BASEBALL: Can A.J. Burnett rebound?

by NYYankees Posted 2010/12/17 03:11:02

Related Topics: New York, Coach, Baseball

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	Yes	5 votes	83%
	No	1 vote	17%

Honestly... What happened to this guy? I know Yankee fans want to chase him out of New York but I'm not sold on the idea that he can't pitch here. Yes he is an unpredictable guy on the mound but he has a huge upside and was a key contributor in 2009. He had a solid first year, pitched some big games for New York (a one hitter against Boston and a dominant game 2 againt the Philles) and was a big part of the clubhouse. Everybody in the clubhouse really likes him and deems him as a "good guy" despite his tough guy appearance. He also never points fingers and takes full responsibility when he doesn't pitch well. I also don't sense lackadaisical effort from him... it really does look like poor performances bother him. He looked like he had fun in 2009, pieing his teammates after walkoffs and just seemed relax... 2010 he looked like a wreck and came off the worst season of his career. Strikeouts were down, walks and ERA were up and he lost 15 games. One writer said he and his wife were going through an ugly divorce but that rumor was denied by both him and his agent. But regardless the Yankees need him to be the guy he was in 2009 if they want to have a shot at anything this year. Inconsistant? Okay that's fine I just want to see him strike more people out and be on more than he's off. Hopefully this new pitching coach can straighten him out. Can their 82 million guy rebound or are the Yankees toast?

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Ian Lutz 2011/03/06 02:38:56

No

The minute he read all the articles saying how great he was in Toronto and then his big signing with the evil empire compiled into his ultimate downfall mentally. Physically, his mechanics are totally out of sync and I don't expect he will rebound. I'm not sure it would even matter with the additions that the red sox made. I've got boston winning the division by at least 6 games.

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NYYankees to Ian Lutz 2011/03/10 19:19:29

he looks good this spring so far and he has the ability of a number one starter just never translated to that... were not asking him to be CC or tim licecum just repeat what he did in 2009 and forget 2010. And yeah the sox did make some good additions but at the same time they lost adrian beltre and victor martinez... two big parts to their season last year. theyre better but not by much and not how people make it out to be.

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Ian Lutz to NYYankees 2011/03/10 22:11:06

If you are saying that Burnett can rebound I don't completely doubt you but if you are saying he will be a big difference maker I really doubt you. He has never been a big game pitcher, something the yanks will need outside of CC. The yanks have some really good players, namely Cano, CC and Jeter, but the yanks are way too old now. The red sox also have a much deeper staff and if they stay healthy I expect that the sox will win the division on the backs of their staff, the additions of gonzalez and crawford, and also veteran leadership like Varitek and big papi.

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NYYankees to Ian Lutz 2011/03/11 04:04:30

we dont need him to be a big contributor just not suck like he did in 2010 thats all were asking for. and as far as being a big game pitcher what about game 2 of the world series when he shut down philly in 7 innings if he didnt throw that gem we wouldnt of won the world series. but the big contributors gotta be cc, a-rod, cano and teix so they dont need AJ to be Tim Lincecum. And as far as the sox go yes they added gonzalez and crawford but lost beltre and martinez so how much better are they? slightly but not dramatically i see the red sox winning 90-95 games this year.

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Ian Lutz to NYYankees 2011/03/11 08:11:11

Easy skippy you don't gotta get all hot. I'm just sayin the sox have a deeper more reliable rotation and if their position player starters are healthy, unlike last year, they will most likely win the division.

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NYYankees to Ian Lutz 2011/03/11 15:56:33

lol im not getting hot and yeah alot of it had to do with injuries im just saying theyre not as better people make them out to be beltre and martinez are gone if they had them then I would be nervous. Theyre better and are the favorites to win the division but whos their catcher now, can youkilis handle third and can lackey and beckett rebound after disappointing seasons. and can clay buccholz repeat his season they got some question marks too

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Ian Lutz to NYYankees 2011/03/11 19:52:46

Haha well I'm not even a diehard sox fan. I'm actually a diehard cards fan so I've got my own mess of problems to worry about. But I think Bucholz is a boss and will be a solid 15 game winner with an era in the low 3s. Lester will be lester but if beckett and lackey rebound i would watch out.

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garyt212 2010/12/17 04:33:03

Yes

He might rebound but it is looking more like just another over paid, under achiever in the long line of under achievers that the Yankees have over paid for. The glorious history of the Yankees has always been to outspend every team in baseball and try and win a title but it's just not working much recently and more and more players are thumbing their nose at their money...Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford being the most recent. Yankees are toast!

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NYYankees to garyt212 2010/12/20 16:34:42

+1
it's not like we're asking alot out of him... just duplicate your 09 season not the 2010 season. i think with him it's a few things.. his stuff hasnt dramatically declined but it has a little and as you get older u gotta expect it... he hasnt yet evolved from thrower to pitcher... throw more changeups and curveballs early in the count. hitters are laying off his hook on 2 strikes cuz they know its comming, leading to fewer strikeouts. also with russell martin behind the plate he might focus on pitching more than the running game he might feel more comfortable with a guy with a strong throwing arm because guys stole off of him alot last year. hopefully im right... inconsistant underchiever yes but the guy has ability. i saw guys like joe mauer and chase utley take the ugliest swings off of this guy hes got electric stuff so i dont get it.

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wolf sloan 2010/12/17 03:50:00

Yes

Hopefully a new pitching coach helps. If not, it is going to be a long season.

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NYYankees to wolf sloan 2010/12/20 16:26:51

+1
i have a feeling he will and here's why. much is made out that he and jorge arent on the same page i dont think it's that i think he was more comfortable with molina because of his strong throwing arm. I noticed it's not hard to steal off of AJ and last year with 2 guy with weak throwing arms teams took advantage of that whenever he was on the mound. with molina he seemed more relaxed and concentrated more on pitching than the running game but with two guys who cant throw anyone out it lead to a snowball effect. supposedly russel martin is good at throwing guys out too I think he and burnett will work together just fine. then again i can be wrong im not askin the guy to be roy halladay just repeat what he did in 09 not this year

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wolf sloan to NYYankees 2010/12/20 16:42:47

Yeah, a catcher can have a lot to do with a pitcher;s success. Let's hope he rebounds.

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