Girardi faces pressure to bench struggling AJ

After AJ Burnett's latest disastrous outing, Joe Girardi has started to feel pressure from the media to skip Burnett in the rotation. That pressure will only intensify.

Girardi resisted suggestions that the struggling Burnett should miss a turn in the rotation, even though he twice skipped over Javier Vazquez when he faltered earlier in the season. The move worked with Vazquez, who made a nice comeback after regaining his confidence through bullpen work, most notably getting a key out in relief against the Boston Red Sox. But Girardi doesn't seem eager to pursue that path with Burnett.

In truth, Burnett missing a turn isn't much of an option for Girardi. The New York Yankees are committed to protecting the young Phil Hughes and skipping him will be a bigger priority for them because Hughes is much more important to their long-term future. Additionally, two of Girardi's long men and potential fill-in starters, Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre, are on the disabled list, so having someone else start in AJ's place would leave the Yankees short in the bullpen.

But mostly Girardi seems to genuinely believe that his staff and Burnett are close to figuring out the righty's problems and getting them straightened out. Girardi knows his players better than the rest of us and if he really thinks Burnett is close to getting back to being effective, than he probably is. Or it could just be that Girardi knows a demotion to the bullpen would cause more damage to the emotional pitcher than it's worth.

Regardless, Girardi seems determined to allow Burnett to stay in the rotation and work on his problems. The pressure to skip him will keep rising if Burnett's starts continue to turn into automatic Yankee losses. But extreme pressure is part of Girardi's job as manager of the Yankees and I expect him to stick to his guns.

Random Yankee thoughts

Proving that you can go home again, Chad Gaudin is reportedly ready to rejoin the New York Yankees. Gaudin was competing for the fifth starter spot that went to Phil Hughes, but was released in spring training. The fact that the Yankees are pursuing a deal with Gaudin could mean that Alfredo Aceves, who had a setback in his recovery this week, could be out for longer than expected.

* Should we start a collection for ARod? Alex Rodriguez was listed as the largest unsecured creditor in bankruptcy documents filed by the Texas Rangers. The team owes him $25 million in deferred payments under his old record-setting contract. Guess he'll have to make do with the $275 million he's getting from the Yankees over his 10-year deal.

* Yankees will pick up today's game with the Minnesota Twins right where they left off yesterday when the rains came. It was a good rule change by Major League Baseball, ensuring that a solid if somewhat uneven effort by AJ Burnett didn’t go to waste.

* I fully support the Yankees decision to ban iPads from the stadium. Nothing annoys me more than when people go to a baseball game and pay absolutely no attention to the game. If you’re not interested in baseball, stay home and save your money.

* Hideki Irabu was arrested for drunken driving in Los Angeles. Sadly, the Yankees are no strangers to DUI incidents. Team executive Mark Newman was arrested in March for drunken driving in Florida. Joba Chamberlain was arrested in 2008 in Nebraska. But the worst incident involves former catcher Jim Leyritz because a woman died when he crashed his car into hers. He just settled a wrongful death lawsuit, but still faces manslaughter charges. The Yankees need to think seriously about how they can address the alcohol abuse in their ranks.

Yankees getting taste of life without Mo

Joe Girardi and the New York Yankees are getting a taste of life without Mariano Rivera and boy is it bitter.

Now Girardi knows how other baseball managers feel when trying to get through the ninth inning. After he had to lift Andy Pettitte prematurely because of tightness in his arm, he had to piece the last four innings of the game together without Mo and Joba Chamberlain and the Yankees came close to giving it up. In the 9th inning, he had to watch Dave Robertson give up back-to-back home runs and Boone Logan walk the tying runs on base before Alfredo Aceves got the final out.

The Yankees swept the lowly Baltimore Orioles today, ahead of an off day and a three-game series with the fading Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. But that success is masking some issues that Girardi and Brian Cashman have to be a little concerned about, namely a troubling lack of production from their big sluggers and an inconsistent bullpen outside of Rivera.

Mo is supposed to be back on Friday and the Yankees have to be grateful for that. Even with Boston struggling, these games will take on added importance simply because it's the Red Sox. The Yankees will need to be at their best and that means Mo.

President Barack Obama was right on when he said that other teams would be successful if they had Mariano Rivera. The Yankees got a fresh reminder this week of how lucky they are to have Mo.

Joba, Ace must rise above disappointment

Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman finally confirming the obvious, that they were going with Phil Hughes as the fifth starter, was a huge disappointment for both Joba Chamberlain and Alfredo Aceves. Now, they must rise above that disappointment and do the best job they can in their new roles.

Of the two of them, Joba has the most to prove. It's clear that Girardi and Cashman have lost confidence in him and are trying to challenge him by not automatically giving him the most critical spot in the bullpen besides closer. By saying that Joba has to earn that spot, it's clear they don't believe he's ready for the job of setting up the incomparable Mariano Rivera. And the New York Yankees need someone reliable to do that job. They can't risk having to constantly bring in a 40-year Mo in the 8th inning to get through close games.

While he expressed happiness for Hughes, it's obviously quite a blow for Joba. But he can't feel too sorry for himself. The competition was set up so that he and Hughes would be the front runners. And he had the advantage of being free of the Joba Rules restrictions that Hughes will have to navigate this year. All Joba had to do was pitch better than Hughes and he couldn't do it. It's incredibly disappointing not just for Joba, but for the team and the fans who have seen the flashes of brilliance that once made team officials think so highly of him.

Unlike Joba, Ace has a legitimate beef. Out of the five candidates for the slot, he pitched the best in spring training. So it must have been a crushing blow for a pitcher who's only 27 years old. But Ace is learning a lesson that a lot of us with regular jobs already know: that sometimes it doesn't matter if you're the best person for the job. Factors beyond your performance influence these decisions too. For Ace, it seems that his flexibility and success in the bullpen last year were the primary reasons why he didn't get the job. And that is incredibly disappointing, especially after all of Girardi's talk of how it wasn't a two-man battle between Joba and Hughes. But Ace can comfort himself with the knowledge that the Yankees see him as a valuable member of the team.

Thanks to happyskrappy via Wikipedia for the photo.

Aceves making 5th starter tough call

Alfredo Aceves is making his team's decision on a fifth starter as difficult as possible. And that's a good thing.

Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman have a tough call to make. Ace, who was fantastic both in the bullpen and as a spot starter last year, has been perfect so far in spring training and Cashman seems to be open to him in the rotation.

In an interview about 10 days ago, former Mets general manager Steve Phillips said the New York Yankees should put both Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen and hand the fifth starter spot to Aceves, Chad Gaudin or Sergio Mitre. He argued that by having both Phil and Joba set up Mariano Rivera, the Yankees could strengthen the bullpen and limit their starters to six-inning stints, keeping them fresh for the playoffs. Given the Yankees reliance on a three-man rotation last year, that's probably a wise choice

Ace is staking his claim to that fifth spot. If he keeps pitching the way he has, it will be hard not to give him the job.

Thanks to Giants27 via Wikipedia for the photo.