Frustrated by the longest losing streak of his career and Florida’s near-elimination from the National League playoff race, A.J. Burnett indicated Sunday he will not re-sign with the Marlins after the season.
“I’ve got one more start here, and that’s all that matters,” Burnett said of his apparent plans for free agency.
Burnett complained about a lack of positive reinforcement – seemingly from manager Jack McKeon and the Marlins’ coaching staff.
“It’s depressing around here,” he said. “There’s nothing positive around here. There’s nothing positive on the staff now.
“You give up one home run, and it’s a funeral. … A positive pat on the back is better than anything. I haven’t seen a pat on the back since April.”
Asked who he was targeting with his criticism, Burnett said, “I’m not naming names.”
Unable to hold a 3-0 lead Sunday, Burnett fell to 12-12 with his sixth straight loss.
Despite his skid, Burnett has a 3.44 ERA and ranks among the NL leaders with 198 strikeouts – including eight Sunday – and four complete games.
As one of the top power pitchers in the game, Burnett would rank among the most attractive free agents this winter.
McKeon said Burnett was speaking out of frustration.
“Everybody gets frustrated at times,” McKeon said. “I think sometimes you’ve got to look in the mirror. He’s just frustrated.”
McKeon said he couldn’t explain Burnett’s losing streak.
“He was still throwing 98 mph,” McKeon said. “This guy can pitch a no-hitter any day. But you can’t walk leadoff batters.”
Burnett also ranks among the NL leaders with 79 walks, including four Sunday. He walked Chipper Jones to open the fourth inning and pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson to open the seventh, when the Braves took the lead. Both runners scored.
Yankees: The team set an American League attendance record when they drew their 43rd home sellout to increase their total to 4,090,696.
The crowd of 55,136 at the 8-4 win over Toronto left the Yankees with a major league-leading average of 50,502 for their 81 scheduled home dates.
New York topped the 4,057,947 drawn by the Blue Jays at SkyDome in 1993.
The major-league record of 4,483,350 was set by the Rockies at Mile High Stadium in 1993, in the team’s first season.
