The Yankees' season is in the hands of A.J. Burnett.
Oddly, when Burnett was signed to a Yankee contract before the 2009 season, that would have seemed like a good scenario. Don't let us forget that we were happy when Burnett joined CC Sabathia in the Yankee rotation. He was going to solidify things for years to come.
That worked for the better part of one season.
Burnett's failings are well documented, so I won't reiterate it all here. Let's look at the current situation: Because MLB was taken by surprise when rain fell in the Bronx (What? Rain? Who would have seen THAT coming???), the start where Sabathia looked like he really had it all going was limited to two innings, which Ivan Nova picked up on the next night. Nova ran with them, the Yankees won, and this was going to be easy, right?
Not so much. Freddy Garcia had a Freddy Garcia start--he was okay, he kept them in the game, but he didn't really look like he was going to win anything. And the Yankee offense, which any broadcaster near a microphone will tell you (over and over again) is among the best in baseball, came up short. It could be argued that rain was a factor here again, but then we'd have to acknowledge that without the rain, Curtis Granderson's foul popup would have been caught, and Robinson Cano would never have gotten a chance to bat as the potential winning run. And ground out.
Then came the Clash of the Titans, the anticipated meeting of Great Aces and as usual with such things, it didn't live up to the hype. Sabathia and Justin Verlander had each pitched a little Friday night, so on Monday, as Jon Smoltz wouldn't shut up about, they had not prepared as they normally would, and each game up four runs.
Enter Rafael Soriano, the $35-million man, who took what Brett Gardner had given him--a tie game--and untied it with one pitch to Delmon Young. Perhaps someone should listen to Brian Cashman once in a while when he says, "Maybe we don't need this guy."
And so here we are, one game from elimination, with the baseball in the hand of M. Burnett.
Keep this in mind, Yankee fans: He'll be pitching against the #4 guy for the Tigers, Rick Porcello, the Morristown, NJ native with a career ERA of 4.50. In short, the kind of pitcher the Yankees generally have for breakfast. And you can bet A.J., in an elimination game, will be on a leash so short it'll be more like a strap.
And he has shown signs that he can be dominant for three or four innings. But Joe Girardi, famous for his quick hook in the playoffs, has to be really jumpy with Burnett tonight. He shows one sign of weakness, and Phil Hughes is up in the bullpen. There can't be any hesitation. Things around A.J. tend to deteriorate much too fast.
All I'm saying is, it could be worse. But not much. See you all at the TV tonight.
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