Where Does A.J. Burnett Fall To?

So, AJ is in the midst of another failing August for the Yankees, which is directly leading to another failing season for the Yankees. It is hard to evaluate free agent signings until their contracts are completed and a bit of time has passed. But in the grand scheme of Yankee free agents, one would be hard pressed to say his was not a momentous one.



But just how momentous? Well, lots of teams have had free agents they were less than pleased with (see Hampton, Mike or Zito, Barry, or even Vaughn, Mo for comparison sake). But the Yankees, who are always in the middle of free agent hoopla, have a unique crew of both good and bad signings – lots of players to choose from.

So where on the list of Yankee free agents will AJ fall to. Certainly he will be worse than Steve Kemp, right? But is he worse signing than Hideki Irabu? Irabu had one good year, like AJ, then went into oblivion. Maybe not worse than Jaret Wright, he of the 6+ era and banishment to the bullpen. Certainly not worse than everyone’s favorite whipping boy Carl Pavano? Maybe worse than Jason “steroids made me do it” Jambi, right?

Right now, he is on a mission to join that crew for sure. He is setting up to be the little pitcher who couldn’t, in my book. It may be too late for him to turn it around this season or for his Yankee career as a matter of fact. Could this be his tumble into the "Pit of Despair" of Yankee fans?