Okay, I have to admit something: for the last 20 years, I have been a die-hard Pittsburgh Pirates fan. It was definitely hard enduring the numerous hundred loss seasons throughout the last two decades. Finally, winning baseball has made its way to Pittsburgh, and not a moment too soon. The Pirates now find themselves as buyers at the trading deadline instead of sellers. This is an exciting time for Pirates fans as the allure of bringing in a big name player has taken over everyone’s mindset. Normally, the thinking is that bringing anyone in is better than doing nothing at the deadline; however this year, that is not the case. There is one player Pirates fans do not want to see in a Pirate’s uniform during the second half of this season. A.J. Burnett is that player.
Now I know he has excellent strikeout capabilities and has played for the Pirates in recent history. I also know that he is well respected in the Pirates locker room and has many close friends on the team. Sure everyone likes to point at his impressive 119 strikeouts so far this year, but I am unimpressed. I can’t get the thought of the St. Louis Cardinals roughing A.J. up in game one of last year’s NLDS or the fact that he was passed over in the series clinching game against the Cardinals for a rookie (Gerrit Cole) on short rest. If he wasn’t good enough then, why would he be any better now?
I admit, in the offseason I was screaming for the Pirates to resign him. I felt his consistency and leadership abilities overcame the questions about his age and salary. The Pirates said that he was too expensive and that they had better options internally. At the time, I didn’t believe them, and just chalked it up to the Pirates being cheap.
Finally after half a season I do believe that there are better internal options. Jeff Locke has found his all-star form from a year ago and Edinson Volquez is experiencing a great bounce-back season. Charlie Morton has been stellar despite minimal run support and even Francisco Liriano is finally showing signs of his form from last year. Vance Worley too, has come in and given the Pirates some quality starts. So now that I am finally convinced that the Pirates have better pitching options than A.J. Burnett they want to bring him back?
What the Pirates need is a shutdown bonafide ace of the staff (calling David Price). We have seen this successful formula before in the playoffs. One dominate pitching force who puts the team on his back and carries them to victory. This is what the Pirates are lacking. They hope Gerrit Cole can become that pitcher but it is much too early in his career to tell. If the Pirates are going to make any noise in the playoffs they need to find that shut down pitcher. Trust me Pittsburgh, at this point in his career, A.J. Burnett is not that guy.
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