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Pink Slip

Dave Eiland will not return in 2011 as the pitching coach for the Bombers.

[Photo Credit: Zell’s Pinstripe Blog]

Categories:  Bronx Banter  news  Yankees

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33 comments

1 Emma Span   ~  Oct 25, 2010 1:34 pm

Huh! Wasn't expecting that. I wonder if it's related to that mysterious leave he took earlier this summer. Cashman said he wasn't being blamed for the Yanks' playoff loss, and that the reasons were "private."

2 Dimelo   ~  Oct 25, 2010 1:38 pm

[1] Maybe that's code for Eiland exposing his "privates" when Cash asked the question, "what chance do you give our pitchers against Texas?".

3 Chyll Will   ~  Oct 25, 2010 1:56 pm

[2] Wowzers.

4 unmoderated   ~  Oct 25, 2010 1:57 pm

Curious. Without Eiland, you think Burnett will have as long a leash?

5 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:11 pm

Double wow. I was going to write Wowzers, but someone beat [3] beat me to it!

[1][2] Cashman said that it was not performance related. Now, either that means that Eiland had some personal conflict with Girardi or Cashman or whomever (maybe some of the players bitched??), or (and I think this is more likely) Cashman is lying. But why? My guess: to take the heat off of Girardi so that the manager doesn't have to be the bad guy.

6 rbj   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:13 pm

[1] That's David Pinto's thinking too. As I've got no info at all on it, all I could do is speculate wildly. Which I'm not in the mood for. Just hope that everything works out for Eiland.

OK, so who do we get for our pitching coach --- is Rags in the last year of his contract? Bring up the AAA guy?

7 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:15 pm

[6] Ron Guidry? Roger Clemens? Nolan Ryan's son??

8 Dimelo   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:18 pm

[5] I'm thinking like Emma here, there's probably a connection with the leave of absence he took earlier in the year. I think even if they won he was going to leave and it was going to be a "private" matter. I don't really care to know why people leave, they are no longer here and it's time to find a replacement. Good luck to Eiland, I always liked him and his intensity. Now if only they can get rid of #62.

9 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:19 pm

[8] Yeah, could be that too. But I am a cynical, crusty sort.

10 Dimelo   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:21 pm

[9] Life is better with a healthy dose of cynicism. I'm with you.

11 Chyll Will   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:22 pm

[5] That's bcuz it's my bit >;)
I'm not surprised, honestly. Maybe that they actually made such a move... I'm willing to bet it was personal differences; vague, but deeper than Cashman's explanation.

12 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:23 pm

[8] Boy, watching the video (http://www.yesnetwork.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=12903337), Cahsman sure sounded like he "fired" Eiland ("I'm not bringing him back"). Then again, maybe Cash is a really good poker player.

13 seamus   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:25 pm

it doesn't matter why. I'm more interested in who is replacing him. i have no idea who might be available.

14 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:29 pm

[13] It only matters---maybe---if he he was not able to get along with someone (CC or Girardi or Jeter or whatever)...because that would impact whom they could or should hire in the future. If, hypothetically, Girardi is a pain in the ass to coach for, that sort of info matters, I think.

15 seamus   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:32 pm

[14] to us? why does it matter to us?

16 Dimelo   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:33 pm

[12] Do you think that was Freudian slip there by Cash - "it's personal...no, no, it's private" - I kind of feel like there might have been an issue between Eiland and a superstar, Eiland and one of the coaches, Eiland and management. Didn't I just say I didn't care why he was fired? Keep your f'ing word Dimelo, WTF!!!!!

17 cult of basebaal   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:34 pm

[12] Yeah, there's certainly something going on there behind the scenes. I wonder if it will ever come out, I somewhat surprised that the reasons behind Eiland's leave-of-absence during the season haven't come out yet.

Here's an interesting pitching-related tidbit via RAB

Andy Pettitte’s back and hamstrings tightened up during his Game Two start in the ALDS, which is why he was pushed back to Game Three of the ALCS. Andy also had to cut his between-start bullpen session short, and if the LDS had gone five games there’s a chance he might not have been able to start.

18 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:36 pm

[15] Well, it matters to us only inasmuch as we care about or are interested in the goings on of the team. If I thought that (again, using my hypothetical) that Girardi as manager made it difficult or impossible to hire a perceived very good pitching coach, I (as a fan) might think that would add to the reasons for not renewing Girardi's contract.

As fans were are interested in this sort of thing. In fact, you wrote I’m more interested in who is replacing him. But, who is replacing Eiland may very well be bound up in why Eiland is being replaced to begin with.

19 seamus   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:42 pm

[18] i get what you are getting at but i just don't care. if for no other reason because any concern about Girardi not getting along with other coaches is completely speculative at best. i might as well worry about if Girardi is part of an alien plot to take over the MLB.

20 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 2:54 pm

[19] It's not about Girardi per se, that was merely hypothetical. You yourself expressed interest about who the next pitching coach would be, but whomever they hire is quite probably bound up with the reasons behind Eiland's not-re-hiring. If you are interested in the one, then you are interested in the other.

I want to know why Eiland is not coming back because I want to know, within reason, the workings of the front office and coaching staff, because in turn it bears directly on such decisions as what pitching coach is hired (and related, what qualities or philosophies are they looking for) and, for that matter, what sorts of players are targeted.

I don't think the issues are at all separable.

21 rbj   ~  Oct 25, 2010 3:03 pm

[19] Ixnay on otplay. Not all in place yet.

[7] I dislike "celebrity" coaches. Guidry thing didn't work out too well, IIRC.

Wasn't it the Red Sox pitching coach who left to manage the Blue Jays? So now we gotta compete with them there as well.

22 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 3:09 pm

[21] I was joking about the celebruy coach thing. Yeah, Guidry didn't seem to work out, and it seems as if Mel had worn out his welcome. One of things about Eiland is that he had actually a proven track record of service as a pitching coach. I just hope they don't go crazy and replace him with a celebrity coach (Mike Mussina?).

23 rbj   ~  Oct 25, 2010 3:23 pm

[22] I figured you were. Moose might actually work out. For some reason I think he could do the job somewhere. But I'd like to see him learn how to coach elsewhere first, such as in the minors. And I don't think he'd do that.

24 The Hawk   ~  Oct 25, 2010 3:25 pm

[21] LOL

Also, I'm glad they sacked Eiland or he sacked himself or whatever. A new perspective may be helpful getting AJ back to his normal inconsistency. A Burnett Whisperer might also be a Joba Whisperer? Seems like the same tricks might work with both of them.

Looking back, my mind still reels at the incredible build-up to taking the wheels off of Joba the Starter, only to anti-climactically make him a reliever (and I was one who didn't really believe in Joba the Starter).

Anyway, it seems to me Kevin Long could sometimes "fix" hitters; I'm not sure I saw any evidence that Eiland could do that with pitchers, though maybe it was a tougher hill to climb with some of these bozos.

25 seamus   ~  Oct 25, 2010 3:45 pm

[20] maybe because i don't know nothing about prospective pitching coach prospects that would hint one way or another on who would be a better choice (whether I knew why eiland was fired or not).

26 The Hawk   ~  Oct 25, 2010 3:48 pm

What's the deal with Mike Francesa wanting to deep six Swisher cause he hasn't performed in the PS? Does anyone else have this bee in their bonnet or is just Francesa?

27 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 3:52 pm

[23] My gut tells me that while on the surface Moose would make a good coach (cerebral guy and all), he simply would have very little patience for the lesser...or worse, "dumber"...pitchers whom he would have to coach and mentor. Now I have no experience or evidence for this. Just my hunch.

From a humor perspective alone I would strongly support Roger Clemens (I named him above) as the next pitching coach!

On a somewhat more serious note, I hope that the next p[itching coach has the authority and the inclination to try a little of the ol' Nolan Ryan philosophy. You know, to get pitchers to go a little deeper into games by throwing a few more pitches. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

28 monkeypants   ~  Oct 25, 2010 3:55 pm

Meanwhile, according to Girardi (via RiverAveBlues):

Girardi on Joba Chamberlain: “We consider him a bullpen guy in the back end of the bullpen.” Well, so much for everyone hoping that they’d let him try the starting thing again next season. Maybe in a different uniform.

A little part of me just died.

29 omarcoming   ~  Oct 25, 2010 4:03 pm

With all the tall pitchers on the club and coming Mike Harkey would probably be a good choice.
You win in the playoffs with pitching. Picking on a position player because he had a poor playoff is silly. Tex didn't hit well either.
This stuff about moving Jeter to third or the outfield is not going to happen. Look for Nunez to caddy for DJ and ARod next year. Wholesale changes are unlikely.

30 ms october   ~  Oct 25, 2010 4:37 pm

two words everyone - david cone!!!

31 Chyll Will   ~  Oct 25, 2010 5:00 pm

Mike Francesa gets paid to talk big doo-doo and that's what he does. I just don't care what he has to say.

Cashman, on the other hand, has not directly said what his issues with Eiland were, but his discomfort in dealing with the subject is interesting and will be telling if it continues a week from now.

The bigger problem becomes an issue going forward with our multi-millionaire infield and our sawbuck outfield. Cano and to an extent Grandy are the only ones who hit about what you would hope they would, but the others fell through. You can't zero in on Nick Swisher when Alex, Derek and Teix don't carry the team the way THEY are expected to. Nick is not supposed to carry the team, and to be honest neither is Cano, although he did his part. And outside of Andy, Mo and a few innings of CC, our pitching was crap against a good hitting team.

Finally, the comments about looking old against Texas, but not the Twins... the Twins shouldn't have made it as far as they did, products of a weak division and injuries to key players. They would've been wiped out by any of the playoff teams they faced. The Yanks have issues that were exposed by Texas and a September malaise that lead right to it; they thought they could do a rope-a-dope, but Ali was one man fighting another, not 25 against 25. They have to own up to their issues.

32 seamus   ~  Oct 25, 2010 5:19 pm

Swish had a .704 OPS for the playoffs but only two hits against Texas. Compare that with:

A-Rod .597
Jeter .661
Tex .554
Cano 1.133

OK, I threw Cano in there for kicks. But seriously, Cano nearly doubled the OPS of any two of those guys.

33 Yankster   ~  Oct 25, 2010 6:44 pm

[0] We know a few important things about Eiland leaving 1) Eiland doesn't want anyone to know why - he hasn't said a word to the press. 2) The Yankees don't want anyone knowing why either. 3) If we take Cashman at his word, then it was not performance related. 4) It wasn't illegal. 5) Cashman fired Eiland - Eiland didn't quit. (It would have been easier for everyone if the Yanks could have patted Eiland on the back as he sadly resigned from the team to take time to deal with "personal" or "family" issues.

If those assumptions are true, then Eiland did something that might be embarrassing to the Yankees (and to Eiland) or things that the Yankees perceived as unprofessional. And it seems likely to me that Cashman needed to do something public to appease some third party like an employee or player.

What I can't understand is, how or why did the team let Eiland come back after he did whatever he did? He must have been perceived as an important coach.

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