Yankees sign Larry Rothschlid to three-year contract

The Yankees just announced their new pitching coach. It’s Larry Rothschild, the former pitching coach of the Marlins and Cubs and the first manager of the then-Devil Rays. YES Network tweets Rothschild signed a three-year deal.

Ironically, Rothschild managed Dave Eiland while he coached for the Rays for two full years. Rothschild also coached Joe Girardi in 2002 when he caught 90 games for the Cubs.

So what can Rothschild do for the Yankees? Well, his main task will be to fix A.J. Burnett. But that job may not be possible for just one human to tackle.

More on Rothschild when information becomes available.

Post: Yanks, Long reach three-year deal

One week after letting go of pitching coach Dave Eiland and then re-signing manager Joe Girardi, the Yankees have agreed to re-sign Kevin Long to a three-year deal, according to the New York Post.

The Post reported Long will receive a raise from his previous deal, which earned him $400K annually.

The Post also reported bullpen coach Mike Harkey is a “strong candidate” to replace Eiland as pitching coach.

Nothing here is official, but assuming it’s true, I of course am not complaining. Several Yankees raved about Long the past few years. And I can’t say I’ve heard the same about Eiland.

As for Harkey, here are his career pitching stats:

Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland not coming back next year

Brian Cashman today announced Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland will not return to the club next year.

“It has nothing to do with what took place in the playoffs,” Cashman said.

Cashman said the decision is not based on performance. He labeled the reason as “private.”

“It was my decision,” Cashman said.

That was a shock. Cashman seemed to contradict himself a little when he said it was “not based on performance” but “it was my decision.” So why else, they didn’t get along personally? I doubt it, but I don’t think we’ll ever get to the bottom of this.

Either way it’s time to move on. Scranton Yankees beat Donnie Collins has already done so, noting Dave Duncan just re-signed with the Cardinals today.

Potential replacements? Well, I guess Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitching coach Scott Aldred — who has done a nice job here — should get some consideration. But I’m guessing this will be an outside-the-organization hire. Whoever comes in is going to have to work with some of the young guys, get Phil Hughes to the next level and get something out of Joba Chamberlain. Maybe the biggest name floating out there right now is ex-A’s pitching coach Curt Young, who turned down a contract offer from Oakland to pursue other opportunities over the weekend.

I’m not exactly an encyclopedia of pitching coaches, so Collins’ guess is as good as mine. If I had to guess, maybe an ex-Yankee pitcher like El Duque? Irabu?

(Just kidding.)

Vazquez back in the rotation, Moseley out

Javier Vazquez’s hard work with Dave Eiland has paid off. Joe Girardi announced before today’s game Vazquez will take Dustin Moseley’s spot in the rotation starting Saturday.

“We might skip someone at some point or we might give a guy a shorter outing at some point,” Girardi said. “This is not permanent. I’m just saying this is what we’re going to do now.”

I have no problem with this move. He earned it with two very strong long relief appearances. Moseley did a decent job filling in for Andy Pettitte and Vazquez, but he wasn’t the long-term (playoff) solution.

Now the question is: Can A.J. Burnett hold his spot in the rotation?

Vazquez has Eiland to thank for recent success

Last night Javier Vazquez picked up his first win for the Yankees since July 26. Ever since Vazquez lost his spot in the rotation, he’s turned in two dominant long relief appearances (9 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K combined). Mike Mazzeo of the Star-Ledger reports pitching coach Dave Eiland made a minor change to Vazquez’s windup.

Vazquez’s fastball was regularly registering on the radar gun at 90 to 91-mph (last night), instead of its usual 87 to 88.

All it took was Vazquez moving his leg kick backward and in, which, in turn, allows him to have more momentum going forward. And, as a result, according to the right-hander, his ball doesn’t tail inside as much, because he’s throwing more over the top instead of dropping his arm slot.

I expected Joe Girardi to comment on the idea of reinserting Vazquez into the rotation. Last night he didn’t have much to say.

“As of now, we’re going to stay in rotation,” Girardi said. “But that could change.”

I think it should happen. The Yankees will probably keep Phil Hughes in the rotation the rest of the year to build his innings, so that leaves A.J. Burnett, Dustin Moseley or Ivan Nova as candidates to lose their spot.

The way Nova is pitching, I don’t think he’s going anywhere, especially as Moseley and Burnett are the ones pitching under par.

I say if Burnett delivers another poor start Wednesday, he should be moved to the bullpen. He certainly has bullpen-type stuff, as he’s a two-pitch pitcher and throws mid-nineties heat.

When (if) Andy Pettitte returns Girardi can change the rotation again to prepare for the postseason.

Kevin Long for MVP: He fixed Teixeira!

Read this nugget from Mike Mazzeo of the Star-Ledger.

Now that is a valid excuse of a coach being the main cause for a player’s turnaround. Sorry, A.J. Burnett, but I don’t think Dave Eiland made close to the same impact on you that Kevin Long made on Mark Teixeira.

There you have it, K-Long for MVP!

Poll Results: Did Eiland really make a difference on Burnett?

Fans voted Dave Eiland would make a difference on A.J. Burnett after his return early last week, and Burnett shined. He threw 6-2/3 innings of shutout ball with no run support.

But was it really Eiland who made the difference? Or was it just the fact that he was pitching against his old team and has always been an inconsistent pitcher?

I side with the latter. No offense to Eiland, but was he in Toronto in 2008 when Burnett went 18-10? Or in Florida in 2005 when he posted a 3.44 ERA? Nope. Somehow, Burnett survived without him.

The fact is, Burnett has always, ALWAYS, been a hit-or-miss pitcher with nothing in between. The fact that he had a poor June while the team’s pitching coach was absent is little evidence to support this theory most fans are believing.

The only help Eiland seemed to provide was noticing Burnett was opening up too early. This is a very rudimentary problem that shouldn’t require a pitching coach to point out. But hey, if I’m wrong I’ll be a happy man.

That would mean Burnett will pitch like he did in the first two months for the rest of the year. We’ll see about that.

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If you didn’t hear yet, the Yankees won in walk-off fashion yesterday after Mo blew a save.

Next poll: Is it time to call up Montero?

Yanks’ bullpen tattooed in 11th for 6-1 loss

A.J. Burnett was the story going in, but was forgotten when Joba Chamberlain blew the one-run lead Burnett left with in the eighth. Then the rest of the weak part of the bullpen imploded in the 11th, resulting in a 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays in the series opener.

Best of All: Burnett was all you could ask for. I can’t wait for the “maybe it was Dave Eiland’s fault” chimes in the blogosphere tonight and the papers tomorrow morning.

Worst of All: Zero extra-base hits all game. The Yankees’ offense has posted 5.5 hits per game over their last four, resulting in a 1-3 record. That, and the bullpen (outside of The Great One) has been completely unreliable.

You have to hate seeing the best 3-4-5 in the game go a combined 0-for-12. Brutal.

Coming Up: Two more day games this weekend with two more favorable pitching matchups. My series prediction is already wrong this week, so the Yanks aren’t in very good shape.

Blue Jays-Yankees series preview

The Yankees and Blue Jays begin their second series of the year this afternoon with A.J. Burnett taking on his old team. It’s his first start with Dave Eiland back in the dugout so all the pressure is on Burnett to “prove” his slump was because of Eiland’s absence.

Like I said on Twitter, if Burnett does happen to throw a no-hitter today, he’ll owe Eiland more than a steak dinner.

Head to Head: 
The Yankees are losing the season series 2-1 after the Blue Jays won 6-1 and 3-2 on June 4-5. Javier Vazquez won the finale with the help of Robinson Cano.

Pitching Matchups:

Date:	Blue Jays starters	Yankees starters
Fri., 1:05 p.m.	Brett Cecil (7-5, 4.39)	A.J. Burnett (6-7, 5.25)
Sat., 1:05 p.m.	Ricky Romero (6-4, 2.83)	A. Pettitte (9-2, 2.72)
Sun., 1:05 p.m.	Brandon Morrow (5-6, 4.50)	Phil Hughes (10-2, 3.58)

Players to Watch:
Blue Jays: Vernon Wells. He’s been the Blue Jays’ top power hitter lately and he tends to show off his power against the Yankees. Watch out for this man in this series.

Yankees: Alex Rodriguez. He’s on a home run tear lately, launching four in the last 10 days, as he approaches the 600 mark for his career.

Prediction:
Unlike the last series, the Yankees have the favorable pitching matchups this time. I predict the Yankees will take the first two but drop the finale. Brandon Morrow was nearly untouchable last time against the Yanks.

Poll Results: Realignment not on fans’ minds

The majority of voters either didn’t know what I meant by realignment or didn’t believe realignment should ever occur in baseball.

For those who don’t know what it means, realignment refers to the rearranging of the divisions in baseball, like moving the Red Sox to the AL West.

Some even think it’s time to return to the old way of doing it with just two leagues and no divisions (top 4 make the playoffs).

I actually wouldn’t mind that way of doing it — scrapping the divisions. It would make up for the situation that baseball has today with three of the best teams in one division but only two of them can possibly make the playoffs.

News broke yesterday that Dave Eiland finally will make his return to the Yankees Tuesday, which leads me to my next poll.

Poll: Will Eiland’s return cure Burnett’s pitching sickness?

Dodgers even series as Burnett’s struggles continue

The Dodgers took advantage of A.J. Burnett early, making for one of the longest, unexciting games of the year. The Dodgers won easily, 9-4, and Burnett was almost unbearable to watch.

Best of All: Mark Teixeira’s three-run homer in the first inning. It was the only positive moment of the game from the Yankees’ standpoint. His 13th of the year.

Worst of All: Burnett allowed six earned over three innings on six walks and six hits; he’s been the exact opposite of  CC Sabathia in June. He’s 0-4 with a 10.35 ERA. Burnett doesn’t consider pitching coach Dave Eiland’s absence an excuse, but I do.

Derek Jeter K’d three times on his birthday. He turned 36, by the way. But he did single, steal a base and score in the first inning.

Coming Up: Sunday night’s game should be a dandy now, right?

Yankees rotation woes: Sabathia, Burnett

Has anyone else noticed the Yankees rotation has taken a U turn in the last five weeks? As of May 8, the Yankees had two starters with sub-2 ERAs, two with sub-3 ERAs and one (Javier Vazquez) with a 9.78 ERA. Since that date, here’s what the rotation has done:

Pitcher	ERA from 5/8-6/17
Andy Pettitte	2.83
Javier Vazquez	2.92
Phil Hughes	4.15
CC Sabathia	5.07
A.J. Burnett	6.50

Sabathia and Burnett have been struggling the most, while Pettitte and Vazquez have been excellent. Hughes’s insanely low BABIP at the beginning of the season caught up with him and it’s shown on his ERA.

I’ve already looked into Sabathia’s season in-depth, and the conclusion was he’s lucky he faced the Orioles four times this year. With Burnett, you have to look at his history to understand what he’s going through.

Since May 8, Burnett has allowed six or more runs in four of his eight starts and is yet to throw a quality start in three tries in June. Now he is pitching above his career ERA of 3.87 at 4.33. With the type of stuff he has, it’s hard to believe his career ERA is so high, but the story with Burnett has always been control and that has been the problem lately.

I hate to bring this up, but I think the rotation is missing its pitching coach, Dave Eiland. He took a leave of absence on June 4 and there hasn’t been an update since. We wish him the best, but also a speedy return.

As for the success of Vazquez, you knew he wasn’t going to end the year with a near-10 ERA. He had way too big a track record to think that. I don’t expect him to finish with a sub-3 ERA, but it would be impressive to finish somewhere in the 3s after his dreadful start.