Postgame notes: Burnett’s fastball abandons him
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes, Podcast on May 10, 2010 
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During this blistering start to the season, A.J. Burnett’s curveball has come and gone, but his fastball has been reliable. He’s been throwing it with power and accuracy, and it helped carry him to a 4-0 record with a 1.99 ERA heading into tonight’s game in Boston.
“I had a good hook tonight, but I didn’t have a good heater,” he said. “I had a good fastball early but after that, everything was up. The ball to Ortiz leaked over. The one to Beltre was up. They all went where they weren’t supposed to go.”
Before coming to the Yankees, Burnett had been a dominant pitcher in this ballpark. He’d never lost against the Red Sox, and he had allowed just one earned run through 22.2 innings in Boston.
Last year, he went 0-2 with a 14.21 ERA at Fenway. This year he’s 0-1 with a 10.61 (4-0 with a 1.51 in every other stadium).
“His first start here wasn’t too bad this year,” manager Joe Girardi said. “But tonight he struggled with his command… I hope he doesn’t make too much of this one start, and I told him not to.”
Here’s Burnett talking about his rough outing.
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• Pregame Girardi said he didn’t expect to make a player move before tomorrow’s series opener in Detroit. After the game, Girardi said it’s possible they’ll have to make a move to add a long reliever. They’ll probably want one behind Sergio Mitre, who will be limited to 65-75 pitches.
• Let there be no doubt, Marcus Thames has looked bad in left field, including a damaging error tonight. “He’s got to be able to play out there for us,” Girardi said. “That’s the bottom line.”
• Nick Swisher is on some kind of roll. He was 2-for-4 tonight with his fifth home run of the month, his seven home run of the season.
• Alex Rodriguez hit his first home run in 61 at-bats, a homer-less streak that stretched to April 20. Rodriguez said he hasn’t been concerned about the power numbers. He’s been trusting that the home runs will come, and in the meantime, he’s been willing to take his walks and pass the baton to Robinson Cano. “I never look at that as a big issue,” Rodriguez said. “I want to think small.”
• The Rodriguez homer tied him with Frank Robinson for seventh on the all-time home run list. His 15 games between home runs tied for the fourth longest stretch of his career.
‘• Asked about his ejection Girardi said, “I’m protecting my player and that’s all I want to say about it.” Sweeny Murti asked if he gave the ump just cause to toss him from the game. “You could write that,” Girardi said.
• It might be a one-and-done call-up for Romulo Sanchez if the Yankees decide to add another long reliever tomorrow, but he was terrific in his Yankees debut. The radar here at Fenway had his fastball consistently at 95-96 mph — I’ve seen him hit 97 consistently in Scranton — and he pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
• Nice diving stop by Kevin Russo at third base and Brett Gardner made some plays that showed his range in center.
• Gardner extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Associated Press photos.
Gardner > Joe D.
Joe sounds annoyed at Thames and finally – he can not play out there, that’s apparent. Winn has to play every day even against lefties; if Joe wants to PH for him later, that’s fine.
Did AJ use his change at all? I thought the idea of him throwing it more often was so that he’d have more than 1 pitch (curve or FB) to go to if one of them abandoned him.
I love AJ, but I hope Phil was watching and learning, lol, for the one day that his FB abandons him!
We definitely need another long man, but too bad Sanchez will be lost to us for 10 days now………..
Thanks Chad!
mitre vs willis
javy vs porcello
hughes vs bonderman
cc vs verlander
detroits pitching staff hasn’t been all that good. their best pitcher (going by ERA) is willis.
To be fair though, it is very difficult to play LF in Fenway with the monster.
I think he will have a much easier time playing it in Comerica and later in Citi Field when we play there.
Betsy,
He threw 2 changeups
-50 Four seamers
-17 2 seamers
-28 curves
My first thought (honestly) when I saw Thames in the lineup was that Girardi wasn’t doing AJ any favors tonight. That’s too bad. AJ has been so much more composed this season. I hate that this is in his head now.
I’m with playing always playing Winn in the outfield. We’ve got other guys who can hit.
The more Winn plays, the more he will hit. He’s not a guy who can come off the bench and hit. He needs consistent at bats to be effective.
mitre vs willis
javy vs porcello
hughes vs bonderman
cc vs verlander
–
This , realistically, should be 3 out of 4 with a possible sweep JUST based on pitching matchups. Things will never play out like they do on paper, but I’m liking the matchups.
Somehow, I can envision that pic of Thames as some SoSH poster’s avatar.
Grasping for balance w/a pink sweatband makes for easy pickings…
Willis will throw 100 pitches in 3 innings against our lineup.
Porcello has a 6 ERA
Hughes > Bonderman
CC > Verlander
If the pen can do the job in the Mitre game, it should be a clean sweep.
NYYs are going to have outslug Detroit in the first two games and Verlander is no walk in the park….ever.
Face, I’ll be content with a split in The Motor City
Well, having Jorge DH and ‘Cisco catch won’t be a regular thing, I guess it was just to ease Jorge back, so… that will hopefully allow Thames to DH against lefties and not do his non-Kosher butchery in the outfield on a regular basis.
I hope Austin Jackson is getting ready.
The inevitable BABIP correction begins tomorrow!
first game could be a battle of the bullpens
second game could be a slugfest
third game should be a W
last game, who doesn’t like a good old fashioned pitching duel?
I want to win the Hughes game and the Javy game out right.
Girardi and Cashman has to face reality on Thames defense. That’s the bottom line.
*have*
Hey, AJ Burnett got spunked on tonight, and didnt go and hit every Red Sox batter or throw at their heads. Hm, what a concept. Civility and Class. Who knew!!
How are the PFOFs feeling after some posters were critical of the Cisco Kid’s gamecalling to go along with a O’fer earlier tonight?
The fact that Braden threw a perfect game is always worth noting, but that he did it against this year’s Rays kicks it up a notch.
Bam!
People are free to be critical of ‘Cisco, but then I wonder if they’re really his friends — or really even positive.
“non-Kosher butchery” — ah, Nick. Very nice.
How are the PFOFs feeling after some posters were critical of the Cisco Kid’s gamecalling to go along with a O’fer earlier tonight?
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well, as a member of the the COTABSA-PFOF sub-group, I can only say:
this game had Joe Morgan as a broadcaster.
on some scales, he’s worse than Pol Pot, therefore I could not watch the game.
however, if anyone on the right side of sane could possibly backtrack on Cervelli based on one game, they’re teetering on the edge.
First, earlier today we find out an original OPPC was not a positive fan of the Yankees for 4 whole years.
Now, we have PFOF members disguising as friends of Cervelli.
Deceit everywhere in the member groups of lohud. Sad day for the blog
Hey WiT (is that an acceptable abbreviation?), good to see you.
My Yankee-fan buddy in Taiwan wrote a few days ago, he’s sticking with the Yanks, but he did admit that ‘something is missing’ now that our friend CMW is gone.
But I met some Singapore Yankee fans recently. Asia is not lost.
I see a lot of people yearning for Tyler Clippard and his 6-0 record with his 0.76 ERA. I’m sure that a lot of starters would be happy to see him either just leave or, just once, not blow one of their wins. He’s blown 4 of 7 save opportunities. He’s inherited 18 base runners and 10 to score, plus 2 of his own. Not really reliable, is he?
Nike — WiT is fine.
Yeah, it’s not quite the same with Wang gone. It’s franky a bit sad for everyone here. I mean — who really wants to root for the NATIONALS??? All the those WANG 40 t-shirts have to find a new home — I swear I’d pass by at least four or five every day on the streets.
I hope Wanger recovers, but we lost a guy guy in Wang. He’s one class act. Kind of a Matsui without the porn.
Gotta get back to work (lunch break here).
See ya folks.
oops — where did I get Nike from?? I was writing to Nick, of course.
Tyler Clippard can only pitch with the bases empty.
He is like the pitcher version of Robinson Cano circa 2009.
Bright spots (besides the lights that blinded Thames
)
-Ronulo Sanchez did a nice job. Very nice. To bad it wasn’t for a hold. How did we acquire Sanchez?
-Some snazzy defense
-Alex & Tex flexing their muscles when Lester looked unhittable
-Girardi standing up for Thames
Well, that’s about it.
Wait, one more:
-Fenway Pahk in the rear-view mirror.
m,
You left out Francisco Cervelli’s walk. Stay positive!
you missed a bright spot, we won’t have to see youk’s notsopretty face anymore.
Oh, and how about that GGBG?
Extending his streak.
But do you notice how he often asks the ump about the location on close calls in a polite manner? I like it. Hopefully, planting a little seed and maybe get the benefit of the doubt another time.
Explain PFOF ?????
Pat M,
How about that basketball game yesterday?!
Pat M, I will re-print the official announcement just for you:
I am starting a new group called the Positive Friends of Francisco, or PFOF.
You can refer to us as the PFOFs, which is pronounced Pee-Foffs.
It’s for people who are positive and who are also friends of Francisco.
If you like Francisco but are negative, it’s not really for you.
If you are positive but are not a friend of Francisco, it’s also not really for you.
The combination we’re looking for is positivity and friendship with Francisco.
By ‘friendship’ we mean affection and admiration and support for him; you don’t actually have to be his friend.
Go go, Francisco! The PFOFs are with you!
I left my heart in SF once, but I got over her fairly soon.
I will absolutely die if we can’t beat Willis tomorrow. Also, I noticed that the Red Sox are home again. Hopefully the Jays’ bats stay hot, hot, hot.
Sanchez is just another uncontrollable minor league arm, like Humberto Sanchez and so far, Andrew Brackman. Great arms, no results, major or minor. Don’r expect many of these games from the version of Sanchez.
Nick in SF…….To foo-foo for me
It’s not for everybody, certainly.
Sorry, but, the Yankees are better of with Boston winning a couple of the Toronto games. Right now, Toronto is the closer threat.
What kind of odds do you think I could get on the Mets winning more games this year than the Red Sox?
5/2 against, maybe higher?
Yah, just saw they’re 3.5 back of us in the WC standings. The WILD CARD!!!
z May 10th, 2010 at 1:58 am
What kind of odds do you think I could get on the Mets winning more games this year than the Red Sox?
5/2 against, maybe higher?
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Only if your bet ends by the All-Star Break.
z,
Remember years past when the Yankees would hover around .500 and then kick it into another gear before the ASB? I see the Sox doing that.
Boston fans ask stuff like “Have the Sox ever come from behind in a season?” But even if they do, there’s two very good AL East teams and two decent AL Central teams. And the Jays are lurking, too.
The Jays won’t be a walkover anymore. They’ve got some good young pitching, and their offense is the offense of old.
The Sox have scored a ton of runs at home. Can they sustain the pace on the road?
Is attempting a bunt in the 5th inning of a 4-0 perfect game breaking an unwritten rule?
I think the unwritten rule is late in games, so maybe 7-8-9th innings?
Did a Ray try to do that today?
would it be a bad idea to have AJ wear a Blue Jays jersey under his uniform when he pitches against the Red Sox again?
I see Boston maxing at 93 wins, but more likely around 91
that bad run differential is a red flag
the Mets are more of an enigma
they could, as currently constructed, be an 87-89 win team, but what if they pull off a trade for a pitcher like Oswalt?
the rumor is that both he and Berkman are available.
Boston could flounder, and the Mets could luck into a good move or two that sees them actually win a few more games than Boston.
not bloody likely, but possible.
why am I even thinking about this at this hour???
Good night all.
I vote for his superman jammies…
I hope you’re right, z, I took them on the under-94.5 win total.
We haven’t heard the last of The Boston Red Sox !!!!! m is right I beleive
But we’ve seen the last of Fenway until Oct. 1. Having taken 4/6 there. What’s not to like?
“Did a Ray try to do that today?”
Longoria.
Yes, Berkman and Oswalt could help the Mets or other teams if they become the Berkman and Oswalt of old and not remain the old Berkman and Oswalt.
Pat M. is a wise person.
Let’s talk Thames.
I was all for giving him the benefit of the doubt, even with my love affair with good defense.
But I don’t like Joe’s comment, which is implying that Thames has to play better because he has no other options.
I hope that Joe G. rethinks that stance. Things might settle down when Posada goes back behind the plate.
Winn can play LF and Thames can DH against lefties. Posada DH’s on his half-days. Alex & Jeter can have half-days, too.
Please, please, Joe. Please don’t tempt the fates.
m, i’m on the record dating back to the days of December that Marcus Thames would be an outstanding addition to the club in 2010…….He’s had some tough plays that just sends some here over the top……Tonight playing in the wind tunnel that is Fenway Park’s leftfield ……Over the course of the season he’ll not be a hinderence to the club with the leather…….You yank him in the late innings much like Joe did last season with Damon & Swisher, although Nick fas become slightly better than average out in right…..Randy Winn does need to get more PT……
I saw the blame thrown on Thames because the ball hit the cutout behind 3rd and kick back into the middle of left field. There was nothing he could do about that, and he had to freeze the runner rounding 3rd base before he could throw to 2nd. The ball into the corner was one that rolled along the foul line wall. As hard as it was hit, it would have been a triple with the slightest bobble. The one he blew was only one run. He wasn’t responsible for the other 8. he’s no GG outfielder, but, then, neither was or is Damon over the last four years.
m
“I think the unwritten rule is late in games…”
Unwritten rules are made to be broken…over Braden’s head…
The WP put the runner in scoring position in the first place. And, no, Thames wasn’t responsible for the other 8. There also seemed to be a Thames magnet in every ball hit to left field.
But, as much as possible, I’d like Girardi to minimize Thames’ glove in the field.
I wouldn’t mind seeing what the switch-hitting Winn can do with some regular playing time.
Every ball hit to Thames is adventure. He was signed to DH not play LF. But Winn looks lost at the plate, so they really don’t want to use him very much. I would let Kevin Russo sink or swim in LF until Granderson heals.
Make that PH.
*magnet in nearly every ball put into play.
Anyway, Dontrelle’s a lefty, right? If Posada can catch, Thames will DH.
“He’s got to be able to play out there for us,” Girardi said. “That’s the bottom line.”
That’s the manager talking.
Rich,
No way they’re going to throw a rookie out there. It’d be fun, and he’d be a better defender than Thames, but Russo’s not starting over Winn especially since he’s primarily an IF.
I addressed the manager’s comment at 2:19 am.
Try to keep up.
I settled this entire topic at 1:13 a.m.
Why so serious?
I covered that in November!
Have you been following accuscore? I haven’t, but tomorrow’s game is 61-39 in our favor. WooHoo, Accuscore!
Serge’s ERA is presently at 2.79. What’s the Mitre ERA Deathwatch going to be? 3.00, 4.00, or 5.00?
There has not been an official Mitre DeathWatch 6.00 reset.
I don’t want to put any extra pressure on him going into his big start.
Which is also why I’m holding off on the rollout of the Friends of Sergio Society until later in the season.
After thinking over what I said about Sanchez going back down, it’s probably going to be Russo since Cano is healthy, as is Posada, with Sanchez staying up until Pettitte and Park come back. Ring probably gets the call-up. Melancon has a few days left before he can be recalled (14th or 15th of May). Nova and Albaladejo are the only AAA pitchers on the 40 man roster and Albaladejo is not appealing at all. If not Ring, then Nova gets a call. He’s scheduled to start Monday.
I don’t know, he was rehabbing last season. Not fair game to leave it at 6.00. It should be 5.00.
m, I do not feel comfortable unilaterally resetting the #; I consider Bronx Jeers to be an authority on this matter and I would like to nominate you to join the game committee, as you have strong feelings on the subject
We traded Eric Hacker to the Pirates for Sanchez. Who’s Eric Hacker?
lol, I’ll give you my proxy. Do with it as you please.
Fair enough. Gotta hit the hay, goodnight m. Hope you had a great Mothers Day.
igotid88 May 10th, 2010 at 2:11 am
would it be a bad idea to have AJ wear a Blue Jays jersey under his uniform when he pitches against the Red Sox again?
Not a bad idea at all.
Gonna be a tough series in Detroit. Need to win one of the first two. I would think the Yanks would have the pitching advantage in the third game and game 4 is pretty much a wash with CC and verlander going. Would be nice to get one of the first two. If they can do that them they’ll have a chance to win the series…a split there wouldn’t be so bad though.
Two things separating this AJ outing from his others this season.
1. His fastball command wasn’t there.
2. He threw more curveballs than 2 seamers.
Maybe its just me but it looked like instead of trying to find his fastball location he turned more to his curveball…which caused him to fall behind and didn’t help
Overall, what a great weekend of Yankee baseball!!! The sweep would have been nice, but to take 4 of 6 in Fenway is a great start…and then Braden helped out by beating the Rays!
I was coming back from a memorial service in VT last night, searching for sports radio, I got (I think) NY sports radio. They were talking about Braden’s perfect game and somehow it turned into a diss of Arod. They were complaining about what they THOUGHT Arod MIGHT say.
I missed the first part of the game, but did watch the preview when I got home, enjoyed seeing the Joe Morgan love for Cano. I will take the espn crew over Buck/mcCarver any day. I couldn’t believe both of them thought Beckett hitting Cano was not intentional, and also that CC shouldn’t retaliate. Much preferred Baseball Tonight’s take, that even if it was unintentional, CC had to send a message.
GB
I am not so sure. Alby has looked good for Scranton. Maybe he has figured something out. Melancon also looked good last night.
Not sure why some posters are so down this morning .
We took 2 of 3 from the Sox . and pushed them back a full game.
We got Detroit tonight ! . Lets take the first one ! .
Blake
hope you enjoyed your anniversary. Were you able to keep from hearing the score before you watched the game?
Kate,
Yea it was great..I actually did make it home without hearing the score..amazing.
Yea it was a good weekend..the Yankees are 4-2 against the Sox and have still yet to play them away from the Green cracker jack box.
Mike,
Because some posters don’t view baseball as a long view sport. They treat it like football, with only the last game mattering in their mindset. Its the wrong way to view baseball but, they don’t care. Its how they roll.
Its pretty difficult to muster disappointment over the weekend.
The Yankees are 21-9, and this is from a usually slow starting team that’s banged up right now.
The Red Sox are in 4th place, 7 games behind the Yankees in the loss column, with a slew of problems that didn’t get solved winning one game last night.
The Yankees have won 4 of 6 at Fenway and don’t have to go back there until the last weekend of the season.
After this homestand, the Red Sox will have played 23 of their first 35 at home and are sitting in 4th place. That’s not good.
Detroit? I’d be happy with a split. Four game series on the road are tough.
If they can get a split, they have another winning roadtrip. Anything else is icing on the cake.
Good morning.
2 things I’m looking forward to :
1 Vasquez righting his ship and getting a win.
2 Seeing Hughes Weds.
GB-
I’d like to see Nova. He can give us more innings than Alba.
Tarheelyank May 10th, 2010 at 7:32 am
GB
I am not so sure. Alby has looked good for Scranton. Maybe he has figured something out. Melancon also looked good last night.
———————————————————————————————————————-
I’m only looking at it from the probable need of needing two long relievers in each of the next two days without wearing out the bullpen, especially since they will have a tough fight with the Twins over the next weekend. Both Nova and Sanchez are starters and Nova is scheduled for his 7th start tonight.
Mtu,
I think a split accompanied by a good Vazquez outing would be a nice outcome in Detroit.
Yesterday’s perfect game should have been a great moment for Braden, his family, the Oakland A’s and their fans. Sadly, Braden and his family decided to turn it into another attempt at taking cheap potshots at Rodriguez. That’s pretty sad. He keeps talking about respecting baseball, but, basically just keeps talking with a huge amount of stupidity.
Our next 3 series ( 9 total games ) against the 2010 4th place BoSux are at Yankee Stadium, where we will win at least 7 of 9. We are going to take it to Detroit ( 3 of 4 ), while Toronto takes 2 of 3 from Boston and the Angels finally figure out how to win a series at home against the Rays. By Friday, all the stars will be aligned ( as will the standings as they will finish ):
Yankees ( division champs )
Rays (WC)
Blue Jays
BoChumps
Lowrioles
I think that soon the NYY will bring up Miranda to platoon at DH with Thames, leaving Winn in LF. I Know Miranda was hit in elbow last week but if he’s ready they should bring him up. Sanchez did nice job, but with Ace ailing and Mitre and Javy going the really need another RP too.