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Yankees GM Brian Cashman yesterday said any talk of a rift between Joe Girardi and A.J. Burnett is nothing more than a “media circus” and is not an organizational concern.
Burnett’s miserable pitching? That’s a lot different.
“That’s certainly on the radar, that wasn’t a good start,” Cashman said of the spanking the Twins administered to the right-hander Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Burnett gave up seven runs and five hits in 1 2/3 innings of a 9-4 loss. When leaving the mound in the second inning, Burnett muttered “That’s bleeping [bullspit]” in Girardi’s direction. Girardi and Burnett said the pitcher was ticked off after a close pitch to Joe Mauer was called a ball.
“It’s more a media circus,” Cashman said. “It’s fair to ask the question about what happened, but some don’t believe what happened, happened.”
What’s happened to Burnett on the mound is more important to Cashman, who said the right-hander’s $16.5 million salary doesn’t guarantee him a spot in the rotation beyond Friday night’s start in Baltimore.
“There are no guarantees,” Cashman said. “But we don’t have to make a decision right away. When we have to, Joe, [pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] and I will talk about it.”
Following the Aug. 15 game against the Orioles, Girardi said he intends to return from six starters to five. And based on Burnett’s recent body of work he needs a gem Friday night to stay in the rotation.
Burnett (9-10) is 1-4 with a 7.12 ERA in his last nine starts. He has allowed 61 hits and issued 25 walks in 49 1/3 innings.
CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova are locks to stay. Phil Hughes (4-4, 5.47) has won his last three starts. While appearing to be running low on fuel recently, Bartolo Colon (8-7, 3.54) has been better than Burnett.
Freddy Garcia made a minor league rehab appearance last night for Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Although his stuff isn’t as good as Burnett’s, he is 10-7 with a 3.16 ERA.
Not only could Burnett be dropped from the rotation, he might not be on the roster for the AL Division Series.
According to a scout who watched Burnett against the Twins, there was nothing to build on.
“That was awful,” the scout said. “We always talk about turning the corner with guys like that, but how long can you talk about it? Nova and Hughes are more reliable because they throw strikes. His pitches the other night weren’t close.”
Since Burnett’s mechanics have always been high maintenance, it’s possible failure has worked its way into Burnett’s head.
“If it gets mental with those kinds of mechanics it can get very tough to get back,” the scout said. “If he doesn’t clean it up you don’t know what you have.”
What you have is a $16.5 million mop-up man with two more years at $33 million.
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Due to a waiver procedure, Aaron Laffey was designated for assignment Sunday when the club announced he was optioned.
Once the procedure is complete, the lefty reliever will be optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre today.
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Derek Jeter is three hits shy of tying Rod Carew for 22nd place on the all-time hit list at 3,053. In his last 10 games, Jeter is batting .465 ((20-for-43). . . . Robinson Cano enters tonight’s action riding a 13-game hitting streak during which he is batting .364 (20-for-55).