MLB

Call him bipolar if you would like. Just in baseball terms, A.J. Burnett can be considered a bit bipolar this season. We have been witnessing two very different sides to the Yankees' pitcher.

Burnett seems to be a different pitcher on the road than he is at Yankee Stadium. The numbers are glaring.

If we could pitch A.J. during home games only, he would be considered an All-Star and possible Cy Young candidate. Throw in his road game performances, and he is an average pitcher.

I've recently finished one of the most gruelingly busy months I've ever had in the five years since I've started my career.

In that time, I haven't been able to watch many, but I have been able to listen to every Met game, and I have to say I like what I've been hearing.

The Mets front office has made all the moves the fans were clamoring for (even if it did take way too long to do so.  See Gary Matthews Jr.)

With the Washington Nationals' publicity machine on overdrive, baseball in D.C. could be at an all-time high.

Bryce Harper, as you all know by now, is christened as the next, next, next big thing.

Stephen Strasburg and his 14 strikeout debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates lived up to everything it was meant to be and more!

Obviously, two No. 1 picks will get the glory, we all know that, but what about the guys getting drafted in the 20th, 30th, and 40th rounds.

Brandon Phillips continued his torrid streak.  Brett Cecil, Jonathan Niese, Jake Arrieta, and Trevor Cahill were among the young starters who impressed.  Justin Smoak is quietly heating up.  Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

BALTIMORE—This season, the Mets are 24-10 playing at Citi Field. That's pretty "amazin'." The Amazins, though, are only 8-18 on the road.

If there was ever a road trip for the Mets to fatten up on, it's this one. Starting tonight, the Mets will play six games against two of the three worst teams in the American League.

The Orioles are first on the docket, and if the Mets can't win a series from a team 26 games below .500, then they just don't deserve a playoff spot, no matter how good they are at home.

As the Giants head home to face the Oakland Athletics, they look back on a solid roadtrip with a 4-3 record. However, many Giants players and fans saw 5-2 in their sights. However, the weak teams sit and wallow, the strong strive to learn and correct, especially one looking at a possible run to the playoffs. And a lot can be learned from a successful, yet disappointing trip.

As you may have noticed, it’s Draft Madness Week here at Burly’s Baseball Musings.  However, no matter how much die-hard baseball fans get into the Draft (and I do every year), it’s a whole different ballgame selecting amateur talent in MLB than it is in the NBA or NFL.

To give you some idea of how difficult it is to choose the studs from the duds, here’s a list of the seven starting pitchers who won their ballgames tonight and where they were drafted.

Trevor Cahill, selected in the 2nd round, 66th overall, by the A’s in 2006.

According to ClevelandIndians.com, Indians top prospect Carlos Santana is expected to make his Major League debut sometime this summer and could be in the majors as early as the all-star break. The 5’11” catcher is said to be the best player within the Indians farm system and the Tribe hopes that he may be able to deliver the spark that the Cleveland offense desperately needs.
   

When the season started, everyone expected this team to fail. This writer thought the Mets were good enough to win 79 to 83 games this season.

The Mets finished April by going 14-9. They started the month of May playing .500 ball until the Marlins swept them at Florida.

This caused concern within the hierarchy. Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya visited Jerry Manuel in Atlanta after the team's series with the Marlins. They demanded answers from Manuel about what happened that weekend.

The last few weeks of Phillies baseball has been pitiful.

Just when fans thought the team’s current slump was over after Tuesday night’s slugfest, the Phillies proved tonight the slump has not ended.

Charlie Manuel needs to make changes with this team and edit his constant managing mistakes.

Charlie is an excellent player’s manager. Every player in the Phillies clubhouse gives 110% for Manuel and his staff every game.

The players like his laid-back style and his refusal to put more pressure on them that is already there.