Posted October 31, 200519 yr Burnett giving Jays first shot By BOB ELLIOTT -- Toronto Sun The Blue Jays will be in full recruit mode early this week when free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett begins his off-season tour of potential employers with a stop in Toronto. The Florida Marlins right-hander will be wined, dined and romanced by the Jays, who hope they can eventually land him on a multi-year contract. It will be like a high-school athlete visiting a college campus: See what a great facility the Rogers Centre is. Check out our workout room. Wanna tour the city? See how beautiful the lakefront is. Burnett is the best of the free-agent starters on the market this off-season and has a strong relationship with current Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, from when the two were together with the Marlins. Unlike most free agents, Burnett, of North Little Rock, Ark., isn't drawn to the large-market eastern teams, such as the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, or the sun of California, either with the Los Angeles Angels or the now headless Dodgers. Burnett, his friends say, would rather be under the radar, which would put the Jays in a position to entertain with their roughly $85-million US budget. Of course, the Baltimore Orioles, the Seattle Mariners and the Washington Nationals will also be players. Burnett was 12-12 in 32 starts for the Marlins this past season, dropping five decisions in a row down the stretch as Florida lost the wild-card race to the Houston Astros. He had a 3.44 earned run average in 209 innings, walking 79 and striking out 198. Lifetime, Burnett is 49-49 with a 3.73 ERA. Financial details cannot be discussed yet, but some late-September predictions of what Burnett could receive on a new contract were as high as $65 million over five years. Link Not that it matters, but don't the Marlins have exclusive rights to negotiate with Burnett for about 2 more weeks?
October 31, 200519 yr Burnett, his friends say, would rather be under the radar. so that explains his 2nd half performance.
October 31, 200519 yr If Jays sign him, that'd give them a fairly nasty trio of Halladay, Burnett & Lilly. Not a bad rotation to go into the playoffs with
October 31, 200519 yr If Jays sign him, that'd give them a fairly nasty trio of Halladay, Burnett & Lilly. Not a bad rotation to go into the playoffs with halladay=great burnett blows lily=past his prime but the jays are getting better however i think the d rays can pose a bigger threat in the al east than the jays can. if the rays get one more staring pitcher and some middle relievers and bring up young and upton and get baldelli healthy...SCARY
October 31, 200519 yr If Jays sign him, that'd give them a fairly nasty trio of Halladay, Burnett & Lilly. Not a bad rotation to go into the playoffs with What about Chacin, a freakin monster right there along side with lilly and Halladay, Burnett might respect the fan base over there more apparently since their's is somewhat much biger then ours :thumbdown
November 1, 200519 yr I think signing up there would be the best thing he could do for himself. I hope he does sign actually up there. Chacin, Lilly, Burnett, Halladay is a great rotation. Add to that Wells and some solid defense. He could be a good spot. Plus his old pitching coach and best friend. I think Toronto is the place to be. Plus it keeps him out of the NL
November 1, 200519 yr Burnett might respect the fan base over there more apparently since their's is somewhat much biger then ours :thumbdown Blue Jays 2005 Attendance: 24,876 Their attendance wasn't much better than ours...
November 1, 200519 yr If Jays sign him, that'd give them a fairly nasty trio of Halladay, Burnett & Lilly. Not a bad rotation to go into the playoffs with What about Chacin, a freakin monster right there along side with lilly and Halladay, Burnett might respect the fan base over there more apparently since their's is somewhat much biger then ours :thumbdown I forgot about Chacin. It would be a pretty formidable rotation. Look at ChiSox this year; No one really blew you away as "wow" but they had 4 solid guys and Toronto's rotation if Burnett signed looks very similiar.
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