New Yanks coach lays groundwork with Burnett

With the Yankees not counting on a return from Andy Pettitte, enigmatic righthander A.J. Burnett is at the moment a very important part of the team's rotation.

That sound you just heard was Yankees fans shuddering.

That's why new pitching coach Larry Rothschild left Tampa earlier this week and braved the winter storm to visit with Burnett in the pitcher's Baltimore-area home.

Burnett is penciled in as the Yankees' No. 2 or 3 starter, depending on how you fit in Phil Hughes. It's job No. 1 for Rothschild to get Burnett back on track after a disastrous second year in pinstripes.

"I thought [the meeting] went well," Rothschild said Thursday in a telephone interview. "We just talked about some different things just to really lay some groundwork before we get going in spring training. Just a few things to work on. It was good."

With spring training a little more than a month away, the Yankees' rotation is CC Sabathia, Burnett, Hughes, Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre. If it stays that way, or even if general manager Brian Cashman adds a project such as former A's righthander Justin Duchscherer, the Yankees will need Burnett to pitch well.

"I've never had him, so that's part of the reason I wanted to get there," Rothschild said. "Before we got to spring training where there's so much going on, you don't carve out that much time, although I'll do as much as I can. During the winter, it's quieter, it's easier to go through stuff. You can get a lot more accomplished in a shorter period of time."

In his first season after signing a five-year, $82.5-million deal, Burnett went 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA in 2009. Last year, he fell to 10-15, 5.26.

Rothschild said the meeting focused on mechanics and the mental side. "It was just things he's been through career-wise, what he's done delivery-wise, what he's comfortable with, what he's uncomfortable with," he said. "Just really talking about baseball more than anything else and going through some stuff, trying to make it real simple and get him throwing the ball the way he can and being able to repeat it. I think he's very much looking forward to the start of the season."

Cashman is, in his words, looking for "starting pitching, relief pitching and a fourth outfielder," in that order. But there isn't much starting pitching out there other than Pettitte, who hasn't decided if he wants to pitch in 2011.

"I'm like Brian," Rothschild said. "You always want the most you can get. When you think you have enough, you probably don't. But I think some of these young guys are going to get a chance early in the season to see where they are. Hopefully, they're going to help us win some games right away. It would be a good situation if a young guy stepped up and became an important part of the staff."

Rothschild mentioned lefthander Manuel Banuelos and righthander Dellin Betances as young pitchers he'd like to see in spring training. But neither has much experience above Class A.

"They haven't pitched at that high level,'' he said, "so it would be nice to give them the time to get ready."