New York Yankees

Against the New York Yankees, New York Mets outfielder Gary Sheffield keeps on swinging

NEW YORK - Fresh off a cortisone shot to his knee, Mets outfielder Gary Sheffield found himself back in the lineup in his new comfort zone, facing the Yankees, his old team.

"It's a big game for the city, the nation watching these games," Sheffield said. "It's always big moments."

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Flu bug hits New York Yankees as Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon sit out

NEW YORK -- The flu is spreading through the Yankees clubhouse and Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon will not start Saturday night.

Jeter will miss his second straight game with the illness. He was not available to pinch hit Friday night, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi was hopeful that he could come off the bench Saturday.

"I know he really wants to play today and he's not happy about being out of the lineup," Girardi said. "It was recommended when I talked to the doctor that we give him another day. He was really, really sick last night."

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New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett not afraid to think about no-hit bid

A.J. Burnett was not oblivious. He had a no-hitter and he was thinking about it.

"I look up when it's happening and I want to throw one," Burnett said. "I was pretty much shooting for it from the fourth on."

All the ingredients were there, it appeared. Melky Cabrera made two sparkling plays in left field to preserve the no-hitter. The Mets offense, already stymied the night before by CC Sabathia, looked just as feeble. And Burnett was striking out batters at a high pace.

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A.J. Burnett has suspension reduced to five games

Major League Baseball reduced the suspension of New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett to five games on Sunday.

Burnett was originally suspended six games and fined an undisclosed amount for an incident during a game against the Texas Rangers on June 2.

Under a settlement reached with Major League Baseball, Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett had his six-game suspension for throwing at a batter reduced to five games. He began serving the suspension on Saturday.

The suspension -- which came after Burnett threw near the head of the Rangers' Nelson Cruz on June 2, supposedly in retaliation of Vicente Padilla hitting Mark Teixeira -- won't make a major impact on the rotation. The penalty pushed Burnett's next start back just one day, to Saturday at Citi Field against the Mets.

New York Yankees' A.J. Burnett not relying on fastball anymore

by Marc Carig

For as long as he can remember, A.J. Burnett has been bombarded by pitching coaches who have hounded him with the same message: true pitching is more than relying on the power of 98-mph soul-crushers. For years, as they'd drone on about the virtues of the ground ball, of pitching to contact, of conserving pitches, he'd feign attention.

Then, he'd take the mound and pitch as if he'd never heard the advice.

Not only did he want to get batters out. He wanted to humiliate them. So Burnett would reach back and blow them away, taking great delight when his fastballs lit up radar guns in the triple digits.

He paid a heavy toll for this recklessness, the full measure of which can be found with a cursory review of Burnett's career injury report: 10 trips to the disabled list for shoulder, elbow and hand maladies. Right elbow surgery cost him nearly all of one season, and parts of another. Since breaking in with the Florida Marlins in 1999, Burnett has been one of the most talented pitchers in the major leagues. But he has also come to be known as one of the most brittle.

This, he said, is what motivated him to change, understanding that groundouts count the same as strikeouts. No more overthrowing. No more fastballs for fastball's sake. Finally.

"Took me eight years," he said. "Obviously, my way didn't work. It was time to listen."

This much is certain: Burnett went 18-10 last year for the Toronto Blue Jays mostly because he avoided missing significant time to injury. With promise and production aligned, he netted a five-year, $82.5 million contract to join the Yankees. But whether Burnett has actually changed -- and whether he will deliver a second consecutive banner season -- remains a mystery.

While he has tried to emulate Blue Jays ace and former teammate Roy Halladay, a model of efficiency who routinely gets quick outs by inducing contact, Burnett, 32, has statistically remained the same power pitcher he's always been.

Burnett's pitches per plate appearance the past two seasons have hovered near his career average of 3.79, and batters have made contact 75 percent of the time (down from 81 percent his first two seasons).

Perhaps most stunning is that, despite a more tempered approach, Burnett's strikeout numbers are higher than ever. In the past two seasons, his strikeouts per nine innings was a career-high 9.6 in 2007 and 9.4 last season -- meaning he's missing more bats than ever.

"You start trying to strike out less and you strike out more," he said. "It's weird, but that's just how the game works sometimes. But my control is better, obviously. And I've got a better idea of what I'm doing out there."

Those around Burnett have noticed.

"He used to just go out there and throw," said Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon, who lobbied the team to pursue Burnett in the offseason, mostly because he hated facing him as an opponent. "Now he's pitching, learning how to move the ball. He's definitely gotten better the last couple of years. He's smarter with his pitches. Yeah, he's striking guys out because he's still nasty. But he knows how to stay away from you, too."

Rich Dubee, the Marlins pitching coach from 1998-2000, said the most obvious change in Burnett has been his ability to resist the temptation to overthrow.

"He's just starting to become more familiar with that, and understanding he can get deeper into games and stay healthy and be more successful by pitching under control," said Dubee, now the pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies. "He doesn't need to be pure power."

Burnett, who also throws an excellent curveball and a changeup, has started to be more mindful about the type of exercises he's doing to stay in shape in between starts. His fitness programs are more monitored and structured than in the past.

As Yankees general manager Brian Cashman worked from his fourth-floor office at Steinbrenner Field recently, he caught a glimpse of a player jogging up and down the empty stands of the stadium on his off day. As the person moved around the entire stadium, Cashman's curiosity grew and he picked up a pair of binoculars.

"I saw the tattoos," Cashman said. "It was A.J. Burnett."

Regardless of the stats, Burnett can say with certainty he is at least making an effort to change, which is more than could be said about his earlier years. In the seasons after the fire sale following the 1997 World Series, the Marlins filled their roster with inexperienced players such as Burnett, whether they were ready or not.

And when Burnett got in trouble, Dubee said he reverted to his comfort zone and just threw as hard as he could.

"We've had a lot of knockdown, drag-out fights about it," Dubee said.

Even when he was at his best, Burnett could be maddening and stubbornly attached to this best pitch. During his 2001 no-hitter against the San Diego Padres, Burnett walked nine batters. More remarkably, of the 128 pitches he threw against the Padres that night, 123 were fastballs.

Those days, Burnett promises, are over. Still, he sometimes offers reminders that the flame-thrower within is never too far away.

The best example came during his first spring training start this year. He was shocked when he threw one of his fastballs and the stadium gun read 98.

"Really?" he said. "I didn't mean to. I was just trying to be easy."

Burnett shines as New York Yankees complete split squad sweep

by Marc Carig

TAMPA, Fla. - The calendar may say March, but New York Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett appeared to be in midseason form on Saturday, tossing four perfect innings to help the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory against the Houston Astros in a split squad game at Steinbrenner Field.

Burnett showed the type of dominance that the Yankees banked on this offseason, when they signed the pitcher to a five-year, $82.5 million contract. He spotted his fastball, which touched 96 m.p.h. on the radar gun, and mixed it in with a sharp curveball.

"I felt good the entire time," said Burnett, who finished with three strikeouts.

The right-hander was so efficient -- he threw 40 pitches, 32 for strikes - that he needed to throw 10 more pitches in the bullpen just to reach his scheduled count for the day.

"The ball comes out of his hand so free and easy," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Meanwhile, two of the Yankees' top prospects helped power New York to a 13-10 victory in a another split squad against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Catching standout Jesus Montero hit a grand slam while outfielder Austin Jackson added a homer.

New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett makes quick debut

By Marc Carig

TAMPA, Fla. -- A.J. Burnett allowed just one hit in two shutout innings in his spring training debut for the New York Yankees on Sunday, a 12-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Burnett was cleared to throw as many as 35 pitches, but needed far less than that to get through his first start in a Yankees uniform. He threw the rest of his allotted pitches in the bullpen. In the pitcher's next outing, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Burnett will stretch out to between 45 and 50 pitches.

Burnett said he felt physically strong and successfully mixed his curveball in for strikes. But he said his primary focus during the spring will remain honing his fastball.

"I want to establish the No.1, that's my bread and butter," Burnett said. "I threw a lost of fastballs today, but that's what I do. I get ahead with the fastballs. That's one of my main goals this spring is to get that down and away locked in."

Yankees infielder Angel Berroa went 2-for-3, including a three-run homer, and finished with four RBIs.

Designated hitter Hideki Matsui said his surgically repaired left knee felt fine after having to do some base running in his second-straight spring training game. Matsui drew a pair of walks, scored a run and eve had to go from first-to-third on a play.

"So far, no problems," Matsui said through an interpreter. Girardi said he wants to see how Matsui's knee bounces back on Monday morning.

Closer Mariano Rivera is expected back on Monday from the World Baseball Classic. Though he's not playing in the tournament, he participated in opening ceremonies and was on the bench with the national team from his native Panama.