Yankees fire conditioning coach after six hamstring injuries
Posted: May 2 07, 4:30 pm
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2858274
NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees, hobbled in the early season by a string of injuries to the pitching staff, have dismissed their conditioning coach, according to media reports Wednesday in New York.
The New York Times reported that general manager Brian Cashman would discuss the move before Wednesday night's game at Texas.
Marty Miller, who took the title "director of performance enhancement" when he joined the team this winter, was fired the day after rookie Phil Hughes strained his hamstring in the seventh inning after six innings of no-hit ball. Media reports cited unidentified Yankees sources in reporting the firing.
Manager Joe Torre said he expected Hughes, 20, to be sidelined four to six weeks.
Two other Yankees starting pitchers -- Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina -- landed on the disabled list with hamstring injuries this season, as has outfielder Hideki Matsui.
Injuries have contributed to a poor start for the Yankees, who have the worst record in the American League East at 10-14.
On Monday, club owner George Steinbrenner issued a vote of confidence in manager Torre, who some observers believed was in danger of being fired.
Miller, 34, was unpopular with some players, and several had opted out of his program, which de-emphasized running as a way to build leg strength and abandoned certain stretching exercises used by his predecessor.
