Will Burnett pitch to Posada Thursday afternoon?
Photo credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola | New York Yankees starting pitcher A.J. Burnett delivers in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox in their baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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Rangers at Yankees
A.J. Burnett's next start will be Thursday afternoon against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium. Since it's a day game after a night game, is Burnett going to be pitching to Jorge Posada or Jose Molina?
"I don't know yet," manager Joe Girardi said last night. "That's not something I've made up my mind on."
Girardi said Posada was probably not going to catch all three games of this series against the Rangers. Posada was in the lineup last night, meaning he would get either Wednesday night or Thursday off.
"They're definitely going to be together," Girardi said of his bickering battery. But he didn't know if it would be Thursday or Burnett's next turn.
Does Girardi choose to keep Posada and Burnett together in hopes they can work out their communication issues, or does he give them a start off?
Girardi has been adamant that the issues have been overblown. However, both admitted they were not on the same page about pitch selection Saturday in Boston, when Burnett gave up nine runs in five innings against the Red Sox.
"It doesn't really matter to me because each game is different," Girardi said. "I think the value of pitchers and catchers together is when you go through hard times and learn from it, not when everything goes easy. So I think what you take from a game like that is you learn about each other."
Extra bases
Brett Gardner took some swings in the batting cage and threw for the first time since fracturing his left thumb. Gardner said he hoped to be ready to play "in a week." Girardi said he wanted to see Gardner get some at-bats, likely in a minor-league rehab setting, before the Yankees activate him . . . Girardi chose Sergio Mitre over Chad Gaudin to start Saturday vs. the White Sox.
