Burnett could return sooner than expected
It seemed the Pirates’ chances of getting out of the gate with a good start this season took a blow when A.J. Burnett bunted a ball into his face two weeks ago.
The Pirates acquired the right-handed pitcher from the New York Yankees hours before the start of spring training with the idea that the 35-year-old would give them a veteran front man to join left-hander Erick Bedard in their starting rotation.
However when Burnett fractured the orbital bone around his left eye during a spring training bunting drill, there were fears that he would be out of action until at least the start of June.
The Pirates aren’t yet giving a definite timetable for when the Burnett could come off the disabled list. However, a source with direct knowledge of Burnett’s situation believes he can be on the active roster by May 1 and maybe even sometime in late April because the bone healed so quickly.
The Pirates want to make sure Burnett is in shape, physically and arm-wise, and ready to throw 100 pitches in a major-league game before activating him.
However, Burnett’s work ethic gives a good chance of being ahead of schedule. He has established a tone in the Pirates’ camp since the beginning of spring training as one of the first players to arrive each morning and one of the last to leave.
The biggest question regarding Burnett is more likely to be if he will have any fear of being struck in the face again.
Rarely does a major-league player ever admit fear. It’s not how professional athletes are wired.
Thus, no one will really know the psychological effects until Burnett gets back in the batter’s box or steps on a mound again.
Cubs left-hander Paul Maholm knows what Burnett is going through, though, from an emotional standpoint. He suffered a fractured orbital bone when struck in the face by a line drive in 2004 while pitching for the Pirates’ high Class A Lynchburg farm club.
Maholm was pitching in the major leagues the next season and was able to put the incident behind him by simple rationalization.
“I’ve been playing baseball since I was 8 years old,” Maholm said. “I never saw a pitcher get hit in the face until it happened to me and that was in my 15th year of playing baseball. What are the odds of it happening to the same pitcher twice?”
By the same token, I’ve been following baseball practically since the time I could walk and talk and I don’t remember anyone else ever breaking a bone in their face with an errant bunt.
The odds are in Burnett’s favor.
John Perrotto covers the Pirates for the Greene County Messenger.