EA'shomepage and online game site is More information about EA'sproducts and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, POGO and The Sims are trademarks orregistered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc in the U.S and/or othercountries. Mac, iPhone, and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registeredin the U.S and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of theirrespective owners. Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http:// Play LabelAngie Newman, 650-628-2877PR Trudy Muller, 650-628-2926Senior Copyright Business Wire 2009. One player who has contributed a lot to the Yankees success over the years, but has been overlooked, is lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes. Don?t believe me? In 82 career innings against the Yankees, Rhodes has a 7.46 ERA, a 1.76 WHIP, and a .294 BAA.Now he?s helping the Yankees in a more indirect way?he?s helping AJ Burnett work on his changeup. Via Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger :Burnett said he?s never spent more time trying to refine his changeup, even enlisting the help of an old friend and neighbor, Reds reliever Arthur Rhodes.?I think it?s a big key,? said Burnett, who wants the pitch to be reliable enough to use when his curveball is off ?Whether I throw it or not, I don?t know.

But I?ve been working it.?In 2005, his last with the Marlins , Burnett threw a career-high 9.9 percent changeups according to FanGraphs But since that season, that number has slipped. And by 2009, Burnett?s first with the Yankees, Burnett threw changeups on only 3.1 percent of his pitches.It was the lowest percentage of changeups thrown by Burnett in any single season since 2002 (the first season that such data is available.)Burnett, whose fastball curve combination is one of the best in baseball, often won?t throw a changeup for fear of getting beat with the pitch. Yet, after his offseason, Burnett believes he can throw his changeup well enough for it to be an effective alternative to his breaking ball. Thoughts : Carig hit the nail on the head. Burnett threw his changeup just 3.1 percent of the time last season, which is about half of his career total of throwing it 5.7 percent of the time. In his best statistical season he threw it 9.9 percent of the time, more than three times as much as last year.Burnett has talked about getting more groundballs this season, and his changeup would go a long way to help him achieving that. It?s never been a very effective pitch for him throughout his career?his career wCH value is -4.3 according to FanGraphs?but it does seem like the more he throws it the more effective his fastball is.More than any other pitch, the changeup is a feel pitch, meaning the more you throw it the better it is.

So if he?s putting dedication into it he should expect some decent results from it. Having someone like Rhodes, who despite his numbers against the Yankees probably knows a thing or two about changeups, helping him with it could be even better.His use of the changeup is something we?ll keep an eye on in 2010. Thoughts? Questions? Related StoriesFebruary 21, 2010 -- No Caddy, AJ Burnett will Pitch to Posada (1)February 14, 2010 -- Happy Valentine?s Day: Pictures of AJ Burnett?s Wife Karen Burnett (0)February 12, 2010 -- Assessing the 2009 Yankees Rotation in Historical, Championship Perspective (7)January 30, 2010 -- 2010 Player Previews: AJ Burnett (3) This article is also featured on http://. SAN JOSE, Calif.--(Business Wire)--EnergyConnect, Inc. (OTCBB: ECNG), a leading provider of demand responseservices and technologies, today announced that it has received the 2008 awardfor Outstanding Curtailment Service Provider Program from The Peak LoadManagement Alliance (PLMA), a diverse alliance of energy professionals dedicatedto promoting the concepts and technologies of reducing peak demand forelectricity.

The award recognizes the market`s most innovative and creative program forreducing peak demand. This year, PLMA honored EnergyConnect`s FlexConnecttechnology for the unique ability it provides industrial, institutional, andcommercial customers to participate in voluntary load shifting. "We are honored to receive recognition from PLMA for our customer friendlyapproach to demand response," said EnergyConnect`s CEO, Kevin R. Evans, whoaccepted the award at PLMA`s spring conference in Annapolis, Maryland."EnergyConnect`s demand response programs are designed for organizations thatwant to take control of their energy costs. We are pleased to support the smartgrid with easy and effective technology which enables customers to manage theirelectric load in response to price signals." "The PLMA awards committee was impressed by the capabilities thatEnergyConnect`s innovative FlexConnect program provides energy users for makinginformed decisions on the best times to engage in voluntary demand response,"added Elliot Boardman, Executive Director of PLMA. FlexConnect is a secure web-based platform giving customers up-to-the-minutevisibility of energy consumption, historic use patterns, baseline informationand energy market data.