New York Yankees: A.J. Burnett Implodes, Leaves Joe Girardi To Clean Up

Two years and $33 million—that's what will remain on A.J. Burnett's contract when the 2011 season concludes.

The questions facing the New York Yankees will be can they get anything of value in a trade for Burnett, and how much of his remaining contract will it take to get the deal done? 

It may end up taking quite a bit, because while there are teams out there that would be willing to take a chance on a pitcher with Burnett's considerable talent, the number of teams drops when Burnett's attitude is factored in.

A more complex and immediate issue is also facing the Yankees and their fans.

Joe Girardi seems a bit stressed out by Burnett. Yesterday's poor performance was matched only by Girardi's own imitation of Burnett following the game.

Managing the New York Yankees is one of the best jobs in sports; it's not an easy job, but it's a great one nonetheless. Like all jobs though, there are going to be some negatives. Among the more perplexing scenes from Saturday's postgame was an agitated and downright testy Joe Girardi, who was angry he had to answer questions about Burnett from YES Network's Jack Curry:

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"This is silly. This is really, really silly. You know what, we had a fistfight is what we had. No. I came and looked at the pitch. There’s a camera, our video room is right down there, and everyone always seems to want to blow up about A.J., A.J., A.J.

"Nothing happened between me and A.J. I went down and looked at the pitch. And I’m tired of it. I’m tired of people looking for something between me and A.J. Me and A.J. have mutual respect for each other.

"I cheer for this guy. He cheers for me and we cheer for this team. I want the guy to do well and everyone’s always trying to say there’s something between me and A.J. What do you want, the pitcher to want to come out of the game? I mean, this is ridiculous."

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Memo to Girardi: That's the job.

Girardi, who for the most part has done a very good job this season, needs to understand a few things.

One is there is a whole host of managers in baseball who will never have to answer a question about the $82.5 million pitcher who left the game in the second inning. That's because those teams won't be able to afford an $82.5 million pitcher in the first place.

The other issue is that Burnett did say something—we don't officially know what—to Girardi as he was being removed from the game following one of his worst (and that's saying something) outings as a member of the Yankees.

It doesn't matter what it is he said; in the world of Yankee baseball, only the most naive of people would have thought it wouldn't cause an avalanche of questions and queries.

For Girardi to act as if these questions are somehow illegitimate or unexpected is just plain silly.

Joe? Wake up!

You're managing the New York Yankees in the heart of a pennant race, and you've got your second-highest paid pitcher chronically underperforming, then acting as if he's been wronged upon being removed from a putrid start. There will be questions. 

Perhaps it's time for the Yankees to bring a halt to what appears to be a scripted-from-the-top diatribe about how everyone "has A.J.'s back."

Two weeks ago Brian Cashman went public with statements that seemed to somehow suggest that Burnett is a victim of his own contract.

I agree that it's not Burnett's fault he was handed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Yankees. What was Burnett supposed to do? Turn it down? "Sorry Mr. Steinbrenner, I'm really more of a five-year, $60 million pitcher, I can't accept $82.5."

That would have gone over really well.

Steinbrenner probably would have passed out, and the New York Post would have probably called for Burnett to be sent to Bellevue for psychiatric evaluation. So Burnett signed the deal and has been a fairly big bust.

Each season seems to get worse. This year, which started out somewhat promisingly, has cascaded into a total disaster. At this point, it's safe to say both his rotation spot as well as his spot on the playoff roster are in legitimate jeopardy.

As for Girardi, he should probably stop allowing this stuff to annoy him. "No comment" is always an option, and if that doesn't work, then maybe telling the world how chummy everyone is with A.J. and how everyone has his back might need to be adjusted.

I'm not advocating he throw Burnett under the bus—why bother when Burnett seems determined to do that himself? Instead, Girardi just needs to maintain his composure, rationally discuss that perhaps Burnett is endangering his rotation spot and let the chips fall from there.

In the long-run Girardi's primary concern should be the Yankees as a whole. If that includes A.J. Burnett, then that's great—but if it's best to NOT include him, then that's OK too.

More than any other franchise in baseball, the New York Yankees can afford to cut their losses on a contract like this. The time for that decision may be coming up, and Girardi will have to answer questions he might not want to when it does.