Cashman: Eiland's absence not the cause of Burnett's problems

PHOENIX - A.J. Burnett is in a bad way right now.

Everyone - the pitcher, the manager, the general manager - acknowledges it.

But theories on how to fix the righthander, who lost his fourth straight start Monday, are scarce.

Brian Cashman pointedly dismissed one theory making the rounds. "I don't think A.J.'s struggles have anything to do with Dave Eiland's absence," the general manger said last night.

Eiland, the team's pitching coach, has been on leave since June 4 handling a personal family matter. Burnett lost that night in Toronto and three times after that, seeing his ERA jump to 4.83 from 3.28, going 0-4 with a 10.36 ERA.

"Dave's a terrific coach but I think Mike Harkey has done a tremendous job," Cashman said of the bullpen coach who assumed Eiland's duties. "Mike knows exactly what he's doing."

It should be noted that the rest of the pitching staff hasn't collapsed in Eiland's absence, with Burnett (6-6) being the pitcher taking a nose dive. And Javier Vazquez has continued his strong comeback from a horrible start under Harkey's watch.

Still, Eiland is highly regarded and with his absence heading for its fourth week, it's natural to question if the matter he's dealing with could keep him out for the season.

Cashman declined to comment on anything relating to Eiland returning - including the possibility of him missing the rest of the season - but a source said Eiland's return is still likely to be this year, possibly before the All-Star break.

Pitchers, Burnett especially, have talked about Eiland's ability to pick up things on video they've missed, helping them make between-start, and sometimes in-game, adjustments. Eiland wasn't opposed to sharing those things, often in technical detail, with reporters.

Harkey, on the other hand, avoided talking in specifics, with one example his answer to a question about what he said to Burnett during a mound visit Monday. "I basically said what I say to every pitcher," Harkey said. "Just battle through it, try to make better pitches and hopefully good things happen."

The answer raised some eyebrows but, to be fair, Harkey has rarely been asked his opinion on anything by reporters in his time with the Yankees and that continued for the most part even after he took over June 4. It's only been with Burnett struggling where he's been asked those kinds of questions.

And it's not like anyone else has provided specifics, either.

"Our job is to get him back on track and to get the best out of him," Joe Girardi said before last night's game. "So that's what we'll work on."

Said Burnett: "It comes down to remembering what it's like to succeed."

There's been plenty of that in his career but also stretches similar to what Burnett is experiencing now. Last year in a six-start span from April 19-May 2, his ERA rose to 5.28 from 2.70. That included his April 25 loss in Boston when he allowed eight runs in five innings.

He sustained a run of mostly brilliant pitching in eight starts from June 14-July 27, lowering his ERA to 3.53 from 4.89 in that stretch. That streak came to a halt when he gave up seven runs and 10 hits in 42/3 innings in an Aug. 1 loss to the White Sox.

Burnett didn't inspire much confidence late last season, allowing at least six or more earned runs in a five-start stretch from Aug. 22-Sept. 12, but promptly turned that around, giving up a combined five runs in his last four starts of the regular season.