A.J. Burnett Leaves Start With Shoulder Injury

Toronto Blue Jays starter A.J. Burnett left his start tonight against the Giants with shoulder strain/fatigue.

*gulp* It's unclear exactly what's wrong, but as I stated in my last entry about him, the Blue Jays were treading dangerous waters with his pitch counts. Over his past 4 starts, he threw
475 pitches. Before his last start before tonight, he complained of arm fatigue. The Blue Jays gave him an extra day off between starts, but then left him out there for 130 pitches. This is absolutely horrible pitcher management by the Blue Jays, who have already endured a season-ending injury from B.J. Ryan, and have dealt with on-and-off with injuries to Roy Halladay. I know their bullpen is a bit of a mess, especially in front of Jeremy Accardo, but you can't risk a DL stint or a serious injury to starting pitchers because you're afraid to dip into the bullpen. Didn't these guys watch what happened to the Cubs staff after the 2003 season??

Fantasy Impact: Get out your praying materials. He didn't give us much time to act on my suggestion to shop him, did he? Jerk. If you haven't dealt him by now, you're stuck with him. My best advice? If he returns this year, wait for a quality start or two after he returns, and then trade him. Let's hope it requires a short DL stint, and that the Blue Jays learn from this and handle Burnett better when he returns. OK, let's just hope it requires a short DL.