TAMPA — You probably should know this: Despite what you may think, despite the way the past year may have gone, it’s a pretty good thing to be A.J. Burnett. For starters, you are in Year Three of an $82.5 million contract. You are the owner of two World Series rings, one earned as a spectator for the 2003 Florida Marlins, one as a key component of the 2009 Yankees.
There are times when you let loose a fastball and — your words — you “can feel that it’s right,” from the moment it leaves your fingertips. And there is that curveball, which when it’s right is as unhittable a pitch as there is in baseball and even when it’s wrong can buckle the knees of the best hitters on earth.
Yes. That’s not a bad set of building blocks to begin every working day.
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“Confidence,” Burnett said yesterday. “That really is where it all starts for me.”
He was sweaty from his first appearance of the spring, two innings of work and 21 pitches thrown against a collection of fringe major leaguers wearing Houston Astros uniforms, plus a few legit hitters in the likes of Jason Michaels and Bill Hall.
It so happens that Michaels and Hall were the only two Astros to scratch hits off Burnett, looping back-to-back soft singles to start the second inning, and so they provided Burnett with his first miniature practice test of the new season. And he responded well, inducing a double-play grounder from Brett Wallace and a soft ground-out by J.R. Towles.
So you can add Burnett’s two innings to the ultra-clean appearances of the Yankees’ other starters this spring. So far Bartolo Colon is the only starter to allow a run; the others — Burnett, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia — have now gone scoreless across eight innings, with Freddy Garcia getting the ball today against the Rays in Port Charlotte.
OK, here is the mandatory portion of all spring training articles in which there always should be a disclaimer: These games mean nothing, and sometimes what we see in them mean less. And if we’re going to extend the courtesy to Derek Jeter to not spasm with concern after every 0-for-2 of the spring — a worry that can be eased, by the way, because Jeter hit two balls sharply yesterday — it’s fair not to see Cy Young and Walter Johnson amid the cooling Florida breezes.
Still …
Burnett is a curious case, and has been from the moment the Mets drafted him out of Arkansas and introduced his unique blend of talent, temerity and tentativeness on pro ball. There is no denying his ability. There’s never been any denying that, even if you don’t have a radar gun.
Filthy is filthy, and Burnett’s always been filthy.
He’s also dabbled in dreadfulness.
And, last year, specialized in it.
“There’s been a lot said, and why wouldn’t it after the year I had last year?” Burnett said yesterday, referring to a 2010 season that would be deemed ‘forgettable’ (10-15, 5.26, a WHIP of over 1 1/2 ) if not for the fact that it’s impossible for anyone to forget; that’s how bad it was.
“It’s my job,” he said, “to go out and shut some mouths.”
And that’s not a request, either. The Yankees certainly can survive Cliff Lee’s snub, and the resulting open-mike-night feel to the back of the rotation, but it will take Burnett pitching closer to the 2008-09 vintage (31 wins, 426 strikeouts) and providing serviceable support for Sabbathia and Hughes to make that really happen.
Now, and for the foreseeable future, you will be inundated with tales of Burnett’s altered mechanics, about the reduced “swing” in his delivery, about the Mr. Miyagi/Daniel-san relationship he is developing with Larry Rothschild, the Yankees’ new pitching coach. All of that may be relevant and valuable, or it all may be so much white noise.
Either way, A.J. Burnett, at age 34, is running low on mulligans. And knows it.
“Last year’s in the past,” he said. “And I have to keep it there.”
Preferably with gasoline. And a match.
michael.vaccaro@nypost.com