WHY AJ BURNETT WILL END UP A PIRATE

That's my opinion of course. It's Saturday and we're getting drips and drags connecting the Yankees and the Pirates today, but according to Ken Rosenthal, the Pirates aren't the only team that's interested in AJ Burnett. Read the Tweet HERE. That being said, we don't know who the other teams are but clearly the teams can't be on AJ Burnett's no-trade list. The Pirates are not on that list.

As far as where the Yankees and the Pirates stand, it's about the money and I wrote about that in WHY IT'S ABOUT THE BURNETT MONEY yesterday. The Yankees want to split the Burnett contract down the middle, where as the Pirates want to pay $10 million of his remaining salary to take him on. Look, if I know the Yankees, they could probably convince the Pirates to take at least $13 of that salary and we can call it a day. The Yankees could then move forward and pick up the final pieces of the 2012 World Championship Yankees puzzle, i.e. Johnny Damon and Eric Chavez. But right now, those guys are on hold until the Yankees and the Pirates figure out the money situation. Oh, and remember when Garrett Jones, the young Pirates lefty was in the mix? He's no longer in play, according to several sources (HERE.) Right now it's just about unloading AJ Burnett and settling on a number the Pirates are willing to pay.Bottom line, at this point I don't care if the Yankees sell Burnett to the Somali Pirates or even Jake and the Neverland Pirates...one things for sure, AJ Burnett is leaving the Bronx, we are way to close to a deal. Because look... let's face facts...if things crap out with the Pirates and these other alleged teams that Ken Rosenthal speaks of, let's just say it's going to be really hard for AJ Burnett to come back and pitch well in New York in 2012. He's getting traded Ladies and Gentleman, somehow, some way... because in the end, it will be better for everyone.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and look for the hashtag #BYB. Also, join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.