A.J. Burnett Likely Bound to Yankees Bullpen, a Move That Is Long Overdue

First and foremost, for those who were on the East Coast and affected by Hurricane Irene this weekend, I hope you are all safe, your families are safe and none of your homes had major damage to them.

This weekend was Game 7 for A.J. Burnett.

He had one shot to redeem himself for the lousy end of 2010 and the putrid 2011 he is having.

All he had to do was pitch decent in his start on Friday night for the Yankees against the Baltimore Orioles.

And how did Burnett do in his last-chance start against Baltimore?

Five innings, nine hits, nine runs, two walks, five strikeouts, and surrendered two home runs and buried the Yankees so early in a 12-5 loss.

That dropped Burnett to 9-11 on the season with a 5.31 ERA. It's almost similar to 2010 all over again, when he finished at 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA.

Only this time, I don't think Burnett is going to get that far to continue burying himself and the Yankees.

According to George King of the New York Post, Burnett is likely headed to the bullpen after his last failed start.

And it's about time!

It's quite clear to say that Burnett has been an absolute disaster.

The Yankees handed him a five-year deal worth $82.5 million in the winter of 2008 and he pitched very well in his first season of 2009 with the Yankees and was a big part of them winning the World Series.

After that, it's been hard to watch him on the mound. It's been like an automatic loss with him on the mound.

In his last eight starts, he is 1-4 with an 8.64 ERA, which comes as no surprise considering he's been notoriously bad in the month of August since donning pinstripes.

But the Yankees are in the middle of a pennant race and a playoff chase, trailing by two and a half games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

If the Yankees want to stay close to Boston going into September, Burnett can't be starting any more games.

And with Freddy Garcia set to come off the disabled list Monday for the Yankees, the rotation seems all but set for the rest of the season.

If the Yankees want to use someone like Adam Warren as a late-season call-up to take Burnett's sixth spot in the rotation, that's fine with me.

But Burnett getting booted out has been long overdue. How Burnett will react to being demoted to the bullpen will be very intriguing to see.

He knows he's pitching terribly and had to know this was coming. You can't pitch for a playoff contender and continue to stink this badly when you're supposed to be the No. 2 starter for the Yankees.

If not for Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon and the emergence of Ivan Nova, Burnett's 2011 season would be an even bigger disaster than it already is, given the fact that Cliff Lee snubbed the Yankees to go to the Philadelphia Phillies and Andy Pettitte retired in the winter.

Burnett's season of 2011 is looking like Javier Vazquez of 2010.

First, he'll be removed from the rotation.

Then, he'll likely be removed from the playoff roster and not asked to pitch at all in the postseason.

After that, in the winter, who knows.

Maybe he is traded for low-level prospects for a team desperate for pitching and the Yankees eat a lot of the remaining contract for Burnett.

Or, the Yankees realize Burnett is going on 35, getting worse, and realize they need to cut their losses going into the future and simply release him.

Whatever the case may be, right now, for their chances at winning a championship in 2011, removing Burnett from the rotation was the right move to do.

For all the criticism Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman take, they are getting this one right.

Enough is enough, and it's time for a change.