A.J. Burnett Watch Heats Up

The A.J. Burnett Watch is kicking into high gear.  Everyone knows about the subject.  Everybody has feelings about Burnett, but as we have said all along, Burnett is going to pitch this year.  The only question is where.

The biggest competition for Burnett’s services, also as we have said all along, is the Baltimore Orioles ball club.

The Burnett news hit the Baltimore Sun in full force immediately.  The Orioles FanFest is Saturday and the headline hints at a move being made prior to O’s FanFest opening up.

An article today in The Sun about A.J. wanting to pitch another year and may do so away from Pittsburgh having an impact on Dan Duquette’s plans addressed the topic.   The O’s have done next to nothing to improve their team, with many of our friends thinking they may have gotten worse.

Here’s why A.J. would fit:  Location, location, location.  The O’s have a good offense on paper.  The team has a new pitching coach.  Burnett wouldn’t break the O’s bank.  Depending on who you believe, the team has between $15 to $18 million to spend.   The team needs a reliable starter.  Burnett lives in Monkton, Maryland which when adding up family time, would tilt the scales in Baltimore’s favor.

From the article comes this quote from Duquette:

"This is going to surprise you (I kid), but Duquette chose his words carefully in responding to the question.“Hopefully, we’ll be able to boost the pitching staff between now and when we open, and we’ll have to look at all of the people that are available to us.”Not a whole lot of lines to read between there, but I think it is fair to reiterate what we have all speculated. This is a guy (A.J.) the Orioles want. Now whether they can seal the deal is the real question."

We thought people in Baltimore would be into landing Burnett, but the fans interest isn’t breaking any records.