Too Soon.

I have mixed emotions about the A.J. Burnett signing by the Phillies in the first place.  I was somewhere in the middle of being content with it until this morning, when the balance of the universe shifted and things were no longer ok.

Why, you ask?  Well, this picture was posted by the Phillies:

Sure, it is an emotional reaction, but it all just seems...too soon.  I don't want to think of anyone else wearing Roy Halladay's #34, especially Burnett, who is the new guy on the Phillies block.  I know several players wore #34 before Roy and several players will wear the number after him.  Reports are that Burnett has Halladay's blessing for wearing the number, as the two were teammates in Toronto, and are old friends. So there's that, I guess.

Burnett also lost a few points by arriving to camp carrying this bag:

Did he not have time to get another bag so he wouldn't have to carry a Pirates bag to Phillies camp?  I know I am being irrational, so you can roll your eyes at me all you'd like. Hell, I am rolling my eyes at myself.   But for a guy coming into a city where the fan base is quite...how should I say it...opinionated, perhaps taking notice of small details would suit him well.  At least it wasn't a Yankees bag.

Another troublesome aspect of the Burnett signing is how it could come back to hurt the Phillies should Burnett not pitch well this season. I am not going to go into all of the verbiage of the contract, but suffice to say that it is a player-friendly deal.  If you are interested in reading about it, click here.

I'm sure I will get used to Burnett, but what you're reading is my immediate reaction to a few questionable things right off the bat.  I think the signing is a decent one: Burnett will be a nice addition to the top of the rotation with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, and will most certainly help the club win.  How many games, that is yet to be determined.

Oh yeah, one more thing.  I've been playing around with a new header and different colors for the site.  I was going for a cleaner look, more minimalist.  I hope you guys like it, it's still a work in progress!