New York Yankees Should Explain Why Dave Eiland Lost His Job
October 25, 2010 · Leslie Monteiro · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Who said the Yankees change how they operate now that George Steinbrenner died?
Sure the manager and the general manager gets to stay despite falling short of winning a championship, but it doesn’t mean any other people are safe.
Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland found out the hard way today. He was fired for personal reasons. Count this fan for not buying this baloney.
Eiland took a leave of absence for his personal problems his year, but please don’t buy this idea that his issues played a role in his firing. It’s funny how his issues have become a story after the Yankees were outplayed by the Rangers.
Maybe what the Yankees are saying is true, but this organization has a tendency to be disingenuous. It started when Steinbrenner claimed he would not be involved when he brought the team. Since then, it has been all lies from the people that run the organization.
Somehow if the Yankees won a championship, Eiland would be here. Case closed.
Obviously, there’s more to this story. Maybe Cashman felt Eiland’s philosophy does not mesh with his philosophies. It’s funny how Cashman has gained so much knowledge about the game in recent years.
That has to be the reason why a change is made with the pitching coach. Cashman feels Eiland has not done enough to maximize the talent of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. It’s no secret Cashman’s reputation is based on his two underachieving starters, so he is desperate to find a pitching coach that can make it work.
Problem with that thinking is pitching coaches can do so much. It comes down to the pitcher. It’s up to them to figure it out.
Chamberlain has been a mess ever since the Yankees changed his role around. He should have either been a starter or a reliever. Now, he may not recover again.
Who knows about Hughes? He has talent, but he still has ways to go, especially when it comes to hitting teams. Often times, he tends to be skittish when he is in jams.
Good performance by pitchers make pitching coaches looks good. It’s the same as the hitters with hitting coaches.
Many times, everyone blames or credits hitting coach, pitching coach or a manager when things go right or bad. In sports, it’s what a player does on the field, ice or the hardwood that matters come game time.
Did Eiland tell guys to go give up home runs and hits? Didn’t think so. It’s hard to believe a new voice will do much. As great as Mike Maddux is at his job as Rangers pitching coach, the Rangers pitch well because their pitchers are good not because of what Maddux says.
Honestly, he wasn’t the problem. He was the least of the team’s problems.
It’s not his fault that the manager decided to be complacent by resting his guys. It’s not his fault the manager made decisions based on spreadsheets and what the binder told him to do.
Would it surprise anyone if Girardi betrayed Eiland by speaking stuff about him to Cashman? It wouldn’t. Girardi is cold-blooded and insecure. He wants his guys only. Eiland was the organization’s guy not Girardi’s. If the Yankees manager has his way, it would be Mike Harkey as his pitching coach.
It probably will be Harkey as the new pitching coach, and that would be a mistake. If the Yankees are going to fire Eiland, they better replace him with a good pitching coach. That means either Leo Mazzone is the pitching coach or they fork up big bucks to poach a pitching coach from another organization.
It’s hard to believe Harkey can be any different as the pitching coach. He took over for Eiland this year for awhile, and the pitchers pitched awful.
If anyone thinks firing Eiland is going to change things, they have another thing coming.
Eiland will not make Girardi any smarter. He will not make Girardi forget using spreadsheets to make decisions.
If the Yankees are going to be better, it will come either with a new manager or new infusion of talent. It won’t be because of the new pitching coach.
Only way the Yankees can say the change will work is if Hughes and Chamberlain have success, and that’s if both guys stay next year. Odds are both guys won’t have success anytime soon.
Eiland should bounce back. He will get offers from other teams, and he will be a pitching coach. The Yankees can tarnish his reputation all they want, but it will not preclude other teams from hiring him.
How sweet would it be if the Red Sox hire him as the new pitching coach? They have an opening now that ex-Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell took the Blue Jays managerial job.
For Eiland’s sake, the Yankees should disclose their reasoning rather than making folks speculate. The Yankees like to talk about how they value their fans, so if it’s really true, they owe it to the fans to go out and say something.
It’s the least they can do after firing a man who put time into his job. Maybe fans won’t care. After all, Yankees fans blindly will support anything an organization can do.
Obviously, Eiland knows why he’s gone. He should explain the Yankees decision instead of folks coming up with conspiracy theories.
For the sake of disclosure, an answer must be given to what happened.
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