What's wrong with Burnett? What isn't?

BALTIMORE

Good news, Yankees fans! The team has figured out what's wrong with A.J. Burnett. There are actual quotes after Burnett allowed nine runs, nine hits and two walks and threw three wild pitches in five innings in Friday's 12-5 loss to the Orioles.

Manager Joe Girardi:

"It comes down to basically mechanics with me. It's everything being on time. Pitchers walk a fine line. If they don't throw it on the corners and the outer edges [with] a lot of movement, they're going to get hit hard. I don't care who you are. And right now he's making mistakes in the middle . . . Mistakes in the middle. That's exactly what it comes down to."

Catcher Russell Martin:

"It's really location at this point. He threw some belt-high fastballs. The biggest thing is falling behind in counts. When you do that, hitters are more selective. They wait for fastballs.''

Burnett:

"Pitching ahead definitely helps. I think I need to pitch in more. I think guys are sitting hook [curve]. In the past, I could get away with that, throwing 97, 98. I have great stuff still, but I don't throw that hard, so I need to start using both sides of the plate a little more. I think that's going to help out in getting them off the fastball away."

All righty! To recap, all that's wrong with Burnett is:

1. Mechanics

2. Mistakes in the middle

3. Location

4. Falling behind in counts

5. Not pitching inside enough

Ugh. It's no wonder the Yankees are at a loss with Burnett, who has basically been pitching poorly ever since he stepped off the podium after the victory parade for the 2009 World Series title.

In his last 49 starts, Burnett is 13-24 with a 5.80 ERA. This season, he has the highest ERA (5.31) of any pitcher with enough innings to qualify for the ERA crown. He has the most wild pitches (20) in the majors. He gave up six straight extra-base hits Friday to the Orioles, who have a less imposing lineup than some of the teams in the Little League World Series.

Weeks ago, when the Yankees were talking about cutting their six-man rotation to five, we advocated putting Burnett in the bullpen. It was not exactly a novel thought.

Hurricane Irene has made a jumbled mess out of the Yankees' rotation, so Girardi might need six starters until the schedule clears itself up. Can't blame them for that. But should Burnett even be one of the six?

With rosters expanding Thursday, the Yankees owe it to themselves to take a long, hard look at whether he gives them the best chance to win over whoever is pitching best at Triple-A. It's hard to imagine he does.

"Right now he's really struggling," Girardi said. "In 2009, he did some really good things for us. In 2010, he started off great, then he got in a funk and had a hard time getting out of it. He started out pretty good this year, but he's in another funk. He's got to fight his way out of it."

Burnett's next start would be this week in Boston. The Red Sox punish pitchers who are at their best, much less one who doesn't know if his next pitch is going to the bleachers or the backstop. And it's unlikely Burnett is going to get a lot of support from the Fenway Faithful.

Girardi was asked if he could skip Burnett a start.

"We can't," he said. "I don't know if we can. Look at our schedule."

Their schedule is a mess. So is their $82.5-million righthander. Only one of those is certain to get straightened out eventually.