Hand it to AJ Burnett, who gets the gas face two times on a stifling hot summer afternoon in the Bronx. Former Yankee greats assembled for Old Timer’s Day and spoke about Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner. As expected it was a muted affair. Reggie Jackson arrived late and was somber as he talked to the media. Yogi Berra didn’t make it at all, after falling in his home last night. He’s apparently doing okay, but Yogi’s absence was felt.

Well, the Boss would have been fired-up if he was around to witness Burnett’s performance, that’s for sure. According to Josh Thompson over at Lo-Hud:

A.J. Burnett cut his hands in an act of frustration after the second inning today. He came into the clubhouse and slammed his hands against a set of double doors, cutting his palms on the plexi glass that holds the lineup card. Burnett said he was embarrassed and wanted to stay in the game so he told a trainer he had fallen.

“I was embarrassed of the situation,” he said. “I didn’t want that to be a reason why I came out of the game. I’m an honest person and I’m not going to lie to cover up something. That’s the reason, that’s the truth and I’m definitely not going to lie to this organization and these 25 guys in here who I play with everyday.”

Burnett was yanked before recording an out in the third. He admitted the truth and apologized to Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi and trainer Steve Donohue after the game and said he will speak to his teammates tomorrow.

“The moral is that I let these guys down,” Burnett said.

The Rays beat the Yanks to the tune of 10-5. If Burnett’s act and the final score wasn’t bad enough, the game seemed to take forever, slogging along, hot, sticky, dull. No, it wasn’t much fun at all.