WHY WE NEED TO GET AJ BURNETT RIGHT

Larry Rothschild is a great pitching coach. Read WHY ROTHSCHILD IS A PITCHING GENIUS and you can see just how and why we love the man. He’s done a lot of great things for Yankee pitching. Maybe that’s why Brian Cashman doesn’t seem panicked about our starting rotation. Maybe bringing in pitchers Rothschild can “fix” may be a cheaper, smarter way of doing things. Maybe... maybe not, but Lord knows you probably couldn’t do it the same way with a guy like Dave Eiland, right?

AJ Burnett needs fixing. There’s no doubt about it. Sure, in the beginning of the season we will once again see a rejuvenated AJ Burnett. He'll be strong and valuable, usually winning and pitching well. Then… something happens and God forbid he gives up a few home runs right around August 1st and suddenly a trigger goes off, unsureness sets in and AJ Burnett, well, becomes a hot mess...all in the blink of an eye. I believe in the Pyramid of Pitching Dominance and I wrote all about what it is and what it means in WHY IT'S THE PYRAMID OF PITCHING DOMINANCE. At the time, I was speaking of Phil Hughes, but the pyramid applies to every pitcher. I’ve talked about it on Bleeding Yankee Blue a lot. As a pitcher, you need to know you can mow down batters before you even get out on the mound and that alone sets the tone. Sure, sometimes your “stuff” may not be there, but you still have to go in ready to go "balls out." That's my opinion of course.

Look at CC Sabathia; he is on a mission every single time he gets the ball and even the Monster knows that if he can’t get him with his stuff, he’ll need to reinvent himself right in front of our eyes, grind it out and trust his team behind him. Sometimes I feel like AJ Burnett thinks he’s the only one out there. It’s bizarre to me. The Pyramid of Pitching Dominance is simple thinking, it’s not algebra, it’s an honest, simple approach to pitching, because if your mechanics are right and you have the confidence, you'll have the stuff too, and you will win. With mechanic analysis comes confidence, when the confidence comes, any doubt leaves and focus takes over. That's it. That's the pyramid.

AJ Burnett can train all he wants, but if he doesn’t believe in himself, it’s a big waste of time. Rothschild must once again, figure out AJ's mechanics, tweak and get him on the mound to build him up. I know he can do it and I believe in AJ too. In fact, I’m one of the few who do. I like the way he pitches, but he’s not able to keep it consistent. If he was, and started winning through August and into the playoffs, we wouldn’‘t be talking about this, but sadly, we are, and I’m afraid that unless that confidence comes back, we’ll be talking about it until the deadline. Because, let me be clear, the Yankees need to win and if AJ Burnett goes out there and wins for us enough and other teams start to take notice, I believe the New York Yankees will either keep him in the fall and pray we can harness that winning consistency in the playoffs, OR, he’s traded for an upgrade at the deadline.

Let’s face it, no company holds onto a guy who tries real hard and fails. No. They want to see results, and Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time for AJ to show us results… Just sayin’.

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