Marlins tell pitcher Burnett to leave team

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Florida Marlins have told pitcher
AJ Burnett to leave after he criticized the team and manager
Jack McKeon.

“We thought it was in the best interest of the team and AJ
for him to leave,” general manager Larry Beinfest told
reporters.

“He is not suspended. He continues to be paid.”

Right-hander Burnett criticized the team and its staff
after losing his sixth consecutive game on Sunday.

“We play scared. We manage scared. We coach scared,”
Burnett said.

“I’m sick of it, man. It’s depressing around here. There’s
just too much negativity.”

Beinfest added that Burnett, who is eligible to become a
free agent at the end of the season, would not be offered a new
contract.

Burnett, who had a 12-12 record, did not talk to reporters
after his dismissal.

His agent, Darek Braunecker, said Burnett “didn’t quit on
this team.”

“It was the position of the club,” Braunecker told The
Miami Herald. “There was no sense him being there if he wasn’t
going to contribute.”