Pop quiz, hot shot: you are on the fringes of the playoffs and there is a lot of pressure on you to break through this year. Your pitching is pretty darn respectable -- you’re fourth in the American League in runs allowed a game, in fact -- but your offense has been a problem all year. You’ve not been active at the deadline so far, but you need to make a move. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?
Sources: #Phillies talking to #Royals about A.J. Burnett. No indication that deal is close.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2014
Well, not that.
Look, even if you think pitching was your biggest need -- and for the Royals it isn’t -- why is Burnett who you’re after? Why not Bartolo Colon, maybe? Burnett has been erratic as all get-out. He, unlike maybe a bat, is not going to be the difference between the playoffs and a quiet petering out into third place.
Heck, he could be the cause of it.