Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York heard from a source Saturday that the Yankees dismissed pitching coach Dave Eiland this fall because his relationship with manager Joe Girardi turned sour near the middle of the 2010 season. That source may be correct, but Eiland is denying all claims about burned bridges.
Eiland took a month-long leave of absence from the Yanks in June for personal reasons and Marchand’s source said that the veteran Yankee coach felt that his opinions were being “deemphasized” by the club upon returning.
Eiland doesn’t remember it that way. He told the New York Daily News on Saturday that he did not leave the Yankees on a sour note and that his relationship with Girardi is still healthy.
“That’s absolutely ridiculous and simply not true,” Eiland told the Daily News in reaction to ESPN New York’s published story. “Joe and I have never had a problem nor do we now. He’s a solid baseball man and a great manager, and more importantly one of the best human beings I have ever met.”
When it was first announced that Eiland would not be returning for the 2011 season, Yankees GM Brian Cashman called it his own decision and a “private” matter. It’s hard to know what to believe, and the Yanks aren’t likely to reveal all of the actual happenings that led to the pitching coach’s departure. We may never get a straight answer.
