Sunday, June 27, 2010

Have You Seen April-May Burnett?













Tell me have you seen him, seen him..ohhhhhhhh.
The April version of A.J. Burnett was amazing. The May version of A.J. Burnett was decent. The June version...a horror show...a really bloody horror show.

Look at his face. It's the same every month. But something is inside that tattooed noggin' of his.

Okay, I don't know if his noggin' is tattooed, but he's been getting tattooed the entire month of June, which thankfully for him, is coming to a close.

Burnett absolutely sizzled in April. We all thought - come on you did - that A.J. had finally figured it out. Never mind that he was 3-0. Burnett recorded a 2.43 ERA in 331. innings. 20 strikeouts compared to 9 walks.

Then May rolled around. That's when the trouble really began. A 4.03 ERA for the month is deceiving. Two starts with the Twins and one each against the Orioles and Indians gave Burnett three wins. He allowed just three earned runs in 27 innings. Great stuff. But his starts against the Rays, whom he had beaten in April, and Boston were horrendous. 14 earned runs in just 11 innings and a pair of losses.

Now we come to the explosive month of June. It's really hard to put into words just how lost Burnett is on the mound right now. I've seen it before. Jeff Weaver comes to mind. Great stuff, weak mentality. Only I think Burnett has the capability of harnessing it where as Weaver never bounced back.

29 earned runs in 23 innings in June. Three starts of four innings or less. 17 walks and 35 hits. It actually might look worse in print than in watching it unfold.

There's no point in continuing to run Burnett out there. It's not going to change overnight and at the very least he should skip a start. The Yankees were better off with Phil Hughes going this weekend and giving Burnett a mental breather, especially on the heels of losing his grandfather.

So who do you put in there? It doesn't matter. Call up a pitcher for a spot start. Get a sports psychologist. Burn some incense. Sacrifice a Red Sox fan..oops, just kidding.

Just get A.J. out of there.

Last night's game.

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