MIAMI -- Florida Marlins pitcher A.J. Burnett disputes the theory that his season-ending elbow injury resulted from being mishandled by manager Jeff Torborg and pitching coach Brad Arnsberg.

	Burnett

But Burnett wonders about the role of the executives who took over the Marlins in early 2002.

"There's a rumor out there that our management had known there was a bone spur in my elbow upon arriving from the Montreal Expos to the Florida Marlins, and both Brad Arnsberg and Jeff Torborg were not told about this," Burnett said Thursday. "I'm sure if they were told about this, I would have been handled differently."

Burnett underwent Tommy John reconstructive surgery Tuesday to repair a torn elbow ligament, and he's expected to be sidelined 12-to-18 months. Dr. James Andrews also removed the bone spur, which sent Burnett to the disabled list last August.

ESPN analysts Bobby Valentine and Harold Reynolds, among others, have questioned Burnett's workload. Last season he averaged 111 pitches per start, among the highest in the major leagues, and topped 120 pitches 10 times.

"I check those numbers, the pitch counts, constantly from the fourth inning on," Torborg said before Thursday night's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. "We stay on top of that like you wouldn't believe."

Burnett said he wasn't told about the bone spur until August, and neither were Torborg or Arnsberg. But Burnett said the front office might have been aware of it earlier -- perhaps even during spring training 2002.

"When you have people who know I had something and didn't take an X-ray in spring training ... you kind of wonder about that," Burnett said. "I believe Skip and Arnie would have totally handled me differently had they known something was in my elbow."

Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest was with the team in Phoenix and not immediately available for comment.

Burnett believes he first tore the ligament six weeks ago, when a sore elbow sent him to the disabled list for the start of the season. He suspects the bone spur might date to 2001.

"I can remember a couple of years back just wondering if I had anything in there, maybe feeling a little thing in the back of my elbow,'' he said. ``But it never bothered me until last August."

Burnett, 26, was 0-2 this season with a 4.70 ERA. He led the major leagues with five shutouts last year, when he went 12-9 with a 3.30 ERA.