Ron Guidry doesn’t have a contract with the Yankees for next year, and now one of the most respected pitching coaches in baseball is on the market after Leo Mazzone was let go by the Orioles yesterday.
However, before Guidry’s detractors jump to the conclusion that Mazzone would be an upgrade, remember how angry George Steinbrenner was after the 2005 season when The Boss believed Mazzone sent word to the Yankees he was interested in working for them after leaving Atlanta.
Vice president of player personnel Billy Connors recommended Mazzone to the Boss, then watched Mazzone join longtime friend Sam Perlozzo’s Baltimore staff. Steinbrenner believed Mazzone used the Yankees to get more money from the Orioles.
Yet Steinbrenner has allowed GM Brian Cashman to hire coaches recently and may accept Mazzone if Cashman recommends the soon-to-be 59-year-old. However, Cashman’s history is to promote from within. He did that last year when Don Mattingly went from hitting coach to bench coach and Kevin Long was promoted from Triple-A to be big league hitting coach.
If a move is made with Guidry, Cashman could install Dave Eiland as pitching coach. Eiland, who worked with Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, was with the Yankees for the final month of the season. If Eiland doesn’t get the job, he could replace Joe Kerrigan as bullpen coach.
Any movement on the coaching staff has to wait until Joe Torre’s fate is determined early next week in Tampa, Fla.
Mazzone, who was credited with molding Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz into Cy Young Award winners in Atlanta, didn’t come close to that success in Baltimore. However, Erik Bedard and Jeremy Guthrie improved under Mazzone, who had one year left on his contract. Perlozzo was fired in June.
*
Bobby Abreu cleaned out his Yankee Stadium locker yesterday. The club holds a $16 million option on the right fielder and No. 3 hitter, and no decision has been made.