Hello My Name Is: A.J. Burnett

This is the first in a series of articles intended to bring you up to speed on all the new Jays.

Personal Stats
Name: Allan James (A.J.) Burnett
Age: 29
You Might Remember Me From: Seven years with the Florida Marlins
Most Resembles: Lowell Mather from Wings
Why the Jays Picked Him Up: J.P. has some kind of unhealthy infatuation with initialized first names (and the sweet fastball doesn't hurt).

Career Plus/Minus
Plus: A career 3.73 ERA is nothing to sneeze at
Minus: Inability to translate good ERA into wins with a career 49-50 record

Plus: Threw a no-hitter against the Padres in 2001.
Minus: Set a team record for walks in the same game with 9 (also hit a batter). His 10 baserunners in a no-hitter is the second most in MLB history.

Plus: Won a World Series with the 2003 Florida Marlins.
Minus: Blew his elbow out on April 29th of the same season, so his contributions to the Championship were significantly less than the dude who carries around the jar of pickle brine for Josh Beckett's blisters.

Plus: Had a seven game winning streak from July 19 to August 19 of 2005.
Minus: Followed up the win streak by losing his last six decisions of the season.

Plus: Holds the Marlins team record for career wins (49), complete games (14), shutouts (8), and Ks (753).
Minus: Kicked off the Marlins at the end of the 2005 season after badmouthing the team and his manager in a post-game rant.

What To Expect in 2006
Projected to be a solid #2 starter behind Roy Halladay in the Jays rotation. His reunion with all-time favourite pitching coach Brad Arnsberg is expected to propel him into the upper-echelon of starting pitchers. The injury history is a bit of a concern, as is his sub .500 career record, but to borrow an old cliche, you can't teach a 98mph fastball. Along with B.J. Ryan, you can expect an increase in Ks, and you can expect a lot more interest in the pitch speed posted on the Jumbotron.