Royals Hire Dave Eiland As New Pitching Coach
“We are delighted to have Dave join our coaching staff,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “He is an extremely talented pitching coach and a proven winner who has the ability to relate to the young pitchers who are transitioning to the majors.”
Duty compels me to point out that CC Sabathia's best season as a Yankee came after Eiland left, and that Iván Nova, Freddy García, and Bartolo Colón -- the surprising keys to the Yankees' great season -- all arrived after Eiland left.
Which young pitchers did Eiland assist in their (successful) transitions to the majors? Phil Hughes, until his arm went dead. David Robertson, though he didn't become a star until after Eiland left.
Meanwhile, Eiland was the presiding authority during the declines/collapses of Joba Chamberlain, A.J. Burnett, and Javier Vazquez.
All of which probably says more about the difficulty of evaluating coaches with statistics than about Dave Eiland’s talents. But the Yankees fired him after three seasons because their pitching staff had under-performed, which looks only more true after a 2011 in which the staff’s ERA jumped from seventh in the American League to fourth.
Maybe the numbers don’t really matter. That’s how Dayton Moore usually bets, and to this point he’s enjoyed a long and happy career in baseball management.
