“I’ve always said I’m ready for the stage,” Burnett said. “And I wanted to pitch. I watched every game. I lay in bed with my wife watching the games. I just imagined if I could have the opportunity to throw in the postseason, pitch in the postseason.”He also said he wasn't surprised that Girardi's decision to start Molina was getting so much attention:
“I’m not surprised because of what Jorge is to this organization and what he’s done in the postseason,” Burnett said. “He’s the leader in this clubhouse. He’s the leader in the dugout.”Again, that whole thing has be blown totally out of proportion. Either way, I like what Burnett has been saying, and I'm very interested in seeing what he can do tomorrow. I don't think he will be effected by the "big stage," it's just a matter of whether he has his good command or not and can minimize the damage if he does get into trouble. Those have been the keys for Burnett throughout his entire career, so tomorrow should be no different. Here's what his battery mate said were the keys for Burnett via Justin Terranova:
What's your prediction for his start tomorrow?“You just tell him to calm down, not worry about it,” said Molina, who hit .217 this season. “It’s a lot of fun here. A lot of times he gets mad on the mound and I just tell him not to give up any more runs. We are going to score a lot of runs. You give up one run with this team that’s nothing.”
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“When he gets mad that’s when you have to call time out and talk to him, calm him down and make sure he is in the same place you are to get some more outs,” Molina said.
And a little joking around doesn’t hurt either. Molina relayed a story from one of Burnett’s recent starts.
“He came off upset, ‘Jose I threw 50 pitches’ and I went ‘damn next inning you throw 10 pitches and then you will be alright.’ And he was laughing and after that he was a lot better. You have to break the hard part of him and make it fun.”
