Burnett Pitches A Snoozer

I was looking forward to watching last night's Yankee game. It was going to be my first live look at A.J. Burnett. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. I made it through about 3 hitters before I zonked out on the couch. I think I'm still recovering from a lack of sleep when I was up in Toronto for the WBC. What I do remember seeing was a guy with great velocity (fastball around 94-95) but very little control. I checked out the box score this morning and saw that he only lasted 3.1 innings, giving up 3 hits and 3 walks. That tells me he threw a lot of pitches and a lot of them were off the plate. Not an ideal start but if he can keep those runners from crossing the plate, it works for me. I was surprised to find he didn't allow the leadoff triple to score. He must have grinded his way through that game seeing as he only allowed 1 run. I still think A.J. will be great for the Yanks. He just needs to stay healthy, but then again, who doesn't?

I was also looking forward to seeing Mo pitch another inning. I guess i didn't miss much. 3 outs on 5 pitches. Nicely done Mariano. That's 2 scoreless/hitless innings for Mo this spring. 2 innings, 16 pitches, 11 strikes. Talk about vintage Mariano. So far, so good. The shoulder seems to be holding up.

Angel Berroa is looking really good this spring. When I predicted the Opening Day roster a few weeks ago, he was the last guy I picked. Angel is hitting .415 with an OPS of 1.112. He leads the time in hits, doubles, RBI, and total bases. Granted some of that is because he also has more at-bats than everyone (but Cody Ransom), but even still, damn, dude is tearing it up. Maybe he does make the squad? I can see it happening, especially if he finishes the spring strong.

Finally, Bob over at The Voice of Yankees Universe, sent me an e-mail about a new weekly feature called Bald Vinny's Roll Call. For those of you that don't know who Bald Vinny is, he is the unofficial leader of the Yankee Stadium Bleacher Creatures. Some of you may recognize him from season one of the YES Network's Ultimate Road Trip. Some of you may have seen him standing outside the Stadium (across the street of course) hawking t-shirts. I also think his mug is affixed to some ads over the urinals in Yankee Stadium bathrooms. I vaguely remember seeing that last time I was there. If none of those ring a bell, he's the voice you hear kicking off the roll call at the start of every Yankee game. Every week they'll be checking in with Vinny to get his thoughts. I checked out the first one this morning (prior to receiving Bob's e-mail) and it was a good read. I suggest everyone check it out. While you're at their site, you might also want to check out the contest their doing where you can win a copy of the book Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee. That should be a good book. Who doesn't love Yogi Berra?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie