Burnett's problems mostly mind-related

Scene: Two baseball guys are talking about A.J. Burnett.

The first guy says, 'He's got the stuff here," and points to his right arm.

The second guy nods in agreement. "But does he have the stuff here?" he asks, pointing to his head.

End scene.

That's it, right? That's the whole mystery of A.J. Burnett. Great stuff, fragile psyche. Cut, print.

No, that's not it. Because it turns out the scene above would have to have taken place 10 years ago, or five years ago, or maybe even three years ago.

Not today.

Today, Burnett doesn't have the great stuff, not according to people around the game. He has very good stuff, good enough to be an effective major-league starting pitcher. Good enough to be better than 9-11 with a 5.25 ERA, his second straight season with an ERA of at least five and a quarter.

But now that he's 34, Burnett's stuff is diminished from what once was an otherworldly level. He can't just blow the fastball by people. If the curve isn't sharp, he's going to get hit. CC Sabathia says he has a "very good" changeup, but Burnett doesn't throw it often.

It's all in the head

What's left when the stuff starts to go? The head. That's what Burnett has to use to get people out now. The head.

That's the real mystery of A.J. Burnett, one that will play itself out in the next month as the Yankees get ready for what seems like an inevitable appearance in the postseason. A postseason that at the moment likely will not include their $82.5-million pitcher in any meaningful role.

"There are guys -- very few of them -- who can get through high school, get through the minor leagues, get through the big leagues, establish a big-league career really just on absolute pure stuff," Yankees broadcaster Al Leiter said the other day outside the Yankees' dugout at Fenway Park. "A.J. Burnett's done that."

Leiter knows Burnett. They once were traded for each other -- which brought Leiter to the Mets -- and they were teammates on the 2005 Florida Marlins, when Leiter was nearing the end and Burnett was returning from Tommy John surgery.

Leiter went up to Burnett on Tuesday in the small visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park. He later said it wasn't just to say hello. He wants to help. A lot of people do.

'Never really had to get it'

"Everybody's trying to figure out, 'Will he ever get it?' " Leiter said. "He's 34. When do you finally get it? He's never really had to get it. He threw 95 to 100 miles per hour. A curveball that was as good as anybody in the game. He has been a two-pitch pitcher. When his curveball isn't called for a strike, he becomes a 1½-pitch pitcher. Guys don't have to swing at it until they have to.

"The evolution for A.J. -- it's a gut-check and it's also a change that you must make," Leiter said. "Mechanically? Maybe. And he's got to trust that by throwing 91 or 93, it's OK. You can get major-league hitters out. Trust the changeup. Become less predictable."

If that is to evolve, perhaps it began Thursday against the Red Sox. With his rotation spot on the line, Burnett gave up two runs in 51/3 innings. The Yankees were doing cartwheels.

After it was over, Burnett talked about a mechanical change he made on the suggestion of pitching coach Larry Rothschild. He thought it helped his curveball. He's holding his hands higher from the windup and stretch and turning his body less.

"Minor changes," Burnett said. "But major to a guy who's been pitching the same way for 11 years. I looked at it with an open mind and it felt good . . . It's definitely something I can work with. I felt real comfortable out there. I've only really been working on that for three days. I've been pitching the same way for 11 years, so it's a big change, but as the game went on, I felt more comfortable."

Pitching is more than stuff

"He's always had good stuff," said MLB Network broadcaster (and Commack native) Bob Costas, who called Thursday's game. "But there's a difference between good stuff and pitching craft."

At the moment, Burnett is either the Yankees' No. 5 or No. 6 starter, depending on how you look at it. His career record is 119-111. His Yankees record is 32-35. In the last two seasons, he's 19-26.

He has been better. He has thrown a no-hitter in which he walked nine batters (in 2001 with the Marlins). He took the ball with the Yankees down 0-1 in the 2009 World Series and beat the Phillies. That was after he dominated the Yankees so thoroughly in 2008 that they signed him to be the No. 2 behind Sabathia.

"The guy had probably the best stuff in the National League," said Florida Marlins manager Jack McKeon, who was Burnett's manager from 2003-05. "Why hasn't he done it consistently? I don't know. He'd go out there today and throw a one-hitter and the next time out, you don't know what he's going to do."

Sound familiar? Except for the one-hitter part. Now Burnett is more of a six-inning, four-run guy. He is thought of as being fragile when things go wrong, as someone who can't stem the tide and allows big innings. He admits he loses focus.

After Thursday's outing, Burnett said: "It all comes down to focus and conviction, and that was a lot better tonight. I didn't let anything bother me. I focused on the mitt no matter who was up at the plate. It's something I've got to take out there every five days, and I know that."

Sports psychologist Tom Ferraro, who is based in Williston Park, said Burnett is not unique among professional athletes.

"His sense of resilience, his sense of being able to cope, is probably not as strong as it could be," he said. "You see this with a lot of different athletes. On the highest level, when there's tremendous pressure, you had better have a very, very strong psyche. You had better have strong defenses. You had better have a solid self-image. You had better have a very good support system because all of those things are needed for you to maintain a sense of focus, a sense of controlling your emotions and a sense of performance. As soon as you start losing control of focus and emotion, performance is the next thing to fall."

Outside help

Leiter said he visited a sports psychologist. He credited the late Harvey Dorfman with "turning my career around." He didn't specifically recommend it to Burnett during their Tuesday chat, he said, but he believes it can help any player.

"Ultimately, your job as a pitcher -- I don't care if you're pitching in Little League, high school or the big leagues making $17 million a year -- your job is to execute a quality pitch," Leiter said. "That's it. Without allowing the exterior distractions to come into that.

"You have to be mentally and physically prepared to do that. He's definitely physically prepared. He works his ---- off. Mentally prepared? He looks at video. Probably not as much as I would like for him to. Again, he's always lived on, 'Here, hit it.' "

Despite his struggles, Burnett has had the support of Joe Girardi and his teammates. He seems to be a popular player in the Yankees' clubhouse -- and other clubhouses, too.

"He's a good teammate," said Red Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro, who played with Burnett with the 2008 Blue Jays. "We got along together real good. I loved the guy. Great teammate. He cared for his teammates. I just wish the best for him."