"We signed A.J. not to pitch toward the back of the rotation, [but] to be a front-of-the-rotation starter. That's what his abilities are; that's what he's capable of doing. That's what we expect. I believe you'll see that again, but that means a lot of hard work." --Brian Cashman
AJ Burnett, never lights out, never consistently dominant, but very good and very talented...yes. If Mr. Andy Pettitte does not come back, it will be difficult for the Yanks, but if AJ isn't right, well, that's worse. And don't think AJ doesn't realize that. Without AJ, the workload leans on CC and young Hughes extra hard and that will then lead to a franchise collapse.
I like Burnett. I liked him Toronto and I like him now. He knows how important 2011 is for him and the Yankees. According to MLB's Bryan Hoch, Burnett converted his barn into a pitching facility. He and Larry Rothschild have met and are talking mechanics. That's a start. As a Yankee fan, that's all you can ask for. That's progress. If AJ dedicates himself to fixing the mental and mechanical problems, the 1, 2 punch the Yanks wanted in 2009 becomes a reality. If he doesn't, he becomes a 4th starter in the Yankee rotation... filler, until they figure out what to do with him.
Ironically, all the concern about Burnett and his injury prone history isn't an issue while in the Bronx. Instead, mechanical and mental are the causes. One would call that a good problem, in the hopes that you can get to the root of it and reverse it. I hope we can.
My prediction? A slow start from AJ in 2011, but pitching well by June and never looking back. It's what we need, it's what we expect and it's what we have to have if we want to compete in October.
Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.
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