There are a thousand ways to look at the Red Sox domination of the Yankees, but start with the fact that when the Yankees need A.J. Burnett the most, he comes up small.
If Burnett is ever going to mean anything to the Yankees, he has to get over his Red Sox demons. This was not Jorge Posada’s fault. This was not Dave Eiland’s fault.
This was A.J. Burnett’s loss all the way, and the Yankees have a massive hole in their rotation if they can not fully trust Burnett.
Trust, unlike a monster contract, has to be earned.
Since becoming a Yankee, Burnett is 0-4 with an 8.71 ERA vs. the Red Sox, a team he dominated when he was with the Blue Jays. This is all about handling pressure in a Yankees uniform.
Amazingly, Burnett doesn’t even accept the reality of the Red Sox situation.
Asked about the difference between the Toronto Burnett and the Yankees Burnett vs. Boston, after last night’s ugly 11-6 loss at Yankees Stadium, Burnett shot back, “I’m not in Toronto anymore so I’m tired of hearing that. That’s just retarded. If anything is different I made pitches in Toronto. I didn’t make pitches tonight. That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.”
Oh, really. Of the 11 times in his career Burnett has allowed at least eight runs, four have come against the Red Sox.
Say the Yankees face the Red Sox in the ALCS. Who are they going to pitch in Game 2 of that series? Certainly they can’t go to Burnett, who last night surrendered eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and four walks over 52⁄3 innings.
Burnett wasn’t facing Josh Beckett or Jon Lester. He was facing gutty knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who has been banging around pro ball since 1988. But Burnett and his $82.5 million price tag could not keep the Yankees in the game.
To make matters worse, Burnett had the chance to make a statement against David Ortiz in the first inning, but once again allowed Big Papi to get the best of the Yankees with a rocket two-run home run into right-center.
On his Twitter account, Doc Gooden wrote: “In the 80s Ortiz would be laying on his [backside] right now after the stunt he pulled [Tuesday] night.”
Instead, Ortiz was circling the bases again. No majestic bat flip this time, though.
“He’s been doing it for years, who cares,” Burnett said of the Ortiz bat flip.
This was Burnett’s unlucky 13th start of the season but his first this year against the Red Sox. He is winless in his last nine starts against the Red Sox, including all eight as a Yankee.
New pitching coach Larry Rothschild has spent all season trying to get Burnett’s head right, and it all blew up last night. Burnett came into the game having allowed three earned runs or less in nine of his previous 12 starts, but none of those starts were against the Red Sox.
At some point the Yankees must conclude that this is a head problem, not a mechanics problem for Burnett. General manager Brian Cashman purchased Burnett to beat the Red Sox.
It’s one thing for overachieving Freddy Garcia to melt down against Boston. It’s another for the underachieving Burnett to once again turn into a puddle of goo.
“The one thing I can’t do is get into the mind of my players,” manager Joe Girardi said. “When you miss a little bit in this league, you are going to get hit hard. The book is not closed on A.J. here and what’s ahead of us, that’s for sure. He’s going to have another opportunity.”
It was interesting to note that as the Red Sox took batting practice, on the big board in center field, the Yankees ran the entire presentation of Mickey Mantle Day from 1969.
It was if the Yankees were trying to evoke their own ghosts of the past.
Then they sent Burnett to the mound.
A. J. Burnett once again showed he can’t deal with his Red Sox ghosts.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com