What Now?
Well AJ decided to be AJ tonight and the Yankees have an interesting problem on their hands. There is absolutely no reason to trust Burnett with a playoff start, but if you can't trust him, where can you turn? Think about it, where do they go? The choices are down to Ivan Nova or Javier Vazquez. One guy can't get out of the fifth inning, the other hasn't been part of the rotation for a few weeks.
It might be time to consider adopting the three-man plan i mentioned last week. The problem of course is can the Yankees pitch Phil Hughes on three-days rest? Then again, at this point what other options do they have?
Comments
Sabathia/Pettite/Hughes is easy. Burnett gets 1 more start this year. Hopefully, he does well enough to make it easier to do what is easiest for the Yanks, which is hand him the ball in Game 4 and hope for the best. Clearly, if the Yanks are down 2-1, they'll need to go with Sabathia game 4. If they are up 2-1, they can go Burnett with an extremely quick hook. There is no reason to leave Burnett out there if he is ineffective if you've got Vazquez and Nova in the pen.
Posted by: tim | September 27, 2010 10:37 PM |
Color me pessimistic, but between Mo's recent struggles, Burnett's and Vazquez's miserable seasons, Hughes ups and downs, Andy's groin injury, Joba's inconsistency and the sometimes maddening inability to score runs (situational hitting), I am feeling none too good heading into the playoffs. Two months of mediocre baseball will do that to you, I guess. A couple of months back, I really felt like we had the best team in baseball. And now. I feel like I'm just waiting for the axe to fall, hoping it will at least be a quick, clean cut.
Posted by: Greg | September 27, 2010 11:22 PM |
Tim
Right now I would reverse that and use Nova as the starter and then bring AJ in for the fifth.
I am then going to devote my offseason to trading Burnett for anything.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 27, 2010 11:53 PM
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Greg
Hard to argue with you, but remember 2000. I think that has to be our rallying cry heading into the playoffs!
I really wish we had Cliff Lee right now....
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 27, 2010 11:54 PM
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It never ceases to amaze me just how the game of baseball can highlight the smallest changes in a player's perfomance. AJ has, at times, the nastiest stuff of any pitcher in the majors - he's unhittable; other times he is just awful.
I can't see us making it to the ALCS right now; wheels have fallen off and the lug nut are lost.
I would vote that the 4th pitcher is Nova for about 13 or 14 outs then Moseley for a few innings. I wouldn't let AJ into a game unless it was mop up time. I was really sort of surprised that Girardi didn't let him stay in the game last night to rest the bullpen. Maybe AJ needs another black eye to relocate his groove?
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 28, 2010 05:48 AM
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Mitchell- I always think of the "Bull Durham" line "million-dollar arm, five-cent head" when I think of AJ. It's a crime that a guy with that stuff has lost 15 games this year.
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September 28, 2010 10:04 AM
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