Fistpump of the Day 4/10/2009

As a Yankee fan, I was not too thrilled with the off-season acquisition of AJ Burnett. $82.5 million for five years of an oft injured, tattooed headcase who tries to throw the ball through a brick wall, was not the way I would have gone.

However, one of the things you have just got to love about the Yankees' top brass is their ability to think outside of the box. The Yankees were the first team ever to keep track of your standard statistics in hopes of driving NYC newspaper sales, and pre-90s, pre-Bill James, pre-Billy Beane, a lot of time and effort was put into obsessing over statistics such as hits, runs, strikeouts, wins, losses, games played.

Then things went into more sabermatic calculations such as VORP. Although the Red Sox claim to have used Bill James' methods first, the Yankees were the first to actually use these calculations correctly (see 1996-2001).

Frankly, all these numbers aren't going to get you anywhere in today's modern game of baseball. And this is precisely why the Yankees are at it again. Reshaping how the game is played and analyzed. Like I said, when thinking of your grandfather's statistics, innings pitched, earned runs, I didn't like the AJ Burnett signing...however...when realizing the Yankees are actually signing players based on their latest stat, VVDTIFP*, I think AJ Burnett is earning every penny...

*Visible Veins Due To Intense Fist Pumping