Burnett's agent denies A.J., wife divorcing

PHILADELPHIA - Darek Braunecker is the first to admit his other big-name client had a bad 2010.

But, A.J. Burnett's agent angrily said Wednesday, it was not because of a divorce.

ESPN's Colin Cowherd made that claim on his syndicated radio program Wednesday morning, according to a partial transcript on Huffingtonpost.com.

"Colin Cowherd has no idea what he's talking about," Braunecker said after Cliff Lee's news conference. "A.J. Burnett is not in the process nor was he ever in the process of getting a divorce. It's unequivocally false. It's really irresponsible for Colin Cowherd to report that. We've taken issue with that. A.J.'s aware of it and it's being addressed. I'm not sure how we address this but it's being addressed in whatever manner possible."

The Internet was abuzz Wednesday after Cowherd's remarks.

Cowherd, according to HuffingtonPost.com, said Burnett "went through a terrible divorce and he still might [be] going through it."

He continued: "His wife was vindictive and spiteful. I don't even feel comfortable telling you everything. The stories are ugly."

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Braunecker said Burnett almost immediately was made aware of the comments and was not happy about them.

As for Burnett's 2010 season, when he went 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA, Braunecker said it was simply a bad year.

"A.J. just had a down year, it happens," he said. "I'll bet you anything he's going to have a really good year this year. He's focused, he's not happy . Of course he's not. He's disappointed, but it's part of the game, it's part of life. Ups and downs. And I'll promise you, he's going to come back with a vengeance."