Blame J.P. not A.J....

I really hope the Toronto media and the fans cut A.J. Burnett some slack.

I mean, here were the man’s choices--go to a team that last season had one of the best pitching staffs and defenses in baseball yet did nothing (yes, Brad Wilkerson, Kevin Mench and Jose Bautista qualify as that) all season to upgrade the one aspect of the club that needed a boost to take the next step, have spent the following offseason informing anyone within hearing distance that the organization--barring all the breaks falling their way--is taking a mulligan in 2009 and is already pimping the 2010 team and offered four years at possibly $13-14 million per that went to Las Vegas and secured the services of Matt Clement.

The other option was to go to a team that offered five years averaging $16.5 million per annum had already signed the biggest bauble on the free agent market in C.C. Sabathia and have signalled that they’re nowhere near finished adding to the roster because they’re opening a new stadium and annually have the mindset that anything short of a ring is a failed season.

One team is committed to winning right now, the other speaks about some indefinite future time when they’ll make a run for the roses but under the current regime has never said ‘Now we go for it.’ One team makes excuses, the other one accepts none.

Don’t forget, after the trial of Barry Bonds there will be an arbitration hearing about whether or not MLB colluded against Bonds and if indeed baseball (and by extension the Jays) are guilty then potentially the final piece of the puzzle was out there for the entirety of 2008 at the cost of no players and the pro-rated major league minimum and Toronto chose losing to be part of a conspiracy. Yes, the Yankees are equally guilty but among the two teams which one is loading up for a post season run?

If I have any fire in my belly and want to pitch in October--the choice is a no-brainer; the money is gravy.

What has to be remembered is that a major league career is a fragile and finite thing…especially for a pitcher. Each time they take the mound they run the risk of throwing their final pitch. Tomorrow never comes in a lot of cases and these athletes must live in the present and get what they can while they still can be it money or championship dreams. The Toronto Blue Jays have a future--they will still be around in 2010, 2011, 2012 etc. and they may even end up in the playoffs again at some point.

Will A.J. Burnett still be throwing a baseball in the major leagues in 2010? 2011? 2012?

Who knows?

The New York Yankees offered A.J. the present: $82.5 million and a de facto guarantee that the club has every intention of doing everything in its power to win the World Series in 2009. The Toronto Blue Jays offered almost $30 million less and said “Hey, things might be a lot better in 2010…maybe.”

C’mon.

The New York Yankees have reached the post season 13 times since the Jays were last there.

I can almost guarantee that if Burnett solicited Roy Halladay’s advice on what to do that he would’ve told A.J. to not be an idiot and sign the Yankees’ offer before they changed their mind. The Bronx Bombers offered him the ballplayer’s dream: a generous contract on a team obsessed with World Series rings.

What could the Blue Jays offer to compete with that?

For those of you that decry Burnett’s lack of loyalty just remember this: our loyalty to him would have vanished as soon as his considerable skills begin to leave him. It’s a two-way street.

So…Godspeed A.J. I wish you nothing but the very best for you at your new address save for hoping that the Jays kick your butt every time the two teams play one another.

For more on this, here is a recent SMSN column on the subject.

Best Regards

John