Reaction: Pirates trade two prospects for A.J. Burnett

This article fits under my Reaction heading of my blog.  Read more of my Reactions here.

The Pirates finally made a splash.  Actually, it might be better characterized as a small swell.  A splash was last year when we acquired Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick.  The Pirates haven't yet created a tropical storm, but the times they are a-changin'.  No longer is Pittsburgh just a triple-A club for other baseball teams around the league.  This time, the Pirates gave up the prospects and took on money in order to help facilitate a salary dump for another team.  This time, in a very strange turn of events, that team was the New York Yankees.

From the Yankees, the Pirates received talented but oft-maligned starting pitcher A.J. Burnett.  In exchange, the Pirates sent prospects Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones to the Yankees. In addition, the Yankees will provide the Pirates 20 million dollars to cover over half of the 33 million Burnett is owed over the next two years (some sources indicate that it's 18.1 million instead of 20 - stay tuned). Details on all three players after the jump and my opinion.

How Foreign the Game of Baseball is Sometimes

Even to so-called "experts."  I will admit right now that I'm about to pick on a writer by cherry-picking (pickity, pick, pick) on one thing he wrote, but onward I plunge.

In this article ESPNNewYork.com writer Wallance Matthews writes about the pending AJ Burnett trade between the Yankees and Pirates.  I'll go ahead of give Mr. Matthews the benefit of the doubt here and assume he's informed and intelligent when it comes to baseball, but even so, he manages to offer up this gem a little past halfway into the article.

The Excitement over Yu Darvish

Albert Pujols is an Los Angeles Angel.  Prince Fielder still has yet to sign.  Those are the two top free agents on the market this year, but both are positional players, specifically first baseman.  Depending on preference, the top pitching free agent going into the offseason could have been considered to be C.J. Wilson, who has also signed with the Angels.  The other pitcher vying for that crown is Yu Darivsh, who's fate will largely be determined tonight.

Darvish, who just turned 25 this August, was posted by his team, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, on December 8th. From there, all major league teams were eligible to bid in a silent auction for the right to exclusively negotiate with Darvish in an attempt to sign him to a contact. If the team that wins is able to sign Darvish, they will pay the posting fee to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and then Darvish the agreed amount money. The bidding ended on December 14th and the winner will be announced tonight.