BURNETT & THE PILE ON

Wow, what a weekend. I have never seen so much negativity surrounding a player since the steroid scandal and Pete Rose and the accusations that he bet on baseball…until he actually admitted he did it. Let’s not forget that AJ Burnett has had a few bright spots on the New York Yankees and 2009 he did well for us. I can’t fail the mention that when we needed him most, he sucked it up and pitched his heart out. There are some positives with AJ Burnett, but we’ve gone from see Burnett as an "OK" pitcher to a mass murderer or something in a matter of 48 hours. Wow. Bottom Line, some of the attacks are unfair, don’t you think? It’s just escalated into something bigger than it is… that’s my opinion of course, and yes, you are totally entitled to have yours when it comes to AJ Burnett. It’s funny though, I’ve witnessed an Internet pile on like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

Last season I wrote WHY CRUCIFYING BURNETT NEEDS TO STOP because it was my belief that while AJ Burnett was struggling and slowly tallied historically bad numbers for Yankees starting pitching, it was just not fair to attack the man personally; after all, he’s still a member of the New York Yankees. People thought I was delusional. OK, fair enough, but I was merely making a point; Burnett was always a “good” pitcher, never a “great” one as advertised when he and CC Sabathia were signed. Sure, they propped him up as our #2 and he wasn’t exactly that and as the years went on. We saw implosions and problems and his mechanics were out of whack, but if you look at his stats, this was pretty typical AJ. We ended up with a “good” pitcher who had some “great” moments but had more “bad” ones.

AJ Burnett is literally hours away from being shipped to the Pittsburgh Pirates, that is, if the money and prospects can be figured out. After all, you can’t get nothing for something and the Yankees aren't just going to give him away, they want players that can play in return. But the trade talk began with the Pirates, Yankeeland has been a world of nasty. I’m not going to sit here and defend AJ Burnett, but I do want to say “chill”, that's all. I’m not going to attempt to get inside his head or tell you he’s a lunatic, he's not. What I can tell you is maybe, just maybe the Bronx isn’t for him and maybe a change of scenery would do the body good, because in the end, AJ Burnett could prove to be a truly “great”pitcher somewhere else, be it Pittsburgh or another city, but the Bronx may not be his cup of tea. That's my take at least.

Whatever happens, I wish him well, because ultimately, I’ve never hated AJ, but I know Yankees fans and I understand our patience. If you don’t provide results, we’re really not going to give you the time to straighten it out. In 3 years, it appears time may have run out for AJ Burnett. Now we sit and wait while the Yankees and the Pirates work out a deal, and I believe they will, because after this whole mess, there is no turning back. There is no way Burnett comes back to perform better than he did in the Bronx, especially if a deal falls through. Confidence has to be awfully low right now, AJ's a human punching bag, and Yankeeland's the glove. My take is simple...at this point, he can reinvent himself in another city and turn it on to become a “great” pitcher... and when that happens, I’m not so sure I want to face AJ Burnett. He’ll be full of piss and vinegar, eager to prove the Yankees wrong.

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