WHY BURNETT SHOULD GET BOOTED FROM THE ROTATION

This may seem obvious to every single Yankee fan out there, but AJ Burnett needs to get removed from the starting rotation, and it's blatantly obvious. This past Saturday, Burnett probably had his worst career outing as a Yankee, although there have been a number of outings from Burnett that can be deemed "worst outing as a Yankee", during his career in Pinstripes. But this one was truly a stinker. Just to recap, this time against the Minnesota Twins, 1.2 innings pitched, five hits, seven earned runs, and three walks. Also, Burnett had more wild pitches--two--than strikeouts, one. And to do it against a team with a 55-70 record, and who has scored the 2nd fewest runs in the American League makes the outing that much more embarrassing.

Thus far AJ Burnett has compiled a 9-10 record with a 4.96 ERA. Most, if not all people, say that Burnett is having a better year compared to his miserable 2010 campaign. After Saturday night's drubbing to the Twinkies that is now not a true statement. At this point last year, Burnett was 9-11 with a 4.80 ERA. Very similar numbers, but still Burnett was slightly better last year. Besides, if you look at Burnett this season, there are a number of scary statistics that Yankee fan's certainly won't enjoy:

• The last time AJ Burnett won a game against an American League team with a winning record was on April 13th against the Baltimore Orioles. Yes, the Orioles were actually above .500 at that time, 6-3 to be exact. AJ went 6.1, allowing four runs on two, 2-run homers. It was a win, but not a quality start.

• Speaking of quality starts, Burnett has only had eight of them in 26 starts. That's the fewest number of quality starts for someone who has made at least 19 starts on the team. Also, the last quality start Burnett had was on June 29th against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium. The last quality start he had against an AL team was on June 13th at the Stadium against the Cleveland Indians. The last quality start he had on the road was at the Oakland A's. And finally, Burnett has yet to pick up a quality start on the road against a winning team this year.

• In AJ Burnett's last nine starts dating back to July 4th in Cleveland, his ERA has gone up in each of those games. from 4.05, 4.12, 4.15, 4.19, 4.21, 4.23, 4.54, 4.60, 4.61, and finally 4.96. During that nine game stretch he has a 1-4 record with a 5.85 ERA. And in his 47.2 innings of work during that period he has allowed 56 hits and 22 walks (1.63 WHIP).

Last week I explained why A.J Burnett's stuff has declined over the years. You can read that in a piece titled WHY BURNETT'S STUFF IS ON THE DECLINE and clearly it has shown over his last nine starts. His fastball command has been pretty bad to say the least, and his curve ball hangs at the most inopportune moments. With CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia, and Bartolo Colon all contributing to the team much more than Burnett, it seems as though AJ has to be the odd man out. I don't care about his contract, it's all about the performance and who gives you the best chance to win games. And right now, when Burnett's turn in the rotation comes up,and it's coming in Baltimore at the end of the week, I feel less and less confident each time he takes the mound. Whether he gets demoted to the bullpen, or comes up with a bogus injury, something has to be done. The Yankees are trying to win the AL East, and World Series, and right now Burnett doesn't look like he should be part of he puzzle.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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