Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett bunted a ball that hit him in the eye during a Spring Training drill on Wednesday, and he had to leave the field. An initial report indicated that he was “fine,”, but Burnett is flying back to Pittsburgh Wednesday night to have the eye examined, so evidently he isn’t.

I’m tempted to jokingly blame Pirates manager Clint Hurdle’s bunting fetish for this, but of course all National League pitchers have to bunt. This is one reason I favor the DH in both leagues — not only because I dislike bunting, on an aesthetic level, but because I don’t watch baseball in order to see people do things they’re bad at.

Anyway, in the long run, I’m guessing this won’t be much of an issue, although the fact that the Pirates are sending Burnett all the way back to New York isn’t a good sign.

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