While it wasn't always pretty last night, A.J. pitched even better than my projection. He ended up surrendering only one run in five and two thirds innings en route to earning the win and keeping the Yankees' season alive. Sure, he needed Curtis Granderson to bail him out when he walked the bases loaded in the first. But what's wrong with a break going your way? When he left the game to the bullpen, his team had more runs than the opponent. He did what he needed to do.
Perhaps all he needed was confidence. Burnett constantly told reporters all season he believed he had what it took to be successful. Did he mean it? Only he knows. His self-confidence was probably wavering at best through his regular season struggles, in which he posted a miserable 5.15 ERA. Nonetheless, manager Joe Girardi kept putting him out there, much to the displeasure of the Yankee faithful.
And last night, well, his own teammates probably questioned whether their season was over before the game started. While everyone knows Burnett has the stuff to be successful, he just can't locate it. Extensive work with pitching coach Larry Rothschild helped fix his release and it proved successful, at least for yesterday's ballgame.
The only reason Burnett was on the hill for the Yanks was because of the Game 1 rain delay. He was expected to work out of the pen for the series in middle inning work. The rotation was supposed to be Sabathia, Nova, Garcia, Sabathia, Nova for the five-game series. Thanks to Mother Nature, A.J. Burnett got his chance, and he made the most of it.
What does this mean? Should the Yankees advance into the ALCS, we will see him on the hill, probably as the Game 2 starter. He is in the Yankees good graces after his performance last night, and he is as important as anyone for the Bombers if they want to make a championship run.
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