PHOENIX — There is no arguing the fact that Dave Eiland’s leave of absence has coincided with A.J. Burnett getting spanked.
Yet, if you buy into that Burnett’s 0-4 record and 10.35 ERA since June 4, when his pitching coach vanished due to personal reasons, then you must also pay attention to the other four starters and two main men in the Yankees’ bullpen.
Phil Hughes is 3-0 with an elevated ERA of 5.31. CC Sabathia is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA. Javier Vazquez is 2-1 with a ERA of 2.57. Andy Pettitte is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA. Mariano Rivera has four saves and hasn’t allowed a hit, walk or run in six innings. Six of Joba Chamberlain’s seven outings have been solid. Three of the four earned runs he allowed came in one game.
So, do those numbers mean interim pitching coach Mike Harkey is reaching those hurlers better than Burnett? Do they indicate Harkey, who is getting his first taste of being a big league pitching coach, is a better pitching coach than Eiland?
Of course not.
Of the starters other than Burnett, only Hughes’ ERA has increased without Eiland, going from 2.54 to 3.17. Sabathia has gone from 4.14 to 3.68, Vazquez from 6.06 to 5.01 and Pettitte from 2.48 to 2.47.
Are the Yankees better with Eiland teaching and correcting? Certainly. But to lay Burnett’s struggles on Eiland’s absence and ignore the other pitchers is foolish.
Burnett, who has struggled with location during the four-game swoon that has lowered his record to a pedestrian 6-6, had no problem locating the root of his problems. And it’s not Eiland being away.
“Dave is a big part of what we do here but I have been pitching for 11 years,’’ Burnett said after absorbing a brutal 10-4 beating by the Diamondbacks Monday night at Chase Field. “You would think I would make adjustments on my own. I am throwing the pitches whether Dave is in the dugout or not. I am a man, a pro athlete with a big contract and I should be able to make adjustments on my own.”
He certainly should. Especially since nobody — not even Eiland’s closest associates in the organization — know when Eiland will return. There have been unconfirmed whispers it might be late this month or early July, but nobody is certain.
Burnett hasn’t heard from Eiland, whose problem doesn’t involve the law or health of a family member.
One thing is certain: Burnett has plenty of fixing to do.
Monday night manager Joe Girardi and Burnett blamed poor location for the right-hander giving up five runs and three homers in the first inning, when the Diamondbacks were all over Burnett’s pitches.
In four frames he surrendered seven runs, nine hits and walked two.
In 20 innings across four outings he has given up 29 hits, nine of which were homers, and 11 walks.
Burnett suffered a bone bruise on the right foot in his last outing that required a bullpen session be delayed a day. But this weekend he said his foot felt fine and since he pushed the speed guns into the 95-mph range Monday night, it didn’t appear to be a factor in his putrid performance.
Adjustments, which presumably mean better location with the fastball, need to be made. Harkey can help, but even if Eiland surfaced today, it’s up to Burnett to turn his season around.