Many times when people speak (write) about the new Yankee pitching coach, the point is made that he has a relationship with the triumvirate of youngsters about to make a huge impact on the Yankee rotation in '08. As the SWB pitching coach last year, Eiland did have contact with each of the big 3:
IPK - 6 games, 34 ip
Phil - 5 games, 28 ip
Joba - 3 games, 8ip
What impact could Eiland have had on these 3? The highest number of starts any made was 6; assuming a 5 man rotation he had IPK longest - 30 days!
I'll say again that I am extremely disappointed by the lack of big-league experience on the Yanks' coaching staff. Especially when you factor in the impact that 3 rookies will have on our year, and the impact the pitching coach will have on their long-term success, I can't believe that there weren't more qualified candidates available.
The obvious choice would be Leo Mazzone. Leo has a long history of not only making pitchers better, but also of keeping them healthy long term. There was talk of Leo having motivational problems at the end of the year in Baltimore - well they fired his best friend (manager Sam Perlozzo)! That might piss me off a bit too!
There was surf-n-turf on the menu, but the Yanks instead chose the mystery meal of the day. I really hope that decision doesn't come back to bite us!
