A.J. Burnett is currently on fire. In his last five games, he is sporting a (4-1) record with a 1.36 ERA and the last win in this stretch came against the Minnesota Twins, a team that features Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and co. For the season, he's 8-4 with a 3.77 ERA. At the end of May, Burnett was (3-2) with a 4.78 ERA and certainly did not look like the $16.5 MM/yr. pitcher that the Yankees paid for. So with Burnett gaining momentum, what does this mean for the Yankees?
It means they now have the No.2 starter they paid for behind CC (no, I didn't spell this wrong, he dropped the .,. after getting traded to the Brewers) Sabathia. Although they are currently only 1 GB of the Red Sox and leading the AL Wild Card standings, this gives them more than a playoff appearance, they now have a chance to win the World Series.
Over the past 20 years, the majority of teams that have gone on to win it all have had a few things in common; good pitching and great/timely hitting. Good pitching means having solid No.1 and No.2 starters (Hamels/Myers, Beckett/Schilling, Schilling/Martinez, Johnson/Schilling, Beckett/Penny) with a shut-down closer (Lidge, Papelbon,). Hitting is less consistent, so either great hitters continue to be great hitters when it really counts (not A-Rod) or timely hitting is provided by the not so expected (Mike Lowell in 2007, David Eckstein in 2006, Jermaine Dye in 2005, etc.). The Yankees had a solid line-up, legitimate No.1 starter in Sabathia, and closer in Mariano Rivera. Now they have the last piece, a No.2 starter in Burnett. So look for the Yankees to continue challenging the Red Sox, Rays, Tigers, Rangers, and Angels in the AL for a spot in the World Series and potentially to win it all.
Of course, my prediction is still Boston winning it all in 2009.
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