Knuckle Curve » aj burnett

Yankees Battle Back, Tie World Series 1-1

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:55:47 +0000

After the Philadelphia Phillies scored in the top of the second inning, the New York Yankees appeared to be in danger of losing their footing in the battle. But thanks to a pair of solo homers and a strong pitching performance by A.J. Burnett, the Yankees were able to battle back and top the Phillies by a final count of 3-1 in Game 2.

In the fourth inning, Mark Teixeira hit a solo home run to tie the game. Then in the bottom of the sixth, Hideki Matsui hit a solo blast to put the Yankees up 2-1. New York would never trail again.

On the mound, Burnett was dominant. He struck out nine batters in his seven innings of work. Burnett gave up only four hits and two walks. Mariano Rivera pitched the final two innings to pick up another postseason save.

For the Phillies, starting pitcher Pedro Martinez wasn’t bad. He gave up three earned runs in six innings, while striking out eight batters. However, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were a combine 0-9 at the plate.

The World Series now travels to Philadelphia for Game 3, Game 4 and Game 5. Game 3 will be played on Saturday night and will feature Cole Hamels on the mound for the Phillies and Andy Pettitte on the mound for the Yankees.

AJ Burnett was fantastic for New York (Image: Zuma Press)

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Yankees Thinking About Three-Man Rotation

Stephen Kersey — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:55:30 +0000

The New York Yankees have a problem. Although they have practically a billion dollar budget, the team doesn’t have a reliable fourth starter at the moment. However, manager Joe Girardi might have a solution — a three-man pitching rotation.

If the Yankees decide to go with the three-man rotation, the rotation will consist of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte.

“We are definitely considering possibly going to a three-man rotation in this round,” said Girardi, “but we’ll have to take a look at it and see how it goes.”

The biggest risk of going with the three-man rotation is Sabathia’s health. The Yankees have a ton of money invested in Sabathia and if he gets injured trying to pitch on shortened rest, that could be a catastrophic mistake.

Whoever is pitching for the Yankees will face a tall task. The Los Angels Angels have a fantastic lineup. In fact, stats point to the Angels having one of the deepest lineups in the history of baseball.

Can C.C. Sabathia handle the load? (Image: Zuma Press)

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A.J. Burnett Dominant Against Mets

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:19:16 +0000

When the New York Yankees gave A.J. Burnett a big contract in the offseason, this was the type of production they wanted. On Saturday against the New York Mets, Burnett gave up only one hit in seven innings while striking out ten. His pitching effort led the Yankees to a 5-0 victory.

Burnett on the season now has a 3.93 ERA to go along with a record of 6-4. Although he got off to a relatively slow start, Burnett has gotten better and better. In his last three starts, the 32-year-old has given up one earned run in more than 20 innings.

The Yankees got a Nick Swisher solo shot in the third inning to get on the board. In the sixth, Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single and then Jorge Posada smashed a three-run homer later in the inning.

The win gives the Yankees a 42-32 record on the season. The Mets fell to 37-36 with the loss.

AJ Burnett - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

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AJ Burnett Signed by New York Yankees

Stephen Kersey — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:16:05 +0000

Earlier in the week, the New York Yankees signed CC Sabathia. On Friday, the Yankees landed their second big fish of the winter by coming to an agreement with pitcher AJ Burnett. Sabathia and Burnett will likely enter the 2009 baseball season as the Yankees’ one-two punch at the top of their pitching rotation.

According to the reports, Burnett will sign a contract that will be five years and pay him nearly $83 million. Although compared to Sabathia’s contract this deal may look a bit small, but Burnett now becomes one of the highest paid pitchers in the game.

In 2008, Burnett had a solid season. He finished the season with a career-high 18 wins to go with ten losses. His ERA was 4.07 and he set career-highs in both strikeouts (231) and innings pitched (221.1).

For the Yankees, the risks to this deal are Burnett’s history of injuries and his age. He’s had a few injury hampered seasons in his career, especially when he was a member of the Florida Marlins. He’ll be turning 32 in the next few weeks and this deal will be paying him big money in his mid-30s.

However, despite the risks, the Yankees desperately needed pitching in their offseason moves and with the additions of Sabathia and Burnett, they have done a great job of adding the best pitchers on the market.

Photo credit: Newscom

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