You know you've been a Pittsburgh Pirates fan for too long when you hear the words "Yankees," "Pirates" and "deal" and you immediately conjure up a fourth word: "fleeced."

It seems the Pirates are the frontrunners for pitcher A.J. Burnett, whom the Yankees are trying to deal. And so the fatalistic side of me thinks a sheep-shearin' is about to happen, with The Farm Team to The Stars being the shear-ee.

Most telling sentence in this story: "It was uncertain what teams were in the bidding for Burnett beyond Pittsburgh."

Second most telling sentence: "As a Yankee, Burnett is 34-35 with a 4.79 ERA."

Wonder what future greatness the Pirates will give up for that?