AJ Burnett

[Sarge+ 3,436]

By Dejan Kovacevic

Tribune-Review

 

Published: Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 12:30 a.m.

Updated 46 minutes ago

 

CINCINNATI

 

Jeff Banister, the Pirates’ bench coach, has been forced to serve as manager only once this summer. That was May 2 in St. Louis, and cruel as fate can be, it was on that night that the team’s heart-and-soul, 27-year employee had to make what still stands as the season’s most compelling managerial decision.

 

It brings a cringe even now.

 

A.J. Burnett was getting crushed, his pitches flat and the Cardinals’ bats in flames.

 

“He had nothing,” Banister was recalling Tuesday in the visitors’ dugout at Great American Ball Park. “It was just boom, boom, boom.”

 

Clint Hurdle had been ejected for arguing, so Banister was in charge as the Cardinals took a 7-0 lead through two innings.

 

He sent Burnett back out for the third.

 

I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one watching back in Pittsburgh surprised by that.

 

But Charlie Morton had imploded after 41⁄3 innings the previous day, the bullpen was threadbare, and as Banister put it, “We had no choice. We needed A.J. to get us what he could.”

 

He did, but not for long. With Carlos Beltran’s second three-run home run off Burnett, Banister went to the mound with two outs in the third.

 

The Cardinals led, 12-0.

 

“I remember taking the ball from A.J.,” Banister said. “I let him know how much he means to us and … ”

 

Banister became visibly emotional for a moment.

 

“I didn’t know how he’d react. I didn’t want to turn and look.”

 

Some starters will go all Carlos Zambrano on the Gatorade cooler. Some will sulk in the clubhouse. Some will bite their lip all summer, bitter about blowing up their ERA.

 

Burnett quietly grabbed a cup of water, toweled off his hair a bit and sat on the bench.

 

At the end nearest Banister.

 

“A.J. wanted everyone to see he was OK,” Banister said. “He wanted everyone to see he supported us and that he was there for his teammates. He cheered us on all night.”

 

Banister shook his head.

 

“I can’t tell you what this player has meant to our club.”

 

I think he just did.

 

If not, this will: With Burnett’s five tough-it-out innings — three runs, five hits, eight strikeouts — in the Pirates’ 8-4 win over the first-place Reds last night, his ERA is 3.76. Subtract that St. Louis debacle, and it’s a Cy Young-level 1.89 over the other eight starts.

 

He’s also 5-2, with four wins in a row, and has dramatically upgraded his control with 96 strikeouts against 19 walks. A year ago with the Yankees, his 83 walks were second in the American League, his 25 wild pitches the most.

 

It’s been a terrific return for the two years and $13 million of Burnett’s contract the Pirates assumed this spring.

 

In fact, if you want to be a jerk to any New Yorker within earshot, Burnett has been better than anyone in the Yankees’ rotation except CC Sabathia.

 

Not that he’s thinking about stuff like that.

 

“It’s about this,” Burnett said, motioning to the clubhouse. “These guys are bringing this out of me. When guys are looked up to, they perform better. There are a lot of young guys here, and they’re listening to me ... I love this, I’ll tell you that. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

 

I’ve believed it from the beginning. Upon meeting Burnett in Bradenton, Fla., this spring, shortly after that errant bunt shattered his eye socket, he had more questions for me than the other way around. He wanted to know about the city, the fans and, above all, the reaction in Pittsburgh last summer to the Pirates’ success.

 

“Must have been great,” Burnett said then.

 

This guy was a Yankee.

 

That talk, as it turned out, foretold a lot about him.

 

“A.J. has, from the very first day, embraced what we’re doing here, wanted to be part of it,” Banister said. “Understand, this is someone who’s never been the guy before. That’s what he is for us. He’s the guy. He wants to leave a legacy here.”

 

Legacy?

 

The Pirates finished this evening two games off the Central lead and a season-best two games above .500 at 28-26.

 

And they’ve done it on the strength of Major League Baseball’s second-ranked pitching staff, led by a former Yankee thrilled to be taking the ball for the Pirates.

 

Even when getting shelled.

 

“That night in St. Louis ... I’ll take my beating if I have to. I’ll save the bullpen,” Burnett said. “At this point in my career, I’m not here for my numbers. I’m not here to be an All-Star or to win the Cy Young. I’m here to help my team get better. I’m here to win games.”

 

Dejan Kovacevic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at dkovacevic@tribweb.com.

 

Man crush activated.

[Sarge+ 3,436]

When the Pirates acquired A.J. Burnett from the Yankees over the offseason, I was on board with it. I thought he would provide a modest upgrade to our pitching staff at a relatively low cost. What I didn’t see happening, though, was Burnett being as valuable in 15 starts for the Pirates as he was in 32 starts last year and 33 starts in 2010 for the Yankees. Burnett is already worth 1.5 WAR this year, and he was worth 1.5 WAR for all of last season and 1.4 WAR for all of 2010. What has happened to allow Burnett to achieve this turnaround?

 

Pitching in PNC Park is undoubtedly going to provide an advantage over pitching in Yankee Stadium. In order to take full advantage of it, however, Burnett’s ground ball rate would have had to have been the same as the last few years. Here are Burnett’s ground ball rates from his seasons with the Yankees:

 

2009: 42.8%

2010: 44.9%

2011: 49.2%

 

So far in 2012, Burnett has a 54.7 ground ball percentage rate. The low ground ball rate really got AJ into trouble in the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium.

 

Burnett’s walk rates are also down from his Yankee rates thus far. In 2009, Burnett’s walks per 9 innings ratio was 4.22. In 2010 it was 3.76 and last year it was 3.92. 2012 sees Burnett’s current BB/9 rate at 3.19, which is the lowest since he had a 2.59 in 2006 with the Blue Jays. AJ has also experienced a nice improvement in his WHIP. His 3 years with the Yankees saw him post WHIPs of 1.40, 1.51, and 1.43. His first half WHIP in 2012 for the Pirates is 1.30. Burnett’s ERA of 3.68 is backed by a 3.61 FIP, so it appears as though Burnett is going to remain a valuable starter throughout the 2nd half of the season.

 

Examining Burnett’s ERA vs. FIP over the past few years finds that he was not getting results closer to his abilities. In 2010 he had a 5.26 ERA with a 4.83 FIP, and last year his ERA of 5.15 went along with a FIP of 4.77 What this means in basic terms is that Burnett was better with the Yankees than his bad numbers suggested. Fortunately the Yankees don’t care too much about advanced metrics, and Huntington was able to trade prospects worth very little and only 13 mil for 2 years of Burnett.

 

The bottom line is that the Burnett acquisition is one of the best the Pirates have made under Huntington and it will be one that we can look back on and call one of the highlights of his time as our GM. Burnett has already been worth 1.5 WAR this season, and it would be reasonable to expect him to duplicate that in the 2nd half, especially since he missed time at the beginning. We’re looking at a possible 3+ WAR season in exchange for 6.5 mil and 2 prospects we had no need for at all. What a bargain.

[Bay 2,003]

Glad Burnett is having success. One of my favorite pitchers for sure.