Eiland Returning to Yanks on Tuesday

Yankee pitching coach Dave Eiland, who left the team June 4 to attend to an undisclosed personal issue, will return to the club Tuesday when the Yankees open a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium.

"It's been in discussion the past couple of days,'' Joe Girardi said. "I talked to Dave last week and there was a time period where things had to be worked out. Dave is going through some personal things and he's ready to come back now. It's good to be whole again.''

In Eiland's absence, bullpen coach Mike Harkey has been serving as the interim pitching coach, but on several occasions, Girardi has paid the visits to the mound normally handled by the pitching coach. Girardi said Eiland has been aware of what's been going on with the team, although at least one of the Yankee pitchers, Phil Hughes, said last week that he had not spoken to Eiland in the three weeks that he has not been with the team.

"I think you'd have to have been on a deserted island with no TV and papers if you're a baseball guy to not know what's been going on,'' Girardi said. "As much as he could with the stuff he needed to take care of, he was keeping up. He was not on a deserted island. He was not with Gilligan or Skipper.''

But Girardi acknowleged he, too, had limited contact with his pitching coach. "I let him have his space to take care of what he had to take care of,'' he said.

Asked if Eiland spent his time away from the ballclub at his home in Florida, Girardi said, "I'm not gonna tell you exactly what he was doing. That's his business.''

Eiland's departure from the team coincides precisely with the decline of A.J. Burnett, whose string of five straight defeats began on June 4, culminating in the 3-inning, six-run flameout he suffered in Saturday's 9-4 loss to the Dodgers. Burnett was not at the ballpark today -- he returned home to attend the funeral of his grandfather, who died earlier in the week -- but Girardi said he hoped Eiland's return would benefit Burnett, whose next scheduled start is Friday against the Blue Jays. "It could help, and I certainly hope so,'' Girardi said. "Obviously, it's important for us to get A.J back on track and if it works, it'll be great.''