WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO AJ BURNETT?

AJ Burnett is doing all he can to stay positive. But in a Yankeeland where fans are frustrated and aggravated at him, how can he possibly be positive? AJ is quoted here as if he is ready for the playoffs. This is from an ESPN report about the Yankee rotation preparing for the postseason:

"I feel like I can take the ball right now and my team's got a chance to win... You can’t go out and get caught up in everything else. I’m just going to go out and try to get as many outs as I can, that’s all we can do."

OK, stop right there. We can yell and scream about AJ all we want, but we don’t run the Yankees. If AJ Burnett is in the Yankees plans for the playoffs, we need to let it happen. After all, wouldn’t you want to hear from a guy that WANTS to be in a big situation of the playoffs than a player asking management to take him out?

Look we are the New York Yankees, we don’t like losers, if we did, we would have liked Carl Pavano. The Yankees put the best guys on the field, this is true, but we also want players that want to be there and try and win. AJ tries, he just doesn’t, but look at that quote… he clearly wants to contribute.

True, I don’t like losers, but think like AJ’s thinking right now…he wants to start from scratch, a clean slate. He wants to try and win one for his team and for the fans. If the Yankees want him to start in the playoffs, we need to accept it and cross our fingers. There really isn’t anything else to do or maybe there is:

Bullpen: My feeling is we can’t put AJ in an already terrific bullpen, right? Why would we mess with that and bring in negative energy. That bullpen is a tight knit family and no one is getting in there. They are feeding off each other nicely.

Leave AJ off the ALDS roster: OK, we could leave him off the roster, but to be honest, I don’t see the Yankees doing that.

Look, before I turned on AJ Burnett, I wrote WHY CRUCIFYING BURNETT NEEDS TO STOP because I was tired of ripping a guy that clearly had head games and no focus. Well, enough was enough and I joined the party too. No, I don’t think AJ should be out there representing the Yankees in the playoffs because I worry about his stability, but I’m willing to give the ball to a guy that wants to be there, not just for the glory, but for the guts and I that means something.

And what happens after the season? Assuming we win it all, will the Yankees try and right the Burnett Ship this winter or will they try and unload this unstable dude? AJ is owed a lot of money, and if we ‘re to pick up some of that salary with another team and bring in another pitcher or bat in exchange, could that work?

AJ Burnett is a hot mess, but he’s our hot mess and when a guy saws “give me the ball” even in a fish bowl full of sharks, you have to respect that. He’s not walking away, instead, he’s trying to right a wrong. You have to respect that, you really do.

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