Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland won't return for next season
The Yankees will part ways with pitching coach, Dave Eiland, announced general manager Brian Cashman on Monday. Cashman would not comment on the specific reasons for Eiland’s departure although it is unlikely that it has anything to do with the pitching
staff struggling in the American League Championship Series.
"I'm not going to comment on what the reasons are," Cashman said. "They're private."
Eiland was hired in 2000 to be a minor league pitching coach for the Yankees. He was promoted to the New York Yankees, replacing Ron Guidry as the pitching coach in 2008. The promotion coincided with the hiring of the team’s manager, Joe Girardi.
Eiland had a good track record as a pitching coach. In 2009 when he helped the Yankees finish their season fourth in the American League with a 4.26 ERA. The Yankees also won the World Series that year.
In 2010, he took a personal leave of absence on 4 June and returned on 29 June.
"Besides being in my home, this is the most comfortable place in the world for me," said Eiland after returning from his leave of absence. "This is what I do; this is what I have a passion for."
While he was away from the team A. J. Burnett lost six games, and later attributed the losses to Eiland’s absence.
Eiland pitched for the Yankees from 1988 to 1991 and again in 1995 after spending some time with the San Diego Padres. He played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1998 to 2000. His only World Series was with the Yankees in 2009 as their pitching coach.
With the Boston Red Sox losing their pitching coach, John Farrell, to the Toronto Blue Jays, who will name him their new manager on Monday, the American League East could become a haven for slumping hitters in 2011.
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