A.J. Burnett?

[Starksfor3]

What's his status? I know he had a great start against the Yanks (as usual) then struggled against Oakland. Some guy in my league dropped him. I just want to know if there is anything wrong with him.

[ILLmjdINI]

Nothing wrong with him that I know of. I would pick him up if you have a spot.

[tmlfan4ever]

Wow. Unless you are in a 6 team mixed, pick him up. That is a huge mistake. AJ does the same thing every year - he mixes in horrible and great starts with no consistency. Just stick him in your lineup and keep him there and you'll reap the rewards at the end of the season, but DON'T try to play the matchups with him because he will frustrate you.

[pappymojo]

he smashed his pitching hand by closing a car door on it during the off season. lost a fingernail that he used to hold onto his curve ball. expect him to struggle a little to start the year, but his second half numbers will be great.

[Little Lee]

AJ is overated. A career 500 pitcher who has never one more than 12 or 13 games in his entire career. Had one good year and everyone remembers him for the no no. Ask Jays fans if they think he is worth the $50M they shelled out for him?

[captoats85]

It's going to be a fun ride with him and Oliver Perez in a H2H league this year.

[hi chi]

From week to week and month to month you will love him or hate him. I would prefer to stream a pitcher with a good match up or who is hot then to rely on Burnett becuase he is like a box of choclates. You never know what you are going to get. He is a true .500 pitcher. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Giving him a spot on your permanent roster seems a little crazy as he will be up and down and you know he is going to be hurt for at least a month if not more throughout the season.

[Montana]

AJ is overated. A career 500 pitcher who has never one more than 12 or 13 games in his entire career. Had one good year and everyone remembers him for the no no. Ask Jays fans if they think he is worth the $50M they shelled out for him?

As a die hard Jays fan, I can tell you I'm quite satisfied with it.

3.75 ERA, 1.19 Whip, with a 9.8 K/9 and a 2.67 K/BB ratio. in the AL East no less......

For those kinds of numbers we would be paying considerably higher on the open market right now, especially with the kind of contracts guys like Gil Meche and Carlos Silva are receiving....

To be honest, we'll be lucky if he decides to stick around after this season, because he's got the option to opt out in his contract, and if he puts up numbers like he did last year, he's guaranteed to make considereably more on the open market than we're currently paying him.

[bleach168]

His fastball is fine. He hasn't found his curveball yet since he didn't throw any until the last game of spring training. His changeup is still a work in progress.

I might not start him until he starts looking better, but when he does, he'll be great.

[Wharton93]

AJ is overated. A career 500 pitcher who has never one more than 12 or 13 games in his entire career. Had one good year and everyone remembers him for the no no. Ask Jays fans if they think he is worth the $50M they shelled out for him?

One good year, eh? Would that be the year he pitched 204 IP with 203 K and 1.189 WHIP? Or, the year he pitched 209 IP with 198 K? Or last year when he struck out 176 in only 165 IP with another 1.189 WHIP? Or in 2001 when he tossed the no-no? When healthy, he's a very good SP and his problem has been staying healthy enough to win enough games. As for his .500 record, with the exception of the 2003 Marlins (AJ was hurt all year), all of the teams he's played for have basically amounted to .500 ball clubs---shouldn't penalize him for some of the offenses or defenses or bullpens he's been surrounded by over the years. The 07 Jays were last in the AL East in Runs Scored and 10th in the AL. AJ had 7 no decisions in 2007; in 3 games he gave up just 1 ER, in another he gave up 2 ER and in another he gave up 3 ER. There's not much else he can do but pitch shutouts and hit a HR (as the DH?) to win 1-0?

As for whether or not Jays fans are happy---they certainly should be. AJ knows this too and that's why he will most likely opt out of his contract and the 31 year old pitcher will find himself a $70-80M deal from some really big spender this winter.