Don’t cheer too loud for A.J.
October 15, 2009, 2:30 pm by iYankees · Leave a Comment
From Bob Klapisch (The Record):
Of course, there’ll be moments when Sabathia will be tempted to body-surf the adrenaline rush, especially when he gets to two strikes. Burnett discovered for himself what happens to a Stadium crowd when it senses a strikeout coming — and what the noise in the ballpark can do to a pitcher’s concentration.
“I heard everyone, they were up and roaring and I tried to soak it in,” Burnett said. “I looked around and said, ‘Wow, this is what it’s all about.’ But I got caught up in it. I was like, ‘OK, you want me to throw it harder, I will.’ A couple of 0-2 pitches, I wasn’t even close.”
A.J. walked 5 in 6 innings during his ALDS start. Perhaps those 5 walks were the products of adrenaline and overthrowing rather than general wildness. Hopefully, with one postseason start now under his belt, the home crowd won’t continue to effect him in the way described above.
