Pitching coach Eiland returns to the Yankees

One by one, Dave Eiland said he visited with Yankees pitchers Tuesday afternoon, reacquainting himself with everyone after nearly a month away.

In his first day back with the Yankees, Eiland refused to identify the reason why he abruptly left the team June 4, saying only that it's "something all of us in life go through."

After thanking the organization for giving him the time he needed to tend to "a private family matter," Eiland said he is confident he will coach the rest of the season without any more absences.

"Besides being in my home, this is the most comfortable place in the world for me," Eiland said. "This is what I do, this is what I have a passion for. So it was good to come in here. But I have a lot of work to do. I have a lot of catching up to do, a lot of film to watch, a lot of scouting reports to go over, things like that."

First on his to-do list is to huddle with A.J. Burnett and help him cure his struggles. Burnett lost all five starts during Eiland's absence, allowing 29 earned runs and 35 hits in 23 innings for an 11.35 ERA.

Having watched Burnett's last two starts on television, Eiland believes he knows what's causing Burnett's struggles. But he wouldn't reveal it publicly quite yet, saying he wanted to tell Burnett his thoughts first.

Burnett was away from the team Tuesday because his grandfather died Friday. He is expected back Wednesday, and Eiland plans to work with the righthander in the bullpen in preparation for his start Friday against the Blue Jays.

"It's nothing that A.J. and I haven't discussed already," Eiland said. "Every pitcher, you have to stay on about certain things. With A.J., it's a couple things and they're very minor. They're very minor things that are going to make a huge difference."

Still, Eiland said it's "not fair" to make the connection between Burnett's struggles with his absence, and general manager Brian Cashman echoed that sentiment.

Overall, Eiland said he followed the Yankees "enough to know what was going on" during his absence and was in contact with manager Joe Girardi and his interim replacement, bullpen coach Mike Harkey, in the "last week to 10 days."

Eiland added that there was never any doubt in his mind that he would return this season, that it was just a matter of when. This is his third season as Yankees pitching coach and eighth in the organization.

"It was great to see him, great to see him smiling," Girardi said. He called Eiland's absence "unexpected," likening it to a player getting injured. "It's good to be whole again."

Eiland agreed. "These are my guys," he said. "This is my second family. I love what I do. It was hard being away. But I had to go away for a little while, had to take care of what I had to take care of. I'm back and I'm ready to go."