AJ Burnett

Remember back in December when Cliff Lee declined the Yankees' enormous offer to sign with the Phillies and Andy Pettitte subsequently retired to spend more time with his family?

Every baseball fan on the planet immediately began to write off the Yankees and question their previous thoughts of the Yankees making the playoffs.

Last night, some guys north of the border pulled on Superman's cape. In fact, they pulled it off.

In a land where almost everyone was focused on Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Toronto Blue Jays held Batman captive so long he had to tell them where the Bat Cave was.

Until the recent wave of new-age statistics were introduced to baseball fans around the globe, the only way fans could decide what type of season a pitcher had was by looking at wins, ERA and WHIP.

Over the last decade, however, stats such as batting average on balls in play (BABIP) and home run-to-fly ball ratio (HR/FB) have allowed fans to get a better glimpse into which pitchers were plain bad and which were just having some bad luck.

So which five pitchers are the best bets to bounce back in 2011? Let's examine the numbers.

It’s a fickle life in Major League Baseball. Here today, gone tomorrow is a phrase often used when referring to ballplayers who had a quick run of success before seemingly losing it altogether, or players felled by injuries who were unable to make it all the way back.

The stories of great fame and then injury go back many years in baseball, especially among pitchers. Dizzy Dean was a classic example.

Known as the Ace of the Gashouse Gang for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dean was the last pitcher to win 30 games in the National League, reaching that mark in 1934.

A team's fortunes can often be severely altered by the injury or severe under-performance of just one player. When a team is littered with those types of players (see the New York Mets), a season can be over in just a few short months.

Coming into the 2011 season, every team expects to be better. If they didn't believe that, what's the point in even playing the games, besides the money of course? Some of the aforementioned type of players have moved on to new teams. That doesn't mean they aren't expected to make a comeback in their new digs however.

A.J. Burnett has already started changing opinions and proving he still has what it takes after only two innings. 

Burnett threw 21 pitches in two innings, 15 of which were strikes. Burnett allowed only two hits, striking out one and getting a timely double play in the second. 

I know 21 pitches in spring training doesn't mean a whole lot, but when you had a season like Burnett did last year, anything positive is seen as a major step. 

With the final two spots in the Yankees' rotation up in the air as they enter the 2011 season, the team is counting on A.J. Burnett to have a bounce-back year to solidify the front end of the pitching staff.

The right-hander started out on the right foot Wednesday against an Astros split squad team, allowing two hits and walking none, while striking out one over two scoreless innings. He recorded five outs on the ground and none in the air.

It was the snapshot that summed up a season: A.J. Burnett standing on the mound in disbelief, his hands on top of his head, while a pumped up Bengie Molina carried his impressive gut around the base-paths at Yankee Stadium.

The Texas catcher's three-run homer in Game Four of the ALCS neatly accomplished two feats—it effectively ended the Yankees' repeat hopes while also putting a bow on Burnett's miserable second season in the Bronx.

Ahhh I can smell the clay already.

Pitchers and catchers have reported to camp, there is less than a week before the first Spring Training game and speculation about who will finish the 2011 season where in the AL East is already brewing.

The AL East has always been one of the toughest, if not THE toughest, divisions in baseball.

This year will be no different.

In fact, I expect it to be more competitive this season than it has been in a while.

The news for the Yankees this offseason has been generally negative. Missing out on Cliff Lee, the Derek Jeter contract debacle and Andy Pettitte retiring. Add a peppering of has-been players, and the Yankee Universe isn't looking as rock-solid as it has in the past.  

There are a few questions, both big and small, for the Yankees heading into spring training. 

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