A.J. Burnett Should Not Make the New York Yankees Playoff Roster

A.J. Burnett made a minor-league...Oh wait, he isn't injured. No, he made a start against the Minnesota Twins, whose lineup was as close to a minor-league team than is logically possible in the MLB.

There he was, three innings into the game, and it looked promising, pretty much like it sometimes does with Burnett. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, he was walking off the field to a chorus of boos from the far less than capacity crowd at Yankee Stadium.

It's become a familiar occurrence for Burnett, something that Joe Girardi clearly isn't going to deal with anymore. The Yankees manager pulled his troubled starter after only four innings of work.

And rightfully so.

Burnett's fourth inning was the hint of trouble after allowing a homer to Chris who? Chris Parmelee.

The fifth inning saw a two-run homer to straight-away center off the bat of Michael Cuddyer, and after a double by the dreaded Parmelee, Burnett was pulled with a 5-3 lead. It was the third hit in a row, and just like that, Burnett erased any success he had.

It was just the same old start.

Thanks to the magic act of Corey Wade, the Bombers escaped the inning with a 5-4 lead after bases loaded, nobody out.

Another pitiful start by Burnett, and one can only wonder how on Earth the Yankees could ever allow him to make a start in the playoffs? Can you really depend on him to just snap out of it?

I don't want to be down 8-0, Game 4 of the division series and then realize I made a mistake. A.J. Burnett should not be included on the Yankees' playoff roster at all. He would just pollute the bullpen as well.

I'll take my chances with Scott Proctor.

@michaelmoraitis