Cliff Lee is gone and Andy Pettitte’s return to The Bronx looks increasingly more iffy every day.
So it’s up to A.J. Burnett to bounce back from a miserable 2011.
“We need A.J. to come back to previous form,” general manager Brian Cashman said of his former No. 2 starter who was 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA in 33 games last year and pushed to the bullpen for the ALDS against the Twins. “We signed A.J. not to be a back-of-the-rotation starter. He pitches in the front of the rotation, that’s what his abilities are and that’s what we expect. I got to believe we will see that again.”
Cashman met with Burnett in Maryland before Thanksgiving and says the pitcher who is entering the third season of a five-year, $82.5 million contract.
“He knows the responsibility he has to us and the fan base,” Cashman said.
Poor mechanics were blamed for the atrocious year that also included Burnett punching a clubhouse door and pitching with a black eye he refused to divulge the origin of.
In order to correct the mechanical flaws, which started with far too much side-to-side movement, new pitching coach Larry Rothschild will travel to Maryland to work with Burnett at the indoor facility on Burnett’s property.
“Larry is going to go in there and work with him,” Cashman said of the new pitching coach’s first big project.