Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
http://triblive.com/sports/
June 6, 2012
CINCINNATI, OH - JUNE 5: A.J. Burnett #34 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the game at Great American Ball Park on June 5, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Tyler Barrick/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI- Jeff Banister, the Pirates’ bench coach, has been forced to serve as manager only once this summer. That was May 2 in St. Louis, and cruel as fate can be, it was on that night that the team’s heart-and-soul, 27-year employee had to make what still stands as the season’s most compelling managerial decision.
It brings a cringe even now.
A.J. Burnett was getting crushed, his pitches flat and the Cardinals’ bats in flames.
“He had nothing,” Banister was recalling Tuesday in the visitors’ dugout at Great American Ball Park. “It was just boom, boom, boom.”
Clint Hurdle had been ejected for arguing, so Banister was in charge as the Cardinals took a 7-0 lead through two innings.
He sent Burnett back out for the third.
I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one watching back in Pittsburgh surprised by that.
But Charlie Morton had imploded after 41⁄3 innings the previous day, the bullpen was threadbare, and as Banister put it, “We had no choice. We needed A.J. to get us what he could.”
He did, but not for long. With Carlos Beltran’s second three-run home run off Burnett, Banister went to the mound with two outs in the third.
The Cardinals led, 12-0.
“I remember taking the ball from A.J.,” Banister said. “I let him know how much he means to us and … ”
Banister became visibly emotional for a moment.
“I didn’t know how he’d react. I didn’t want to turn and look.”
Some starters will go all Carlos Zambrano on the Gatorade cooler. Some will sulk in the clubhouse. Some will bite their lip all summer, bitter about blowing up their ERA.
Burnett quietly grabbed a cup of water, toweled off his hair a bit and sat on the bench.
At the end nearest Banister.
“A.J. wanted everyone to see he was OK,” Banister said. “He wanted everyone to see he supported us and that he was there for his teammates. He cheered us on all night.”
Banister shook his head.
“I can’t tell you what this player has meant to our club.”
I think he just did.
If not, this will: With Burnett’s five tough-it-out innings — three runs, five hits, eight strikeouts — in the Pirates’ 8-4 win over the first-place Reds last night, his ERA is 3.76. Subtract that St. Louis debacle, and it’s a Cy Young-level 1.89 over the other eight starts.
He’s also 5-2, with four wins in a row, and has dramatically upgraded his control with 96 strikeouts against 19 walks. A year ago with the Yankees, his 83 walks were second in the American League, his 25 wild pitches the most.
It’s been a terrific return for the two years and $13 million of Burnett’s contract the Pirates assumed this spring.
Dejan Kovacevic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at dkovacevic@tribweb.com.
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