Bursting the Burnett bubble
ByIt is, I find, sometimes easy to forget that A.J. Burnett is making $16.5 million this year. He’s not the big dog in the starting rotation; that honor is reserved for CC. He doesn’t have the same Yankee cachet as Derek, A-Rod or Mark Teixeira either. And yet, there he is, pulling down a check for $634,615.39 every two weeks.
What is not easy to forget is how poorly A.J. Burnett has pitched lately. Since throwing a seven-inning, two-hit, zero-earned run game against Tampa Bay on July 27, Burnett has been nothing better than medicore with starts careening from good to awful. Over his last seven starts spanning 42.2 innings, Burnett is 0-4 with a 6.54 ERA. While he’s striking out a batter an inning, he has issued 19 walks and given up seven home runs. Opponents are hitting .287/.361/.456 against him, and that includes 7.2 innings of one-hit ball he threw against Boston in the 15-inning game on August 7.
As the Yankees hit the stretch drive — note the new Magic Number counter in the right-hand sidebar — the team is going to look to Burnett to pitch out of his funk. Right now, their pitching hopes rest on CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, and an effective Burnett would do wonders for this team’s October chances. Based on his season so far, though, there is hope that he could snap out of it and reel off a great run of starts.
With his start last night, Burnett has now thrown 27 games this year, and he season breaks down neatly into thirds. Through his first nine starts, he was bad. At just 2-2 through May 22, he had thrown 58 innings with an ERA of 5.28. He had struck out 50 but had walked 27 and allowed 10 home runs. Then, he turned up his game. Over his next 11 starts, he went 69.1 innings with a 2.08 ERA. He was 8-2 in that stretch and struck out 63. His walk total — 36 — was still too high, but he limited the longballs to just five.
Now, Bad Burnett, winless since July ended, is back, and Jason Rosenberg at IIATMS wonders if this streakiness is what Burnett will be. He writes:
Has any big ticket free agent been more under-the-radar, more in-the-shadows than AJ Burnett? If any other team, and I mean ANY, had signed Burnett and he posted the numbers he has thus far on the Yanks, is there any doubt there’d be some “overrated” or “bust” chatter? Yet, drafting behind CC, Teix and the rest of the shiny stars on the Yanks, AJ has been able to escape the scorn of the NY media. Does he get a free pass due to his cream pie surprises and he seems to be well-liked by all?…
What about his “value”? According to FanGraphs, AJ’s WAR is just 2.4, his lowest in years. Granted, we’re not done with the season, but AJ’s not delivering on his promise. And as far as dollar value earned, he’s at $10.9m (well below his annual salary of over $16m and prorated season-to-date salary paid of $13.6m). By comparison, AJ’s WAR last year was 5.7 and his dollar value earned was $25.5m.
Waaaaay back when AJ was signed, I called him an “expensive station car”, an analogy which several people seemed to enjoy. The smartest thing AJ did (besides having that opt-out option and having a career year at the same time) was not letting his ego get in the way of the decision process. He knew he wasn’t going to be the top dog on the Yanks staff and was seemingly OK with this fact (getting an $80m+ contract can do that). Not too dissimilar to his time in TOR when he thrived behind Doc Halladay or even in FLA behind Beckett. He hasn’t been asked to be the horse who carries the club. Merely be very good. He hasn’t been very good very often (though, at times he has) and he hasn’t yet earned his payroll. But he’s gone out there every turn and given the Yanks 6+ innings of decent performance. How would he have handled being expected to be The Ace of any other team?
Jason brings up some interesting questions to consider, but while those make for a good thought experiment, the reality is far simpler: The Yankees will need A.J. Burnett to rediscover his touch from June and July that made him one of the best pitchers in the AL for 11 starts. All of the walk-off cream pies in the world can’t disguise the fact that, right now, the Yankees aren’t getting their money’s worth out of their second starter.
The strike outs are there; the control and poise on the mound are slipping away. When push comes to shove, the Yankees will put their season into the hands of Burnett, a player who numerous commentators have noted will be making his first post-season start this year. Hopefully, Good A.J. will show up when the time comes.
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The Mason Williams Watch
wow. i did not know it was to be his 1st post season start. it seems to always slip through that he was out with TJS when the yankees lost to his marlins in the WS….
hopefully he gets disgusted with himself again and pulls the “i may be bad now, but i’m gonna go on a run and it is gonna be impressive” sometime around game 2 of the alds
hopefully he gets disgusted with himself again and pulls the “i may be bad now, but i’m gonna go on a run and it is gonna be impressive” sometime around game 2 of the alds
I’m hoping for last start of the regular season, go in guns blazing for ALDS, then he should be good for 11 straight good starts, and they’d need tops 6
He should be embarassed he is making that much. All he does is take the ball ever 5 days and either pitch amazing or horribly. The days in between he throws pies at teammates and fists his wife.
I wish that he would be more consistent, but I’ll take what I can get with his type of talent.
Ya, cause you’d be embarrassed if you made that much money. Fists hisWife? Necessary? You talk bout him and his wife like that again, I’ll fist you buddy.
the AJ burnett crew in da hizzzzzzy.
what happened to making your name a diff picture of his every so often?
On the mobile.
+1 for MP’s attitude
Edited by RAB: This user has been banned from commenting. Personal attacks and pretending to be Ben, Joe or Mike are not tolerated here.
Yeah…considering Pop’s love of A.J., he miiiiight be alright with that.
Ummmm…… No.
Haha, I got nothin’ but love for you, Pop!
You too buddy, had to come out and get at jim. I defends my peoples.
wow really? way to take the high road dude. this is severely inappropriate.
i knew that wasn’t really jo-paw.
well, now rab is an anti-semite socialist rag lacking credibility….
::keed, keed::
IETC lol
“Edited by RAB: This user has been banned from commenting.”
Well that escalated quickly.
(Eagerly awaiting word that JtJ was actually some other, much beloved RAB character from the past.)
It was I all along.
Haha, nice. Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY-03vYYAjA (safe)
(Eagerly awaiting word that JtJ was actually some other, much beloved RAB character from the past.)
GOULEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!
(just kidding, I have no idea. It’s a fun game, though, isn’t it?)
The days in between he throws pies at teammates and fists his wife.
wait…..that’s bad?
Ok. That comment about his wife is completely inappropriate. Give it a rest. Since you’re new here, read through out commenting guidelines and tone it down a bit.
I think you guys are giving this guy entirely way too much lee-way.
‘Jim the Jew’, lewd sexual comments, seems entirely = to a troll.
Ban the **** already.
Ah, you did. Thanks!
We have three times now, but he’s IP hopping. We’re working on it. Don’t worry.
I literally cannot think of a reason I would ever IP-hop to post on a website that banned me.
GET. A. LIFE.
Well at least we know how you would feel now. Thank you for letting us know. I was always curious.
Guess that one hit a little close to home there, huh Axl.
Meh, you’re exonerated, Mak, you’ve come back and admitted your mistakes and attempted to reingratiate yourself.
You’re good money with me. (You wear thin on the nerves from time to time, but you’ve learned from your one big mistake and vowed not to repeat it.)
Thanks. I wouldn’t even have ever said anything like that either. I don’t know why I did. Either way, it’s over with and won’t happen again. Thanks for understanding.
I know I can get on everyone’s nerves from time to time and I’m sorry for that too…but I try to at least keep it related to baseball.
That was a joke…it wasn’t meant as a poking fun at you or anything. It was a slight friendly joke.
Sometimes these things can get taken out of context lol
Who is this guy?
I made an inappropriate and unnecessary mistake last time. But I don’t usually talk like that nor feel it necessary in a baseball blog.
I didn’t get a chance to apologize directly last time and I don’t have any email addresses without my personal name/information attached…plus I work full time and go to grad school part time….so it was hard to get some time to write you a formal apology via email…but I just wanted to apologize for that before. I don’t usually say or write those things.
Anyway, that’s my public service announcement for the day lol. Back to baseball!
Agreed, and thanks. You’ve been 100% good about not remotely going near the offensive behavior again, and it’s appreciated. Everyone deserves second chances, if they show contrition and don’t reoffend.
And you’ve done that.
(pats Mak on the back)
BTW, I very belatedly responded to you in the other convo. If you’re interested. If not… whatevs, it’s all good.
http://riveraveblues.com/2009/.....ent-563728
Just so we don’t skip back and forth from thread to thread. I understand how I may have come across as over-the-top and your point of view…but if you look at it from my perspective…I thought you were being sarcastic from the beginning (and rightfully so…we’ve all had our moments with one another) and if you look at it from my perspective you can see how I see that as sarcastic…you apparently didn’t mean for it to be and it was misunderstood.
On the other side, you also misunderstood some of what I was saying. When I say “so basically”…in my mind…it gets rid of the “you said this” and says “it sounds like you’re saying this” and I didn’t mean for it to be a “you said this…this is what you meant” type of a thing. Again, things get taken out of context because you can’t exactly sense emotion or feeling behind anything. Which is then were you look at the poster, and based on his reputation and the way you feel about him, you pass judgment on his post believing you know what he meant I guess (not you specifically but the universal “you”).
Anyway, I don’t hold grudges…I enjoy the board and what it has to offer. I respect everybody and despite our disagreements I enjoy what everybody has to say.
Hopefully you’ll get used to me soon and understand that I’m not dangling a carrot so that people come running to argue with me. I live in the Red Sox territory of Connecticut, most of my friends are Red Sox fans…I’ve had my back against the wall battling them the past couple years lol and I come here frustrated sometimes subconsciously wanting you to respond telling me that everything is going to be ok. That’s all.
I just re-read this and realized I ramble a lot so it’s probably easy to misundertand or misinterpret what I’m trying to say or get across. Sorry again.
Fine. Like I said, you keep making baby steps forward in acknowledging how you sometimes say things unartfully and it ends up with people responding to a written word that means something other than what you intended. It’s appreciated.
All I ask is that you try to make fewer blanket statements and attack fewer strawmen, harbor fewer grudges and bear fewer crosses, and play the victim less and play “characters” less and things will go very smoothly with you. We’re generally always willing to let you back into the convo when you make an effort. People get into tiffs with you not because you espouse a minority opinion, but because you espouse a minority opinion in an occasionally haughty, disingenuous, or melodramatic fashion.
There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing, only with being disagreeable. And saying some derivative of “you’re taking me out of context” or “you’re making too much of this issue” only works once or twice, not time and time again.
Just keep this one piece of advice in your head: The best way to not be misinterpreted is to say less and not more, and to be specific and not general.
(internet handshake)
Now Mak kiss Erics ring.
Who is this guy anyway?
I smell a meme.
That dude was on a roll in every thread today building to this. lol
LOL, that comment was SOOO inappropriate. Out of LF, too.
Sense: this post didn’t make much.
Why should he or any athlete be embarrassed about what they make? I’d love for once for someone to bash the teams for making untold millions. You really think they’d pay these salaries if they couldnt afford it?
so close, so close…
why bash ANYBODY for making money?
can’t make poor people wealthy by burning down the rich man’s house…
(plus, i hopes to be one sometime…)
why bash ANYBODY for making money?
I’m going to defend Bo here.
I *think* he meant it as “if people are going to bash one side for doing something, they should also bash the other side because they do the same thing.”
I don’t think he meant it as “both sides deserve to be bashed”
I thought I was pretty clear. Thanks Ed. No athlete should be bashed for what they make. It shouldnt be brought up everytime he pitches or what A-Rod makes per at bat or whatever.
You never hear teams get trashed for making millions or being worth billions do you?
How would it be if the Yankees kept their payroll at 100 and made an extra 125 every yr?
oh. ok, i’m with you then…
…right up until we do bash teams–teams get jabbed all the time for not spending their luxury tax money or making half the effort The Boss makes (nobody can match it, so lets cut them a 50% break).
I wonder what the cause and effect relationship is between the walks being up, the GBs being down and (according to fangraphs) a pretty drastic change in his 2 seam. Harder equals more horizontal movement and less vertical? Charting errors/variances?
http://www.fangraphs.com/pitch.....position=P
I assume they’re misidentifying the 2-seam fast balls. It’s only 1-2% of his pitches, so even if it has changed significantly, that can’t really explain his performance.
Impressive that I actually checked to see if his percentages had changed, saw they didn’t (all FB/CB) and still made that comment? I vote no.
There’s really nothing tangibly different as far as his inputs; strike % is about the same and his stuff is the same WRT movement/speed/frequency. Only thing that’s really changed inside of his control is the walks (perhaps the ball/strike splits are more pronounced game to game but level over the season). Beyond that, although its hard to say why, the GBs generated are down and his out of zone numbers have swung somewhat drastically (swing and miss down 3%, contact up 10%). I give up.
Yea, he has been up and down, but that is what we expected. We also expect him to be up for playoff games. AJ’s success or failure, as many other Yankees, will be based on how they perform in the postseason, whether it is fair or not.
Exactly. This is what he will be because this is who he has been. Not a suprise.
he is who you thought he was?
NOW IF YOU WANNA CROWN HIS ASS, THEN CROWN HIS ASS!!!
My dude will be ready when the Tigers come to town, unhittable. Book It.
Good thing you’re neutral
Well AJ does have no nit dominating stuff and thats the kind of guys you want to send out there in October.
I think the most showing thing from AJ’s recent struggles is that he has lost his poise on the mound, as you mentioned in the article. I used to think he was calm, cool and collected at all times, but he can obviously get seriously rattled when things don’t go his way. I hope he has that under control come playoff time. We have already seen that he can step his game up under pressure as he did against Beckett and the Sox, so I am not that worried.
I sort of understated the poise issue in this article, but it might come back to haunt the Yanks tonight. Apparently, A.J. yelled “motherf*cker” at himself after giving up the home run to Felix Pie, and the Orioles thought A.J. was yelling at Pie. It’s very similar to his “Why did you throw that pitch?” tantrum he threw in Boston ten days ago.
I understand that it’s frustrating to have his stuff and not always be able to harness it, but he has to chill a bit on the mound.
I, for one, am glad he’s so hard on himself. Much rather have him screaming “motherf*cker” than shaking it off like it’s no big deal.
…then again, O’Neill is my favorite Yankee ever.
Paulie is my 2nd favorite Yank, behind AJ Burnett.
1) Gerald “Ice” Williams 2) Andy Stankiewicz 3) Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens
What? No Andy Fox?
I didn’t even get to Mel Hall or Pascual Perez yet.
My list runs DEEP. (TWSS)
Player A:
Moth*rFuck*r!
Why would you throw that pitch?
Player B:
At least i still have a job.
i was gonna look for an ipk ‘no, i’m throwing really well’ quote but got tired
Nah, come on man. You’re throwing fine. It was bad luck. Nothing to worry about.
signed,
Joba
Yea, I’m with you. I’m still believe AJ was referring to Posada when he yelled, “Why did you throw that pitch,” which would make his temper even a larger issue (Not that I’m looking to get into that debate again and I understand how people think he was yelling at himself.)
I like your take that AJ’s antics on the mound may piss the other team off. I did not look at it that way and will definitely keep an eye out for that now.
I may be wrong but I think he kinda pointed at him and said, “This motherf*cker?” He couldn’t believe someone like Pie took him deep. Apparently, The O’s pitching thought it was disrespectful.
But your point still stands.
AJ gets pissed and he needs to calm down, Beckett drops f-bombs and he’s a bulldog
I dont expect at 32 for AJ to change, he is who is he by now. And O’s getting mad at AJ, really who cares, they’re a crappy team who need to search for things for motivation- and they still end up losing.
Why does Beckett have to be dragged into this?
What is with some of you guys and the constant Sox media things?
You know that AJ can shut down any team at any time b/c thats the kinda of stuff he has..
but right now…he and posada are just not a good match…whether thats fair or not…its the truth.
Its not fair and it is not the truth. AJ throws a fastball and a curve. Pitch selection has really not been the problem, but pitch location has been. AJ has simply not hit his spots on his pitches.
How come Andy Pettitte, a 37 year old way out of his prime, has been one of the best starters in the league since the All-Star break with Jorge primarily as his catcher, yet AJ’s struggles are tied to Posada’s alleged inability to call a game? Maybe it’s just a case of AJ being what he has been his whole career – inconsistent.
He never said it was Jorge’s fault. What he said was:
he and posada are just not a good match
That could equally be blamed on AJ Burnett. More likely, it could just be a matter of both of them being stubborn. The solution is for them to work it out, which can take some time when you have a new teammate. Andy and Jorge have been working together for 10 seasons, so it’s not surprising that they can work well together. It may just take some time (and some disagreements) for Jorge and AJ to figure it out.
This shouldn’t imply that Jorge is a bad catcher, or that he shouldn’t catch AJ. It just means that in certain situations they have different ideas of how to get a hitter out, which can cause some friction.
True. I guess I just took it as another commenter implying that Jorge can’t/shouldn’t catch AJ, since there’s been plenty of that sentiment recently.
i never said Posada couldn’t call a game…NEVER did i say that…matter of fact..i’m not even blaming posada.
what i am saying is that AJ doesn’t seem comfortable with Posada catching him. That can not be argued and it is not all on posada..actually i would say AJ is to blame for that.
but whether AJ is to blame or Posada…something just ain’t clicking.
Yea, I jumped the gun a bit. My bad.
The only reason I’d say keep him away from Posada is that Burnett’s stuff probably requires a better defensive catcher than anyone else’s and their personalities just seem like a clash when things are bad. If you’re playing Molina once every five days, may as well do it when he can block a few ridiculous curves.
or cosndier Posada/AJ have to live with each other for the next 2.5 years maybe they should work together more
I’m more inclined to lean this way. They’ll figure each other out. The problem is they’re both hard headed, so it can be difficult.
They’re going to be a bad match regardless (even if they’re totally on the same page, Posada’s not going to get any quicker on balls in the dirt) and I’m sure Posada is going to still be a 4 out of 5 days guy at best so I don’t see the concern. If Posada were 10 years younger maybe but sometimes have a personal catcher (ie Maddux & anyone not named Javy Lopez) sometimes just works out best.
You knew you were going to hear that from people today.
He didnt exactly keep his cool with Molina in the 4th inn vs Texas did he?
And if Posada was playing vs Tex wouldnt he have a better shot to actually u know get a hit then Molina??
Yes and if Posada could catch every game I’d be all for it but the fact is that he (and almost every other catcher (save Hod Rod Hundley, I think it was)) gets about 1 in 5 days off either on the bench or at DH. Given that, wouldn’t it make sense to use Burnett’s starts as Posada’s days off considering their not-so-great repoire and, most importantly, the fact that Burnett would benefit most from a better defensive catcher? This isn’t some knee-jerk OMGOMGOMG THEY HATE EACH OTHER SOOO MUCH thing, its logical scheduling based on strengths/weaknesses.
The worst part is he is actually out-performing his FIP of 4.55 with ERA of 4.29. Hopefully, he will turn it around.
His tRA+ is also at 95. Well, let’s hope he can reverse this trend.
whether i believe this or not, he is a veteran, and I can noly have faith that between him and eiland they will figure it out.
My optimistic side wants to remind everyone that he did throw 8 innings of 1-hit shutout ball against Beckett and the Sox, so to say he was 0-4 in August is really unfair.
Well, it’s true. He was 0-4, and the team won a pair of his starts in which he got a no-decision.
/end literal retort
August was odd for A.J. He had generally good starts but two awful outings and one bad pitch skewed the month. Oh well. He still has a month to right himself.
It’s really convenient to forget the start against Beckett in the questioning of him.
Hasn’t Beckett been even worse lately?
Hopefully that stays where it is…
Actually, not nearly as bad. His August ERA is above 5.00 (5.03)…but he’s had a 1.195 WHIP which is weird. 36 hits and 11 walks in 39.1 innings. As opposed to Burnett who had a 6.03 ERA with 38 hits and 17 walks in 37.1 innings. And those numbers don’t include the stinker pitched yesterday (September 1st).
It’s easy to see the walks and hits are the problem for AJ…but Beckett seems to have been having some pretty good control and still getting tanked around. Perhaps that’s more serious??
If your WHIP and other stats are inline with where you have been when having success, but your ERA is higher than you’re used to, it’s not as serious as bad control/bad results. Without looking closely at it, Beckett would be a candidate for bad luck, while Burnett would be a candidate for pitching poorly.
At least, that’s my view of things.
For Beckett, it’s not luck it’s HR.
Becket gave up 10HR in 150IP from the start of the season through Aug 12. Since then he’s given up 12HR in 25.1IP.
Could it be his ‘luck’ ran out and his HR/FB ratio tanked? Looking at his game logs, Beckett either hit a wall and his luck ran out, or he’s pitching through some ailment trying to keep the Sox in contention.
Burnett’s been all over the place this year, but until mid-August Beckett was still a borderline contender for the Cy Young.
There was an article (somewhere, forget) that pointed out Beckett’s predictibility as far as fastballs early, curveballs to finish and that teams, especially NY in the 5 HR game, learned to sit on it.
(And I’m in Somerville.)
Hmm…maybe Tek shouldn’t call for the same sequence all the time (I’m guessing he was behind the plate and Martinez was at 1B during that game).
(In JP to be exact)
Perhaps Varitek and Beckett aren’t a good match.
signed,
Jorge Posada
The last time AJ pitched against Becket was August 12. After that game, here are their numbers:
AJ: 7.12ERA 30.1IP 11BB 32K 7HR
Beckett: 7.82ERA 25.1IP 7BB 24K 12HR
Yeah, I take my analysis back and throw it out the window.
Beckett in August:
8/1: Win vs. BAL (7 IP, 0 ER)
8/7: ND vs. NYY (7 IP, 0 ER)
8/12: Win vs. DET (7 IP, 2 ER)
but then it just gets awful:
8/18: Win vs. TOR (5.1 IP, 7 ER)
8/23: Loss vs. NYY (8 IP, 8 ER)
8/28: ND vs. TOR (5 IP, 5 ER)
For some reason, I think A.J is a big game pitcher and will come through in the postseason. Just a good feeling I’m having.
I posted basically the same thing before his start yesterday.
People didn’t want to listen. I’ll give TSJC credit though, he did provide statistical information to back up his disagreement…and I respect that. It’s a far cry away from what is usually posted as a response to my posts. Which is a good thing.
Anyway, He was horrible in August…Joba was even worse. The fact that we not only gained ground…but kept the ground we gained with the two of them (+ Mitre) having an August ERA over 6.00 is mind baffling…but appreciated none-the-less.
We just may not be as lucky when these 2 are going head-to-head against another teams dominant and/or consistent starter. Let’s just hope he’s not the second coming of ALDS Randy Johnson.
He started out horrible and turned it all around with some nasty starts…and now it seems he’s going back to where he started for whatever reason (coincidence probably…right?) so I guess we’ll just have to lean back and cross our fingers…
“It’s a far cry away from what is usually posted as a response to my posts.”
For future reference, Axl, this is why people get on you. Your ego knows no bounds. All of your posts are infused with the “I’m right” attitude, and it wears thin quickly.
Why can’t I point out the fact that I brought up relevant important information before? The ONLY reason I wrote that sentence is not for my ego…but to remind people that I may not have only brought up a lot of relevant information to the board…but sometimes even before it’s written as a main thread by you guys…that’s all.
I don’t care about my ego. I don’t have anything to prove on here…nobody knows who I am and I’m not trying to create some character for myself. I merely just wanted to remind people that I actually do talk about relevant material more often than not.
I hope you understand.
Joe has a point in that it certainly comes across that way in at least some of your posts. Generally going with the “I said this… people didn’t want to listen” is effectively the same as saying “I told you so” which 99% of the time people will take as you flaunting you were correct, and thus boosting your ego, either directly or indirectly.
Its really just about tone and framing, if you just said: “I mentioned this yesterday in the game thread [link] and then started in with AJ & Joba have been terrible….” its not going to get the same reaction as people thinking your just looking to show everyone how you’re always right and posting for an ego boost.
Alright, perhaps you have a point there and I’ll admit that. But I said something similar in a previous post when guys like TSJC would (at the very least) “seemingly” post a sarcastic instigating response which ensued a “riot” of sorts.
I explained something similar, saying that it’s perfectly fine to disagree with my suggestion or comment…but do it nicely “that may be the case, Makavelli…but I disagree…and here’s why…” and provide your reasons or whatever. You know?
Yup, we get it works both ways, people that have posted for longer are going to be sided with however, it’s not fair, it’s just true.
How did he start out horrible? Didn’t he break losing streaks in the first month with great starts?
This is the same guy who posted that he was scared of them losing the lead because the orioles are scary. Guess we’re not seeing an “I’m right” on that one.
Well at least you found the “reply” button this time. Unfortunately for everybody though, you still haven’t found any sense.
I don’t understand what you’re talking about, first of all. Secondly, AJ Burnett’s first start in August was horrible. 7 runs against the White Sox. His very next start he pitched brilliantly, though we won the night before with our ridiculous offense…so again, I have no idea where this “breaking losing streaks at the beginning of the month” is coming from.
I understand you’re trying to redeem yourself to everybody by coming after me because you noticed that I’m this terrible guy everybody hates…but you’re not doing yourself any favors. My advice would be to keep your dignity. Continue posting nonsense if you wish…but do so on your terms. You’re not getting anything accomplished.
Well at least you found the “reply” button this time. Unfortunately for everybody though, you still haven’t found any sense.
+1
…and then,
-0.5
(You know why people are constantly rehashing your previous conversations? Because you’re constantly bringing up your previous conversations. I know you feel aggrieved, but you’ve got to let shit go and maybe you’ll feel less aggrieved. Just my two cents.)
Yeah yeah I know…
[shrug]
Don’t worry Axavelli, we don’t hate you. But come on, insulting each other isn’t necessary.
I gotta admit, I love the “Axavelli” name.
You should consider it, dude. It’s sweet.
It is pretty good…
Who is this Axl dude you guys are always talking about anyway?
any pitcher that walks and throws as many wild pitches as he does is a reason to be very concerned, he doesn’t show much in the way of toughness on the mound and seems to let every mistake bother him, his money says hes a number 2 his record and stats say otherwise.
Who cares how much hes being paid? Why should they factor into anything? He just needs to get more consistent. Would Ollie P at 12 mill or D Lowe at 15 be better? If they couldnt afford it they wouldnt have paid him. There was no better option on the market unless you really wanted to roll into the year with Perez or Lowe or Wolf for cheaper.
Thats the market place. Deal with it.
agreed
Would Ollie P at 12 mill
The fact that deal happened, for that much, makes me shudder.
Just because everyone else overpaid for mediocre pitching talent does not mean the Yanks are forced to overpay as well. They didn’t have to buy anybody. It is easy to say, “well, I guess that is the going rate, so we must be getting a good deal.”
I think AJ has been worth what he paid him this year, but the article points out that he has actually been overpaid so far this year. It is easy, and not very informative or entertaining, to say AJ has been “good”. This blog is so good because it looks past the obvious.
This reply was really meant to be to Dela G … I would not waste my time trying to talk to Bo (and I don’t mean to instigate, just clarifying my response)
He has been overpaid by one metric. The problem with that analysis is you have to look at the alternatives. These contracts aren’t signed in a vacuum, so you have to consider what other teams were willing to pay for him. Slightly overpaying for someone because they are a significant upgrade over the other alternatives isn’t necessarily a bad thing – especially when it helps the team make the playoffs.
“Slightly overpaying for someone because they are a significant upgrade over the other alternatives isn’t necessarily a bad thing”
I agree, and I most people here agree as well. But that does not take away the fact that he has been “slightly overpaid.” An earlier article this year showed that ARod has been overpaid this year while Cano has been seriously underpaid, based on production. It is just an analysis of their performance against their contract.
You gotta give Burnett time. Every pitcher struggles at one point or another. If he went on that amazing stretch in July, there’s no reason why he can’t do it again.
Lets assume that his troubles do come from pitching to Jorge. Does the assumed difference that he has pitching to Molina over Posada outweigh the difference our lineup would have +Molina & -Jorge or Matsui?
If throwing Molina out there could guarantee a Burnett that’s only going to give up 2 runs and go 7+, then you make that switch. But it doesn’t and Burnett has pitched great games to Jorge & Molina.
I don’t think the data supports that his problems come from pitching to Jorge. He has done worse when Jorge is catching, but I believe that is more related to the .309 BABIP (compared to .239 with Molina).
I don’t see why folks are so up in arms. For years, it’s been clear that Posada doesn’t work well with every pitcher. If AJ and Jorge haven’t figured out how to work together by August, I don’t see their relationship getting any better.
Is there such thing as damage control for Burnett? It seems like he either throws a gem or a stinker, or that one series of bad events in a particular inning turns a possible great start into a mediocre one. Burnett is a thrower, and not a great “pitcher”. Yeah, its great to see the starts when he has electric stuff and enough control to harness it. But its too scary to know that he just might not have it on a given night. I’d rather have a guy with pitching smarts and control who can go out there and consistently throw six or seven innings or 2 or 3 run ball. Its just so frustrating to watch Burnett pitch.
I don’t have the stats to back this up, so correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that his very hot-or-cold nature is due to his high walk totals. When he’s on, he can walk 9 batters and get around it, but when he’s off, these walks kill him.
Without looking anything up, it sure does seem that way to me.
While he may not be pitching all that well, he’s still “good” in the sense that he averages over 6 innings per start. In an ideal world, you want the 4 and 5 starters to do this; you expect it, and more, from someone like AJ. Still…what he’s doing isn’t without value because he is still consuming innings and resting the bullpen to a degree. When you consider he isn’t universally sucky, but alternately sucky and great, it makes the mediocre stats a bit better still.
But yeah, he’s not living up to what we hoped, or probably even to what would be a reasonable standard for him. But I like him because even when pitching poorly, he tends to pitch without fear. I think he’ll be fine come playoff time.
Burnett’s walks were pretty disturbing in August (17 BB in 37.1 innings) but he only walked 2 yesterday (albeit in 5.1 innings) but that’s still not THAT bad. The 11 hits yesterday in 5.1 innings is real bad. In August he gave up 38 hits in 37.1 innings and that’s bad. But 11 hits in 5.1 innings is horrendous.
That’s 10.5% of batters (or 4.1 per 9), his best month since April.
April: 31.7, 10.0%, 3.8
May: 32.3, 12.4%, 5.0
June: 30.0, 12.5%, 4.8
July: 33.3, 11.3%, 4.4
August: 37.3, 10.5%, 4.1
Overall: 168.7, 11.1%, 4.4
http://www.replacementlevel.co.....ng_with_aj
The answer? Not much
Who here thinks Burnett is hiding an injury?
Why would anyone hide an injury?
[...] the mound tonight and looking to build off of a successful August is CC Sabathia. While we questioned Burnett’s status as the Yanks’ second starter earlier today, CC has been a true ace, and lately, he has dominated. Over his last five starts, he [...]
AJ along with CC and MO have got to be in top form in the post season. Anyone of those three falters and we go home empty handed.