EDIT by Mike: Fishfan originally put this up last night and today the story is everywhere. All of the papers are covering it. It's all over the radio (even usurping Dolphins' talk at times). This is a story that needs to be discussed, but in a week that's certain to be filled with negativity, I just can't tackle it right now, so I'm not going to add to the discussion just yet (not that I'll necessarily add anything whenever I eventually get around to trying to).
And it's not because of the money according to him. Here's the excerpt from the ESPN game recap:
After the game, Burnett indicated he will not re-sign with the team after the season."I've got one more start here, and that's all that matters," Burnett said in an apparent reference to leaving the team as a free agent.
"It's depressing around here. There's nothing positive around here. There's nothing positive on the staff now."
Burnett was mentioned as a player who could be traded before this year's trade deadline.
"You give up one home run, and it's a funeral. ... A positive pat on the back is better than anything," he said. "I haven't seen a pat on the back since April."
Asked who he was targeting with his criticism, Burnett said, "I'm not naming names."
As if we didn't already know, it's pretty much official. AJ will pitch one more start for the Fish. Thoughts on AJ's tenure here?
He's our winningest pitcher, and one of three guys to pitch no-hitters for our club.
On the other hand, he had no part in any of our championships like Brown and Leiter did (the other two no-hitters), and he's not part of our future like Willis and Beckett are.
What do you think is AJ's legacy? Does he even have one?
I know that I'll remember seeing him light up that gun with 100+mph pitches. That was always fun. He has some of the sickest stuff (breaking ball included) I have ever seen, and he was fun to watch when he was on. He simply embarrassed hitters sometimes, but I never loved him as much as I do Willis. I never respected him as much I occasionally do Beckett, who is clearly a big-game pitcher, even if he can get distracted from time-to-time. I never even found him as likable as Penny.
What do you guys think?
