April 15, 200620 yr From MLB.com: Notes: Burnett calm before first start Arnsberg says he's more nervous than star pitcher By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com CHICAGO -- If A.J. Burnett steps off the hill in the middle of an inning during his season debut on Saturday, Toronto fans shouldn't be alarmed. It will have nothing to do with his arm and everything to do with his pitching coach, who may need a reverse mound visit to calm him down. "He might have to walk off the mound and come to the dugout to talk to me instead of vice versa," joked Toronto pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, who admitted that he's probably more nervous about Burnett's 2006 debut than the pitcher himself. "I'm anxious to go out there and see him compete again," Arnsberg added. "To see him get back out there against a Major League club is going to be fun to see. I think he's excited. We're all excited." It's been nearly a month since Burnett stepped off the pitching rubber and motioned to the dugout, signaling an abrupt end to his Spring Training outing on March 18. Now, he'll be back on the mound on just three days' rest from a rehab start to face the World Series champion White Sox. "I'm here for a reason. They believe in me," said Burnett, who inked a five-year, $55 million contract with Toronto in December. "[saturday is] my day, amongst many days in the future, to show [the Jays] that they didn't make a mistake -- that I'm here to compete and I'm here to win. "I've never been nervous. So I'll probably expect to be nervous for the first time." The slight case of nerves is understandable. During his final spring start, Burnett felt a pain in his right elbow similar to the jolt he felt in 2003, when his season skidded to a stop and he needed elbow ligament replacement surgery. Burnett's Florida Marlins went on to win the World Series without him and he had probably feared a similar scenario was taking place again -- this time with Toronto. It turned out to be just a scare -- a normal case of scar tissue, leftover from the operation, breaking off in the elbow. The Blue Jays took every precaution, though. Burnett was placed on the 15-day disabled list to begin the year and he's missed two turns in the rotation, even though he hasn't experienced pain in the elbow in weeks. Burnett's original debut was scheduled for Sunday, but Toronto had to move the outing up one day because of Roy Halladay's sore forearm. The Blue Jays will keep an eye on Burnett's pitch total, especially considering that he pitched on Tuesday. And also because Toronto knows he'll be anxious to let his powerful fastball loose for the first time. "He's going to be excited," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He'll probably be throwing 100 mph. I just hope it's 100 strikes." Coming up: Burnett will make his season debut against the White Sox at 2:05 p.m. ET on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Field. Chicago will counter with lefty Mark Buehrle.
April 15, 200620 yr Author WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AJ......THE CY YOUNG CHASE BEGINS!!! The Jays rule. :thumbup
April 15, 200620 yr the jays scare me with the way they use their pitchers - halladay is going to lose his arm if they are not careful and we all know that AJ can get the bug as well which would be too bad because I like the jays
April 15, 200620 yr Author the jays scare me with the way they use their pitchers - halladay is going to lose his arm if they are not careful and we all know that AJ can get the bug as well which would be too bad because I like the jays They have been awesome at the plate so far. Alex Rios is on a roll. They destroyed the Red Sox bullpen a few days ago. Hopefully what they lack in pitching they can continue to make up for at the dish.
April 15, 200620 yr Heh yeah more like the chase until his next injury begins. :confused Kind of hard to disagree eh? :thumbup
April 15, 200620 yr Given up 2 HR to Konerko, 4 Runs through 5 IP, White Sox lead 4-2 going into the top of the 6th.
April 15, 200620 yr Its funny listening to the announcers talk about how good his velocity is, and his 'stuff' is great etc etc. All over - Burnett takes the loss. Sox 4-2 Jays Burnett's line: 6IP 7H 4R 4ER 5K 1BB
April 15, 200620 yr joked Toronto pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, :o go AJ ... and start bitching to the FO now just so they can start getting used to you
April 16, 200620 yr Author Its funny listening to the announcers talk about how good his velocity is, and his 'stuff' is great etc etc. All over - Burnett takes the loss. Sox 4-2 Jays Burnett's line: 6IP 7H 4R 4ER 5K 1BB Not a great performance but not horrible considering it was his first game back. Expect more out of him next start.
April 16, 200620 yr Heh yeah more like the chase until his next injury begins. :lol :lol :lol :owned I'm glad the White Sox won that game.
April 16, 200620 yr Author Heh yeah more like the chase until his next injury begins. :lol :lol :lol :owned I'm glad the White Sox won that game. :thumbdown
April 16, 200620 yr Heh yeah more like the chase until his next injury begins. :lol :lol :lol :owned I'm glad the White Sox won that game. :thumbdown The White Sox are my second favorite team. :thumbup
April 16, 200620 yr I love seeing guys like Penny, Dempster, and even Livan do better on other teams, but I really hope Burnett has a horrible career.
April 16, 200620 yr Heh yeah more like the chase until his next injury begins. :lol :lol :lol :owned I'm glad the White Sox won that game. :thumbdown AJ is a jerk. Get over it. I will root for any ex Marlins pitchers but not AJ.
April 16, 200620 yr Heh yeah more like the chase until his next injury begins. Because he wasn't healthy all of last year or anything.
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