FanHouse MartyMiller

After losing player after player after player to muscle pulls and hamstring injuries, the Yankees decided enough was enough and reportedly fired their strength coach. From the New York Times:

Marty Miller, who was hired last winter to the newly created position of director of performance enhancement, was let go on Wednesday, according to a Yankees official who was granted anonymity because the move has not been announced.

The last straw appears to be the injury to rookie Philip Hughes, who missed out a potential no-hitter when he was forced out of Tuesday's game in the seventh inning after feeling a pop in his hamstring. Hughes was just the latest Yankee to have a problem with his hamstring this year, as Mike Mussina, Chien-Ming Wang and Hideki Matsui have all missed a good deal of action with similar injuries, not to mention Johnny Damon and Carl Pavano missing time with muscle strains. From the sounds of things, Miller will not be missed:

Miller, 34, was unpopular with some players, and several opted out of his program. Miller had not worked in baseball for 10 years before Cashman hired him last winter. His previous job was director of fitness at the Ballen Isles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

I'm sure there's some competitive cats over at the Ballen Isles Country Club, but perhaps this time around GM Brian Cashman will find someone with a bit more experience dealing with actual professional athletes. Now, the players can go back to their old methods, which apparently (based on the picture of Paul O'Neill above) consisted of wrapping big rubber bands around their neck and feet.

Previously on FanHouse:
Philip Hughes Loses No-Hit Bid, Healthy Hamstring
Carl Pavano Wants Rick Sutcliffe to Know He's Not Done Yet
Yankees Rotation Takes Hit: Wang to Start Season on DL

The baseball gods really do have a sick and twisted sense of humor. After the Yankees had their rotation absolutely decimated by injury, they were left with no other option than to call up uber-prospect Philip Hughes last week, probably a good half season earlier than they were anticipating.

So what happens? The kid took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in just his second big-league start when, BOOM, he's forced out of the game with a hamstring injury. And, as you probably expected given how things have gone for the Yanks this year, it doesn't look like it's just a minor tweak. No, this poor kid, who hasn't even worn the pinstripes long enough for anyone to hold it against him, is headed to the disabled list for at least the next month. (As for the no-no, reliever Mike Myers quickly coughed up a couple of hits after replacing Hughes, who at least was credited with the win.)

I'm not a Yankees fan and until this season I never thought I'd be looking at them with a sympathetic eye, but seriously, some things just aren't fair. But have the Yankees simply been unlucky, or should their new strength coach Marty Miller be held accountable?

"I think that question's already been raised," [Mike] Mussina said. "I don't know if it's been answered. That's not my job."

I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like a guy who's completely bought into Miller's guidance. Of course, it's understandable if Mussina is a little suspicious, since both he and Chien-Ming Wang have also missed time with hamstring injuries. (Carl Pavano has missed three weeks with a strained forearm, but come on, it's Carl freakin' Pavano -- people set their watches with his trips to the trainers room.) Count GM Brian Cashman among those looking at Miller's methods:

"You get concerned about it, there's no doubt about it," Cashman said. "You try and figure out if there's any connection. You start wondering. Some of them are explainable more so than others. We have to look into everything."

Previously on FanHouse:
Philip Hughes Has an OK Start, Yankees Drop Sixth Straight