Circling the Bases: A.J. Burnett Among the Elite

A.J. Burnett has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this year. There, I said it. Not only is he 8-2, but he has a borderline impressive 3.24 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. But those numbers tell only part of the story. You know what I'm talking about. You remember that fateful night when the universe conspired to turn Burnett into one of the worst pitchers in the history of baseball. The Cardinals came to the plate and obliterated Burnett like he was a slow pitch softball arm. On his way to recording a mere eight outs (2.2 innings) Burnett allowed 12 hits and a walk, and 12 of those runners came around to score. That's right – 12 earned runs in 2.2 innings.

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