Is A.J. Burnett the Villian of Yankees Six-Man Soap Opera

For all the baseball fans who have been following the soap opera which is the New York Yankees six-man rotation saga-- otherwise known as Search For Tomorrow's Starter-- tonight's episode brings us another cliffhanger.

A.J. Burnett, who is the the Yankees' version of Susan Lucci at the Emmys-- because it seems like he has one win in 23 tries-- faces the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium tonight.  The struggling righthander is winless in his last six starts and the fan's cries for rookie Ivan Nova to take Burnett's spot in the rotation are getting ominous.  Now, they're basically just screaming.  Tonight's game is Burnett's version of One Life to Live.

For all the fans of the soaps and the impending disappearance of the dying format from television, the Yankees can always be counted on some bring drama in to your mundane lives.  Even if you think Peyton Place plays for the Colts or  Lever Brothers are the Jewish siblings who played on the 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers, things are never dull in Dallas--I mean the Bronx.

The spirit of Jock Ewing (played by George Steinbrenner) has been passed down to the unscrupulous J.R. (Brian Cashman) and earnest Bobby (Joe Girardi).  TV Guide says tonight's episode should be a good one:

'Burnett is trying to rebound from an almost disastrous last outing, when he didn't get a win after the Yankees batters fronted him with a 12-run lead against the weak hitting Chicago White Sox.  Burnett proceeded to allow seven run and didn't qualify for the win because he was pulled from the game before five innings.  He was last seen ripping the jersey off his body while hitting the locker room.'

Yesterday, Burnett told the New York Post he vowed to reverse his fortunes on the mound and said, " I have to find a way to have fun."

Wait...did he just say, " I have to find a way to win one?"  What?

Sounds like the erratic No. 2 pitcher, Burnett, is living in Another World  because he hasn't seen a 'W' in 40 days, after starting the season 4-0.  The only thing bigger than Burnett's ever-growing ERA is his $82.5 million contract and, as every one who follows their daytime stories knows, the rich always get away with murder.

Right now, if Joe Girardi had to fill out his rotation in a five-game playoff series, Burnett would be lucky to be throwing out of the bullpen in a game five.

In reality, Girardi would open with CC Sabathia, then Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia and Nova-- with Phil Hughes waiting in the wings.

Tomorrow, 24 year-old Nova gets the start against the Angels and a chance to make a statement.  Call him The Young and the Restless.

The rookie is having a breakout year, since his return from the minors to make room for Hughes in July.  Nova's last outing was an outstanding 7.2 inning, 10-strikeout win.  He gave up one run and no walks and has won six straight.  Nova is 10-4 with a 3.81 ERA this season.

Only on the sound stage that is called Yankee Stadium could a pitcher with Nova's fine stats be fighting for a job in the rotation against a pitcher with Burnett's losing numbers.

Hughes and Nova are like the Luke and Laura of this whole drama-- two young faces the fans really want to see together in the rotation.  Will they, or won't they.  It's been a long and heartbreaking journey.

The 25 year-old Hughes looked like future ace they Yankees protected from trades since his arrival.  Last year's breakout 18-8 season put him in the rotation until-- cue the downward-turn-of-fate music-- an undiagnosed and debilitating "dead arm" injury (it even sounds like a soap opera ailment) put him on the DL after losing his fastball early in the season. He has lowered his ERA to 7.11 from a sky-high 13.94  before going on the DL.

Hughes' comeback had been slow and steady until, finally, a brilliant (six innings, three hits, no runs) outing last week brought his recovery full circle.  Cue triumphant music.  But then, a failed relief appearance and game-winning hit against rivals, the Boston Red Sox, made his future unsettled again.  Cue doom-and-gloom music then cut to commercial.

Hughes thirteen-pitch outing cost him a start this week and, now, Nova is the pitcher who takes his place.

The irony.  Wow, General Hospital couldn't have scripted it any better?

As a sub-plot, there is the resurrection of Bartolo Colon in some sort of Dark Shadows theme. We're talking about Barnabas Collins-like mystical shoulder and elbow treatments in the Dominican Republic and Colon's incredible resurgence.  He even has a goth haircut.

The 38 year-old Colon made a miraculous return to the majors, after missing two years and still,  no one knows the circumstances.  Spooky stuff.

Now Girardi has to solve the mystery of getting six pitchers into five rotation slots or risk upsetting Sabathia's rigid five-day throwing schedule.

Cue announcer Macdonald Carey:  "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives."

Stay tuned for The Bold and the Beautiful starring Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly.

Yankees Bartolo Colon: The Round Mound on the Rebound

Out of all of the New York Yankees off-season scrap-heap pick-ups, was there a more questionable signing than pitcher Bartolo Colon?  The righthander  had not pitched since injuring his arm in 2009 and showed up at camp with a body that made Rosie O'Donnell look svelte than the 2005 Cy Young winner he once was.  The sight of Colon in a major league camp, never mind pinstripes, must have appeared to be some kind of joke.

Signing the rotund Colon may one of the best moves in an off-season of questionable moves by Yankees GM Brian Cashman.  Maybe Yankees bench coach, Tony Pena, should get the credit.  After all, it was Pena who phoned Cashman, after seeing Colon in the Dominican Winter League, and recommended bringing the fastballer to spring training and giving him a look-see.

Now, with Phil Hughes dead arm and Ivan Nova looking at a hitch in the minors, signing Colon may be the best move by Cashman so far this year.

The Yankees signed Colon for the bargain basement price of $900,000 and, while he won't make anyone forget the non-signing of Cliff Lee, he's taken out a little of the sting.

After throwing a masterful complete-game, 4-hit shutout victory over the Oakland A's on Monday, the 38 year-old seems to have found the fountain of youth.  And that makes people talk.



How is it a pitcher who's 2009 elbow MRI resembled a pile of pick-up sticks and sat out a full season come back and rebound like that?

Colon has been steady so far this season.  He is 4-4 with a 3.14 ERA and has 62 strikeouts with only 15 walks.  His fastball is consistently in the mid-90's and even his final throw against the A's was clocked at 95 mph. 

The fountain of youth is in Florida and resides in Boca Raton.  Dr. Joseph Purita is the orthopedic surgeon who may hold the future of sports medicine in his skillful hands--stem-cell procedures.   It could be the new Tommy John surgery and it now has tongues wagging.

Dr. Purita performed the controversial stem-cell procedure on Colon's tattered elbow and shoulder in the Dominican Republic eighteen months ago.

Colon went to Dr. Purita as a last resort for a partially-torn rotator cuff and elbow which constantly sent pain stinging up and down his arm.

The stem-cell operation, headed by Dr. Purita, was a procedure which drew fat (no Colon jokes) and healthy cells from Colon's bone marrow and inserted them into his bum shoulder and elbow.

The doctors claim they did the procedure without Human Growth Hormone--which can be used to hasten the healing.

MLB said Colon is part of an investigation into Dr. Purita's past practice of administering HGH to his patients.  Since other major league hurlers are looking into the doctor's procedure, expect more inquiries.

Dr. Purita swears that his team did not use HGH and said he is willing to take a lie-detector test to prove it.  He claims Colon wanted to avoid the scrutiny of the MLB substance abuse cops and went through the whole procedure HGH-free. 

The Yankees are no strangers to the scandal of HGH.  There's a virtual All-Star line-up of Yankees wearing or about to adorn those damaging scarlet letters.  Beginning with Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez and ending with Roger Clemens.  Having the procedure done in the Dominican Republic didn't due anything to silence the truth-seekers

While Cashman said he wasn't aware of the scope of Colon's off-season stem-cell procedure, don't expect the Yankees to open up a can of worms with any investigation regarding Colon's resurgence.  They'll take the doctor's words--and supply the polygraph machine.

For now, Colon may be the steal of the season.  With Hughes and Nova hurting and A.J. Burnett reverting to his old inconsistent self, Colon finds himself as the #2 starter behind CC Sabathia.

The Yankees know a healthy fastball from a hefty 38 year-old is a valuable, but fragile, commodity and manager Joe Girardi (the heat-miser) will monitor Colon's innings, throws or any other stat he can muster to prolong Colon's health.  Girardi will begin by giving Colon an extra day of rest in this rotation.

"You have to be careful, but we have not seen his stuff drop off,' said Girardi.

Whether or not Colon is a freak of nature or a the new Frankenstein of modern medicine is yet to be seen.  The re-animated Colon has given the Yankees life for the first two months of the season and, combined with the team's other junk-pile bargain Garcia, have kept the Yankees in the thick of the AL East.

Henry Cooper, 76, Dead; Scariest Boxing Photo Ever

Former heavyweight fighter Henry Cooper, one of the most popular personalities in the history of British sports died yesterday at the age of 76.  He was the first boxer to be knighted and was famous for almost knocking out a young Muhammad Ali when he was still known as the up-and-coming Cassius Clay in 1963.

Three years later, Cooper would be beaten to a bloodied pulp after he was stopped by Ali in a title fight in London.  A photo of the blood spattered Cooper after that fight made him the poster-boy for old-time boxing and a good reason to never enter the ring.

Cooper, who was left handed but stood in a right-handed stance, had a devastating left hook which British fans called "Enry's 'Ammer."  It was this same punch which knocked Clay into the ropes during the final seconds of the fourth round of their first meeting.  Clay saved himself by hooking his arm around the ropes, preventing him from slamming his head onto the canvas.

There was some controversy on whether or not trainer Angelo Dundee used smelling salts to revive the staggering Clay between the fourth and fifth rounds.  Clay went on to win in a 5th-round TKO while trailing on all scorecards.

In their 1966 title fight, Cooper was battered by the now World Champion Ali at  London's Highbury Stadium.   Ali stopped the bloodied Cooper in the 6th-round.

Ali once said Cooper's knockdown shot "hit him so hard that his ancestors in Africa felt it."

Cooper was a popular figure in Great Britain.  He won the British, Commonwealth and European titles, but never the world crown.

His sixteen year boxing career ended with a controversial loss to fellow Brit Joe Bugner by a quarter of a point in 1971.  It was claimed that Bugner's victory over the popular Cooper led British fans to never get behind the new champ.  That's how beloved Cooper, the small heavyweight, was in his homeland.

Cooper finished his career with a pro record was 40 wins with 14 losses and one draw.  He had 27 KO's.

In his later years, Cooper became disillusioned with boxing and what it had become.  Queen Elizabeth II knighted the gentlemanly fighter in 2000.

"I am at a loss for words over the death of my friend, Henry Cooper,"  Ali said yesterday.