Two years ago the Yankees failed to win their first eight games against the Red Sox and spent a portion of that summer answering questions worded a hundred different ways about that issue. Eventually they finally answered with a resounding four-game sweep during the first weekend of August that resembled the five-game sweep in Boston three years earlier.
That weekend happened to be A.J. Burnett's best start against the Red Sox as a Yankee. During the second game of the series, a 15-inning victory, Burnett walked six but allowed just one hit in 7 2/3 innings. Since that game, Burnett is 19-23 with a 4.94 ERA.
And even that could be a misleading number. Since that Friday night, Burnett has allowed at least five runs 15 times and failed to get past the six 22 times.
Last night, Burnett added to both categories with a putrid 5 2/3 innings that saw the Red Sox pound him for eight runs and seven hits.
Those are not numbers Burnett was recruited from Toronto to put up against the Red Sox, but some interesting stats might sneak beyond the surface of Burnett's recent history.
Entering last night, Burnett's average fastball has been clocked at 92.5 mph and is being used a career-low 61.3 percent of the time. Since the night of August 7, 2009 and going into last night, that pitch had been thrown over 3,000 times (3,036 to be exact) for an average velocity of 93.3. Before that night, Burnett had thrown 1,481 fastballs for an average speed of 94.2 as a Yankee.
And considering that Burnett turned 34 this winter, it might seem likely that the velocity will decrease as Burnett completes the life of the contract, which takes him through his 36th birthday and you won't see him pitch as well against the Red Sox as he did with the Blue Jays.
"I'm not in Toronto anymore. So I'm tired of hearing that. That's just ****ed. OK? If anything's different, I made pitches in Toronto. I didn't make pitches tonight. That's the most stupid thing I ever heard."
That was Burnett's response to a question about why he pitched so well against Boston with New York but has not continued that as a Yankee.
It was a terse response but the fan reaction might be similar if this one turn into the bad A.J. becomes a recurring show.
It might not play out that way if Burnett can pitch with slightly diminished velocity but being successful at it is similar to real estate, location, location and location.
Last night Burnett did not come close to having it - just freeze frame the 3-2 pitch that David Ortiz launched into the right center field seats in the first inning for a three-run home run.
Burnett will not get another crack at the Red Sox until August and by then the flaws in the Yankee code might be fixed.
Perhaps Francisco Cervelli will have cured his throwing woes that led to two errors. Perhaps Brett Gardner will snap out of his season-long fog on the bases that surfaced again in the sixth inning when he failed to score on a passed ball.
Assuming the Yankees figure it out and play as well as they did during their nine-game trip, they will be right there with the Red Sox. And if they don't, the first really hot days of the 2011 baseball season will have shown us that the Red Sox are a few ticks better than the Yankees.
"When you don’t make pitches, they’re going to beat you," Burnett said. "That’s the bottom line. I don’t think our season is going to dictate over this season, by far, but they’re making pitches and we haven’t."
The season won't be dictated by the events of the last two nights.
For the Yankees a reversal tonight would remove some of the uneasiness in the air after two losses and for Burnett a few quality outing would remove some of the stain of his latest clunker against the Red Sox with the hopes that his next matchup in the rivalry is similar to August 7, 2009.
