In these troubled economic times, everyone looks for businesses that are in the classic category of recession-proof. One of these businesses is apparently the New York Yankees.

The Yankees encored from their record $161 million, seven-year contract with CC Sabathia by reaching a reported five-year, $82.5 million deal with right-handed starter A.J. Burnett on Friday. Before the deal becomes official, Burnett must pass a physical.

The Yankees have scored early and they have scored big in the search for free-agent starting pitching. Sabathia was the class of this free-agent class -- left-handed, 28, healthy and dominant in his most recent work with the Milwaukee Brewers. And now, in the midst of global economic distress, the Yankees have upped the ante to more than $240 million for two pitchers with the signing of Burnett, a supremely talented, but not always healthy hurler. Wow.

Burnett, who will be 32 in January, put up a big 2008 season for the Toronto Blue Jays, going 18-10 and striking out a league-leading 231 in 221 1/3 innings. But it must be said that, as talented as he is, this season was the exception, rather than the rule for Burnett, because he made 34 starts. He has made more than 30 starts only twice in his Major League career.

It could easily be argued, given the relative durability of the two pitchers, that the risk factor is much higher in Burnett's $82.5 million contract than it is for Sabathia's $161 million deal.

Prior to last season, the only other time Burnett had exceeded 30 starts was in 2005, which, coincidentally or not, was the last time he was eligible for free agency. He has made 10 trips to the disabled list in his career.

But, as his work in 2008 suggested, he still has overpowering stuff. The Yankees are apparently willing to pay on the basis that this season represents what Burnett will be over the next five years. His overall record does not support that notion. He is, after all, a pitcher with dominant stuff and a pedestrian 87-76 lifetime record, and he is a pitcher who has not been routinely whole over the course of his career.

But the Yankees were not the only people bidding princely sums for his services. And, as in the case of Sabathia, they have won this competition, with a devastatingly effective combination of superior resources and a willingness to spend them. The phrase "money is no object" comes readily to mind.

The Yankees needed starting pitching. Their shortcomings in this category represent the first and foremost reason that they have not won the World Series since 2000. There can be little dispute with the notion that adding Sabathia, a genuine top-of-the-rotation pitcher and an individual with real leadership qualities, brings them closer to regaining what they see as their rightful place in baseball. The addition of Burnett is not a sure thing in that direction, but the expenditure involved proves how serious and committed the Yankees are about coming up with a reformulated rotation.

These signings, taken together, will leave the rest of baseball envious and stunned across the board, and in some cases, appalled. There has been a feeling in the game that in a time of lost jobs, lost homes, pervasive economic uncertainties, baseball ought to exercise a degree of fiscal conservatism, not only for the sake of the clubs' own economic well-being, but to send the message to the customers, that, yes, we get it, times are tough.

The Yankees are not playing by those rules, nor do they have to play by those rules. They needed dramatically improved starting pitching. And they had the money to pay for it, even more than usual, with more than $80 million in salaries coming off their books, and with even more dollars to come with the opening of the new Yankee Stadium next season.

The $240 million-plus for two pitchers would be a remarkable show of spending at any time, but at this time, it is truly out there by itself. But then again, the Yankees are a singular entity.

The Yankees are not in the business of being role models for fiscal restraint. They are in the business of winning, or at least attempting to win, on an annual basis. They have been frustrated that the ultimate championship has eluded them for eight years. They were even more frustrated that even the postseason eluded them in 2008. They knew what they were missing and they had the money to make that shortcoming disappear, at least in theory. The two most expensive starters on the market, one lefty, one righty, are going to become Yankees. This should not be a particular surprise, even if the dollar amounts to seem, at this moment, a tad excessive.

The Yankees' needs and the Yankees' willingness to bury the competition in an avalanche of dollars, turned out to be very good news for the Sabathia and Burnett families. And the way things are going, there might be more than a chunk of change left over for Derek Lowe, too. This offseason, the Yankees have aimed high and spent higher. They're probably better off with Sabathia than with Burnett, but their direction, their effort and their ability to pay are unmistakable, and, to the prominent free-agent pitchers of their choice, apparently irresistible.