In his postseason debut, the pressure's squarely on A.J. Burnett

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Jorge Posada (left) and A.J. Burnett (right) have struggled to get on the same page all season. AP

NEW YORK -- A.J. Burnett is the key to the Yankees' postseason.

In New York's last three postseason appearances -- all losses in the Division Series, in 2005, '06 and '07 -- its starters' ERAs got progressively worse, from 4.81 to 6.14 to a staggering 9.42. No wonder the Yankees spent $243.5 million this offseason on free agents CC Sabathia and Burnett.

Sabathia has been more consistent all year and turned in a strong, walk-free, 6 2/3-inning win in Game 1. Burnett, meanwhile, has been a bit more, shall we say, combustible. He has allowed five runs or more in nearly a quarter of his starts (eight of 33) and after getting the nod over Andy Pettitte to start Friday evening's Game 2 against the Twins -- in what will be his postseason debut -- Burnett is positioned to start twice in each series New York plays. The Yankees can't afford another such clunker, the kind they've grown accustomed to since 2005.

The 32-year-old Burnett, who overall had a fine season at 13-9 with a 4.09 ERA, suffered through a wretched August. During that month, in which he went 0-4 over six starts with a 6.03 ERA, his frustration -- particularly with catcher Jorge Posada -- became palpable. The friction seemed to start on Aug. 12, when Burnett threw three wild pitches. Posada blamed them on mixed signals, getting curveballs when expecting fastballs, but Burnett declined to comment about the wild pitches after the game, which can be baseball code for "it's my teammate's fault." In his next start, another cross-up on signs led to a run-scoring balk.

Then in a Saturday matinee in Boston on Aug. 22, the Red Sox shelled Burnett for nine runs in five innings en route to a 14-1 win. It was more than just a bad outing for Burnett. Most tellingly, in his final inning of work, on a 1-2 count to David Ortiz, Posada rose to a tall crouch, calling for a high fastball. But Burnett's pitch stayed below the belt and over the plate, where Ortiz extended his arms and drilled the ball over the Green Monster for a home run, at which Burnett turned away from the plate and mouthed what appeared to be the words, "Why? Why? Why? Why would you throw that pitch?"

After the game Burnett and Posada acknowledged that they disagreed on several pitch calls. Burnett's outburst on the mound -- replayed frequently on Fox's national broadcast -- seemed to be directed toward his catcher. That's undoubtedly why backup Jose Molina caught Burnett in seven of his final eight starts, including his last six, a stretch during which the right-hander was 3-1 with a 2.92 ERA. The last time Posada caught him, Burnett gave up 11 hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings. On the season, when Posada has caught Burnett, opponents are hitting 49 points higher than with Molina (.270 to .221).

And so the Yankees -- at great expense to their offense and, possibly, team chemistry -- will start Molina behind the plate on Friday and leave Posada on the bench. Posada is batting .285 with a .363 on-base percentage, 22 home runs and 81 RBIs. Molina, on the other hand, is hitting .217, with a paltry .292 OBP, just one home run (which came in April) and 11 RBIs in 52 games. Admittedly Posada hasn't been a postseason star, batting .236 with a .352 OBP and a meager .379 slugging percentage in 96 postseason games, with nine homers and 31 RBIs, but there's no reason to expect Molina can do even that well.

"They've been in a real good rhythm when they've been working together," manager Joe Girardi said of Burnett and Molina. "And we just felt we would keep it that way. The playoff are a lot about pitching, and we just thought since they're in a good rhythm, we're going to keep them working together."

Posada was understandably terse when asked about the subject on Tuesday, saying only, "If A.J. is comfortable with Molina there's not much I can do. I just hope they go out there and win the game. That's all I've got to say."