BOSTON – Ok, so what exactly are the Yankees paying A.J Burnett for again?
Are they paying him to be the team’s official master of pie ceremonies or are they paying this man to win big ballgames?
If it were the former, than he would be a prime candidate for the CY Young and maybe possible MVP consideration.
If it is the latter, then we have a problem.
At last check, the five year, $82.5 million dollar contract that the team gave (more like overpaid) to him when he was a free agent was given with the belief that he would a solid rock in the rotation and a pitcher that has been a “Red Sox killer” of sorts over the last three years.
When you come to the Yankees, you throw the numbers out. Pitching in this environment and then pitching in The Rivalry is much different from whatever took place in Toronto the last three years.
Given the ball last night in Fenway Park to begin what to be the genesis of the team regaining their footing in this one sided season rivalry with Boston, Burnett was making one of those “big starts” the Yankees were paying him the big money for.
Instead, for the second time this season, Burnett laid another egg against the Red Sox in the team’s 7-0 loss that now continues the “donut” put up this season in the first six game of The Rivalry, continued his inconsistent pattern of starts this season that has marked his entire career.
For anyone to be truly stunned by what they are seeing from Burnett would be to ignoring the 32-year-old pitcher’s body of work through his stay in the big leagues.
He has always has incredible talent in that right arm of his, but has never been able to put it together. At his age, the percentages are very likely that he will never reach his full potential.
He had problems from the outset with his control. While he fell behind in counts, he escaped the first inning without giving up a run.
In the second inning, the same control problems resurfaced. His fastball was all over the plate. Deep counts continued and with the bullpen in peril going into the tonight, this was the last thing the Yankees wanted to see.
He had David Ortiz up in the count 0-2 before throwing two out of the zone. On the 2-2 pitch, he laid a fat cookie down the middle and it allowed even Ortiz, who had only two homeruns on the season, to crush the ball deep to the centerfield bleachers to make it 2-0.
Burnett, if not unraveling before, was now in full-blown meltdown mode.
This too is not a surprise. Such has been his reputation through his career. When things get rough, Burnett folds up. It happened in his last Fenway Park start when he was given a 6-0 lead before gagging it up and now it was happening again.
You were hoping that he would grind his way through the problems and compromise by using his other weapons in hopes that he could perhaps reclaim his fastball later on.
This did not happen.
He kept throwing fastballs, kept on missing and Red Sox hitters were more than willing to take their base. Five times Burnett walked a hitter. The final dagger of the night struck when little shortstop Nick Green doubled to left to make it 5-0.
84 pitches, 40 for strikes and all of it were unwatchable. 2 2/3 innings was all Girardi could take before making that slow walk to the mound to take the ball and send Burnett to the shower.
The Yankees were mesmerized by his performance against them last year along with the Red Sox that they incorrectly assumed that they were purchasing “that pitcher”. For $82.5 million, that would have been a good investment, but unfortunately, they are not getting “that pitcher”.
Instead, they have a pitcher saddled with an ERA just short of five (4.89 to be exact) and a question mark every time he takes mound.
The question now becomes whether “Good A.J” or “Bad A.J” is going to show up.
This is not what the Yankees signed up for.
Burnett in essence is a victim of his own success against the Yankees and the team paid him based on that, apparently unaware of his performance against everyone else.
Breaking news alert: The rest of the league hit this pitcher last year. If you took away his starts against the Yankees and Red Sox, his ERA was exactly what it is now.
Perhaps no one should be surprised. For the next five years, they should get used to this.
Welcome to maddening, hair-pulling world that is and will be “The A.J Burnett Experience”.
It should be its own entertainment show.
Problem is, the Yankees are hoping for a happy ending, but they too would only be guessing.
For all that money, that’s a problem.
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