certainly not happy when I watch him start to give up a 13-1 lead against the White Sox and have to be pulled in the 5th inning. It’s somewhat embarrassing to have a #2 starter on the New York Yankees who has a losing record of 8-9 and hasn’t won a game since June when the team is 25 games above the .500 mark. That being said, it’s still better than Lackey!
Here's another Look At Theo Epstein & How He Built Up The Red Sox Bullpen
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Here's another Look At Theo Epstein & How He Built Up The Red Sox Bullpen
Happened to come upon this, after searching for aj burnett on google because of his yelling at the Joe after he got pulled. I realize this is obviously an article with a yankee fan slant, but I'd have to say that these two pitchers are even more similar than you think, stat wise.
ReplyDeleteThe past two years, Lackey has an ERA of 4.99. Burnett has an ERA of 4.97. Lackey has never been the strikeout pitcher that Burnett is, but if you look at their drop-offs in the K/9 category, they are even more similar.
Lackey's previous 5 years - 7.2, 7.2, 7.1, 6.5, 6.3
Burnett previous 5 years - 9.6, 9.4, 8.5, 7.0, 7.6
As you said, both contracts are bad decisions, I'm just saying I think they are more level than you may think. So your comment about (as you would (give up) if Lackey was with the Yanks), seems to be only based on your want to give Cashman the benefit of the doubt, as we red sox fans do with Epstein, and hope that things pan out.
One final point that constantly gets overlooked with Lackey, is that his wife is battling breast cancer. Baseball players are not immune against emotion, and Josh Beckett has publicly said that he doesn't know how Lackey has managed to pitch at all. Obviously, nobody knows what will be the outcome with his wife will be, but God willing, she will come successfully through treatments and recover. With that eventually off his mind, I do believe that there is possibility for Lackey to finish out the contract decently. He's not an ace, even though he may be paid as one, and the Sox don't need him to be with Lester, Beckett and Bucholz on this team.