AJ has to pitch against the Red Sox now I think. I can see AJ pitching 4 innings lights out 0 runs, and then EXPLODING in the 5th. Joe leaves him in, and lets him give up 6 runs.
I can't believe that they'd let Burnett pitch in Fenway after the way that he got waxed on Friday. Cashman needs to take a hit off that objective pipe. Big Bad Bart is rolling today. 6 innings, no runs, 2 hits, no walks, 3 strikeouts, and only 68 pitches? Sure, it's against the O's, but that makes me feel a lot better after the way that Hughes pitched in his last time out.
I don't know, I think the Yanks are better off trying to get Burnett right than giving up on him now. That is, if he can get past this and pitch more like he did in April, the Yanks are going to be a much harder team to beat in the playoffs, regardless of who they play or where they play them. If they can't, so be it... go with CC > Hughes/Nova/Garcia in the playoffs. But it's worth their while to try to get him right now.
I see where you're coming from, but at this point I don't think that they can trust Burnett with a playoff start no matter what he looks like in September. Just look at the numbers; it's impossible to make a case that he is one of their 4 best starters. In a perfect world, he'd go on the DL and spare us all the drama of pulling him from the rotation, and this offseason some combination of Rothschild/Contreras/Conners can try to rebuild his career.
Right. It's impossible to make that case right now. But if he pitches in September like he did in April, and if any of Hughes/Colon/Nova/Garcia struggle... I mean, we all know that when he's pitching well, AJ is a better option than (at the very least) Garcia. I have absolutely no idea whether he's likely to pitch well or not... but since the Yanks are close to being guaranteed a playoff spot, even if the chances are very, very low that he gets it together, I think they give him the chance. Maybe I'm wrong... maybe he sucks his next time out and they put him in the pen and/or DFA him.
Cano, Swisher and Jones go back to back to back and we're up 7-3. Those sequences are fun. Fuck the Orioles.
Just think, about a year ago he couldn't hit lefties at all. Someone should give Kevin Long a big pile of money. Or at least a managerial job.
AJ will be facing the Sox on Thursday. So much for the objective pipe. Oh, and Verlander should be the MVP. And the Cy Young.
