ShareThisThe doubters won't go away until he offers something tangible, because let's be honest, A.J. Burnett hasn't always done stretch drives well.
But then, who doesn't have uncertainties these days, right? Burnett has so far been something other than the complacent flop his detractors thought he'd be when he signed his $82.5-million contract with the New York Yankees. He didn't get the decision in Wednesday's 4-3, 11-inning win over his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays, and his three wild pitches hinted at his evil twin Bad A.J., but it was the 13th time in his last 14 starts that opponents did not score more than three earned runs.
He is 3-0 (0.52 earned-run average) in his five starts after a loss, and opposing pitchers have had a .605 winning percentage (89-58) when he faced them.
Exercising the opt-out clause in his Toronto contract after last year was a no-brainer, and whatever you think about Burnett, no-brainers are, um, right up his alley.
Burnett's former team is a mess. The Blue Jays' ace, Roy Halladay, looks and sounds as if he's cut the emotional cord despite having another year on his contract. And the man who was being lauded as a miracle worker during the Blue Jays' false spring, manager Cito Gaston, essentially shrugged and said "meh" when he was asked this week if he wants to manage the team past 2010. He might rather stay on as an adviser. He might come back in 2011 to manage if asked.
(For the record, interim president and chief executive officer Paul Beeston said Gaston's status is not an issue. "He's a career Blue Jay," Beeston said. "If he wants to come back, we'll have a job in some capacity. We'll address that when the time comes.")
The Blue Jays, of course, let Alex Rios leave on waivers just before the first game of the Yankees series. Beeston is not pleased with the way the claim has been presented in the media. He dismisses talk of uncertainty, saying merely that Rogers Communications has tied payroll to revenue. If revenue goes up, the payroll goes up. But absent additional revenue, costs must be cut.
He also realizes he faces an increasingly skeptical public. He's an interim guy who seems to be the only person in Toronto who doesn't think he's the perfect man for the job. His general manager is widely considered to be a dead man walking. But Beeston's reaction is to be effusive in his praise of ownership, so if this thing does go all pear-shaped, his credibility will take a hit.
Now, it's a little much to start calling the Blue Jays the Metro Zoo the way the Yankees used to be referred to as the Bronx Zoo. But it's not even mid-August, and the dog days are already biting this franchise with frightening vigor. The Yankees? Well, maybe it's the new ballpark, but there is a different feel to them this year.
Yankees captain Derek Jeter suggested the clubhouse is similar to the clubhouses of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the team was winning World Series. Free agents Burnett, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira have not only re-established the Yankees as the majors' best team, they've also integrated seamlessly with the Yankees' holy trinity -- Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. No drama. No unfortunate surprises.
"Those three guys had already moved around to a couple of teams before coming here," Jeter said. "... They've really fit in. They've each had big games or big hits. I know you guys get tired of me talking about taking it day to day, but that's how we do it here. We worry about what's in front of us. They've been doing that, too."
Burnett was not part of the Florida Marlins' 2003 World Series after undergoing tendon-transplant surgery just four starts into the year. In 2005, he won seven consecutive games following the All-Star break and the Marlins decided against trading him, sensing they had a shot at the wild card.
But from late August on, Burnett lost six consecutive decisions and was asked by manager Jack McKeon to leave the club with a week left in the season following criticism he leveled at the organization, saying the Marlins "played scared, managed scared and coached scared."
Yet here he is, wearing pinstripes, being a good citizen and even seeing his team win on days like Wednesday when his pitches had so much movement he apologized to Posada afterward. "I think I almost killed him," Burnett said.
He's killing, all right. Killing 'em on Broadway.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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