Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A.J. Burnett: Yankee ace?

Are you ever happy to be proven wrong? I am, when it comes to A.J. Burnett. It's only two starts so far, but he's been terrific. Too bad Michael Kay jinxed him last night when he had a no-hitter going. (Squawker Jon says he is the jinx, because he put the game on!)

As for A.J., I wrote back in December that I'd rather see Carol Burnett than A.J. Burnett as a Yankee. I was totally against signing him, not just because he was an injury risk, but because he hadn't had very many good seasons. I had also heard that he had a bit of an attitude.

Fortunately, Burnett has been a pleasant surprise. Ever since his introductory press conference, I've been impressed with his personality. I like his demeanor, I like his attitude, and I even like that he's being himself and not hiding the tattoos on his arms.

He also seems like a fierce presence on the mound. One example: when Matt Garza went up and in on Nick Swisher in the fourth inning of last night's game, Burnett did the same thing to Evan Longoria in the bottom of the inning.

I also liked how, after having a shaky seventh inning where he lost the no-hitter and gave up two runs, he beared down and had a good eighth inning.

Again, it's only two starts, but so far, so good. A.J. is A-OK!

* * *

While A.J. may be A-OK, Xavier Nady might be headed to the disabled list - he's going to get an MRI on his elbow. Yikes!

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

1 comment:

Uncle Mike said...

A.J. is A-1, bringing steak along with sizzle -- which is good, because in his first two starts, Chien-Ming Wang "went veggie." Joel Sherman in That Other Paper suggested that he'll soon be replaced in the rotation by Phil Hughes.

Let's not dump Wang off to Columbus -- sorry, I'm a bit set in my ways, Scranton -- yet, but let us greatly praise Burnett for doing what we asked him to do. And Sabathia for brushing off a bad first start. And Pettitte for giving a classic Andy peformance. Then there's Joba... uh, let me get back to you.

Carol Burnett? Lisa, it's "curtains" for you if you're going to make that comparison! (If you're old enough to remember "The Carol Burnett Show," you remember the Scarlett O'Hara sketch.)

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