Burnett Takes Blame For Boston, Has No Problems With Jorge

First, here's this from Jack Curry:

A.J. Burnett and catcher Jorge Posada talk in the dugout between innings whenever Burnett starts. But they barely exchanged a syllable while Burnett was being hammered in a 14-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

“He told me, ‘Dude, I didn’t want to come up to you because you looked so ticked off,’ ” Burnett said in explaining why Posada grabbed a different seat in the dugout.

Burnett said he was ticked off, angry at himself for not being mentally prepared and for throwing too many fastballs against Boston. Although Burnett and Posada clashed noticeably on pitch selection, Burnett insisted that it was his fault, not Posada’s, that he allowed nine earned runs in five innings.

“I had a bad start because my mind wasn’t right,” Burnett said. “I didn’t make good decisions.”

...

As Burnett criticized himself for not being prepared, he was absolving Posada, too. Manager Joe Girardi said the onus was on the pitcher when a pitcher and a catcher disagree. Burnett agreed, saying that disagreeing with Posada “doesn’t mean he’s doing a bad job” or that they have a strained relationship.

“That wasn’t A. J. out there,” Burnett said. “I wasn’t myself out there. I wasn’t ready. That’s on me.”

Here's some more from Bryan Hoch:

Regardless of who he is teamed with, Burnett said that he does not have difficulties operating with his catchers and blamed the media for making a big deal of the issue.

"It's not too complicated," Burnett said. "A lot of it is blown out of proportion. Guys miss signs all the time, guys cross guys up all the time and guys give up hits on pitches that they'd rather throw something else.

"It doesn't mean your catcher is bad or your relationship is bad. I don't know where all of that is coming from, but it just means that I wasn't right. My mental preparation and the way that I handled myself out there on the mound was wrong."

Besides the whole speaking of himself in the third person in the Curry article I'm glad he's taking the blame for what was a pitiful performance. I also am glad to see him defending his catcher. That's what good teammates do even if deep down they don't feel that way.

When he's on he's one of the better pitchers in the game, when he's off, he's a disaster waiting to happen. Hopefully he's got his good stuff working for him today as he takes on the Rangers in the Bronx.

Which Burnett do you expect to see when he takes the mound at the stadium this afternoon?