Touch 'Em All: Fracture sidelines Burnett 2-3 months
Former Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett, who had been trying to revive his career with the Pirates, is expected to miss two to three months while recovering from surgery for a facial fracture.
Former Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett, who had been trying to revive his career with the Pirates, is expected to miss two to three months while recovering from surgery for a facial fracture.
The Pirates, who were trying to perk up their fortunes by acquiring Burnett, 35, in a three-player trade last month, are also in a pickle. They had intended to make him their No. 1 starter, but now have to scramble to find someone for their home opener April 5 against the Phillies.
The righthander had surgery Friday in Pittsburgh for a broken orbital bone near his right eye, an injury he sustained when he fouled a ball off his face Wednesday during a bunting drill.
A day after last month's trade, Burnett said he looked forward to a fresh start with the Pirates.
"It's going to be fun. I'm going back to the National League, where I can hit and bunt and get the joy back into the game," he said then.
The Pirates said the injury didn't affect Burnett's vision and that there was no impingement to the muscles and nerves around his eye.
The Pirates got Burnett and about $20 million from the Yankees to help cover his hefty salary. Burnett was due to make $33 million total over the next two seasons.
Burnett was 34-35 with a 4.79 ERA during three seasons with the Yankees, including 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA last year. He led the major leagues with 25 wild pitches last year and allowed a career-high 31 homers.
The Pirates finished 2011 with a record of 72-90, which is significant in that it marked their 19th consecutive losing season - but was the first time they won more than 70 games since 2004.
Bad city for sports, man
Forbes this week named Atlanta as the most miserable of sports cities, citing the Braves' collapse last season and other indignities.
"Since last spring, the NHL Thrashers left town for Winnipeg, baseball's Braves blew a near-lock playoff spot on the final day of the season, and the NBA Hawks and NFL Falcons got bounced out of the postseason early yet again," Forbes said. (Of note is that the Thrashers were the second NHL team to leave the town; the Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary in 1980.)
All that, Forbes said, was "enough to nudge the city past Seattle back into the top spot."
Can't really argue with that. Consider the Braves:
They were up 81/2 games in the wild-card race in early September before falling apart: They lost five straight to end the season. The St. Louis Cardinals won the wild-card slot, and we all know what happened next.
Phoenix, Buffalo, and San Diego rounded out the bottom five. Philly did not make the bottom 10.
By the way, Atlanta was ranked the most miserable sports city in 2008.
Ex-No. 1 pick's steep fall
Brien Taylor, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1991 who appeared headed for great success with the Yankees until he was injured in a bar fight, was arrested Thursday on charges of cocaine trafficking in coastal North Carolina, according to the Jacksonville Daily News.
The Carteret County Sheriff's Office said undercover officers purchased large quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine from Taylor over several months. He was being held on a $275,000 bond.
The North Carolina native was considered a "can't miss" prospect when the Yankees drafted him out of high school. The hard throwing lefty held out for a then-record $1.55 million before entering the Yankees' minor-league system.
He was on course for the majors as one of MLB's best prospects but his promising career was derailed by shoulder injuries sustained in the 1993 bar fight near his North Carolina home. After major surgery on his throwing shoulder, Taylor was never the same, and he retired in 2000.