The Yankees can land a front end of the rotation starter without having to make a trade.
All they have to do is get A.J. Burnett to wake up and realize he is the No. 2 starter for the Yankees. If Burnett started carrying his financial weight and standing in the rotation, the Yankees would be in good shape going into the final two months of the season.
Because of Burnett’s slip-shod season, the Yankees are again in pitching peril. Imagine where they would be if Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia weren’t exceeding expectations.
Once again the Yankees are waiting on Burnett. It seems like they are always waiting on Burnett, who will go against the helpless Orioles tonight at Yankee Stadium.
Pitching coaches have changed, but the results are pretty much the same.
The right-hander has not won a game since June 29 and the amazing thing is he didn’t face the Red Sox over that span. Beginning Aug. 5, nine of the Yankees’ final 49 games will be against Boston, so Burnett is going to have to face the Boston music sometime.
But that’s getting ahead of the situation. For now, the Yankees will take a winning outing from Burnett against the Orioles. Small steps, A.J.
This victory is just waiting for Burnett. The Yankees are 6-0 against Baltimore and Burnett already has one of those wins. The Yankees have outscored the Orioles 51-18. The Orioles are to these Yankees what the Washington Senators used to be to Yogi Berra’s Yankees.
So much for Buck Showalter turning around the Orioles quickly.
Burnett is 8-8 this season. That’s basically the story of his career. He has so much talent. You can never question Burnett’s work ethic, he just doesn’t put it all together.
Since June 29, Burnett’s ERA is 4.94. He has allowed 21 hits and 16 walks over 23 2/3 innings, going 0-2.
The time for making excuses for Burnett’s performance has long since passed. These are the beginning of the dog days, the Yankees have issues and they need Burnett to rise to the occasion. It’s that simple and it has to start against the Orioles tonight.
Since his 4-1 start, Burnett has struggled. He is 4-7 over that span with a 4.32 ERA and most of those starts have come against mediocre teams, at best. He did face Boston once in that time and lost 11-6, surrendering eight runs over 5 2/3 innings. The way the rotation is set up, it looks like Burnett will skip the Red Sox next time around, too.
OK, the Red Sox are in Burnett’s head, but what is his excuse against everyone else? He signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Yankees and is 31-32 with a 4.52 ERA over his three years in The Bronx. So if he beats the mighty Orioles tonight he is a .500 pitcher for the Yankees.
Over the last two seasons Burnett is 18-23 with a 4.83 ERA. He is five games under .500 for a team that is 48 games over .500 over those two years.
Those numbers really put his performance into perspective. It’s much more than a Red Sox problem for Burnett. It’s a “winning” problem for the talented, underachieving pitcher.
While CC Sabathia has gone the extra mile, going 8-1 since June 14 with a 1.70 ERA and is 12-2 with a 2.06 ERA since May 19, Burnett has been essentially missing in action for the Yankees. That’s the bottom line.
There are warning signs. Despite their 61-41 record, the Yankees are 12-15 in one-run games, 8-6 to start the second half. Against AL East teams not named the Orioles, the Yankees are a combined 13-17. They are without Alex Rodriguez.
They are two games behind the Red Sox in the loss column in the AL East, five games ahead of the Angels in the wild-card race.
It is time Burnett puts together a winning streak and pitch like a No. 2.