What’s with Burnett’s curve this year?

To be honest, I can’t even begin to interpret or make sense of the many mechanical pieces necessary for A.J. Burnett’s delivery to be effective and for him to subsequently succeed. However, what I can do as a meager blogger is to point to interesting things that I might notice – deviations from the [...]

Dave Eiland to return on Tuesday

Earlier today, Chad Jennings of LoHud informed us that Dave Eiland, the Yankees’ pitching coach, will return to the team on Tuesday. Eiland has been away for most of the month so as to deal with an undisclosed personal matter. One man, in particular, who will undoubtedly benefit from Eiland’s return is A.J. Burnett, as [...]

Eiland takes personal leave

Yankees pitching coach, Dave Eiland, is taking a personal leave of absence and will be away from the team for an unknown period of time. There is no word on why Eiland will take leave, but Mike Harkey, the team’s bullpen coach, will fill-in for him while he’s gone (scout Charlie Wonsowicz will replace Harkey [...]

Hughes maturing with each start

Here’s an interesting bit regarding last night’s game via Marc Carig (Star-Ledger):
But Hughes, the losing pitcher in the Yankees’ 5-4 defeat to the Orioles, still managed to allow only one run in 5 2/3 innings. So how did he do it, despite walking four and admitting he had no feel for his stuff?
Part of it [...]

Boone Logan’s mechancial adjustment

Via Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (props to RAB for this bit and the pic):
As if the Yankees need more help, club officials are excited about left-handed reliever Boone Logan, the second player they acquired in the Javier Vazquez trade.
Logan, who throws 91-94 mph, is benefiting from a mechanical adjustment that pitching coach Dave Eiland [...]

Dave Eiland likes Joba in the bullpen

Via Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger:
The Joba Chamberlain debate may continue to rage outside of the clubhouse, though to Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland, the eternal back-and-forth about the Yankees’ prized arm is over.”We will not bring him out of the bullpen to start this year,” Eiland told the Star-Ledger on Sunday morning. “There’s people [...]

Morning Bits: Joba, LF/CF, Jeter, Damon

Here are a few quick items on the morning:

Within the Yankees organization, there has been a lot of debate regarding Joba Chamberlain.
We’ve seen that demonstrated with Brian Cashman, Billy Eppler and Dave Eiland this weekend.
Reports indicate Gardner will be LF with Granderson in CF, though nothing has been made official.
Check out Derek Jeter’s brief sitdown [...]

Rotation Bits: Fifth Starter, CC’s Workload

Here are a few rotation-related bits on the morning:

According to pitching coach, Dave Eiland, there is currently no frontrunner in the fifth starter race.
Steve Goldman, Jay Jaffe, and Chris Corcoran discuss the final rotation spot over at the Pinstriped Bible.
Scott Randall thinks that the Yankees should be worried about CC Sabathia given last year’s workload.

To [...]

Valentine’s Bits: Wang, Monahan, Hughes, Hechevarria

I’ve been doing the Valentine’s Day thing all weekend, so, again, forgive the lack of posts.
I’ll make up for it with some candy hearts missed items on the day:

The Cardinals have “put aside” their pursuit of Chien-Ming Wang who is expected to sign with the Nats.
Due to illness, Gene Monahan, the Yanks’ head trainer, will [...]

Quick Bits: Joba, Hughes, Damon, Robertson

Here are a few quick items on the evening:

Pitching coach, Dave Eiland, reiterates that the Joba rules are, indeed, a thing of the past.
Eiland also noted that Phil Hughes would have “some” restrictions, but added they would not be “extreme.”
According to Tyler Kepner’s sources, the Braves have offered Damon a $4M deal with $2M of [...]

Is Joba the early favorite for the 5th spot?

While pitching coach, Dave Eiland, noted yesterday that he is excited for the upcoming rotation battle this spring that will feature Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, in particular, with Sergio Mitre, Alfredo Aceves, and Chad Gaudin thrown in for good measure, he did state that the amount of innings a starter could provide over the [...]

Yanks will try to retain their coaching staff

A few weeks ago, we learned that the Yankees coaching staff, outside of Joe Girardi and Kevin Long, was in contractual limbo headed into 2010. However, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger, the Yankees have informed the 2009 staff that they will be offered new contracts for 2010. “They want to keep the staff [...]

Quick Bits: CC, Mitre, Piliere, Scioscia, Coaches

Here are a few items on the day:

CC Sabathia is up for Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year Award.
Speaking of CC, he finished 4th in this year’s Cy Young race (Greinke, FTW).
Sergio Mitre’s option has been declined. He is arbitration eligible, however.
Yesterday, Pinstripe Alley picked Frankie Piliere’s brain on the young Yankees.
Manager Mike Scioscia [...]

A broken bridge

From Sam Borden (LoHud):
As I said on Twitter, Phil Hughes ducked the media after walking two to lead off the eighth. Dave Eiland said Hughes tried to be “too perfect,” but expressed confidence the team will continue to utilize him in the same role. “Sure, why not,” Eiland said. “He’s had a heckuva lot more [...]

CC’s changeup explained

A few weeks ago, I wrote the following about CC Sabathia’s changeup:
According to pitch value data, CC’s changeup is 22.5 runs above average. That’s the best in the American League for any starting pitchers with 150+ innings. In fact, across both leagues, CC’s changeup value is second only to Tim Lincecum’s, which is 33.5 runs [...]

Next Page »