And he did not relish leaving Bill Fischer in his final year as the Braves' pitching coordinator.

Greg Pavlick, the Yankees' pitching coordinator, said: "It looked like he was making quality pitches.

For the last three seasons, he was the roving pitching coordinator in the Yankees' minor league system.

"That's the thing we were looking for," said Billy Connors, Irabu's personal coach and the organizational pitching coordinator.

He has held that position since October 15, 2002, after spending seven years as Colorado's roving pitching coordinator.

Prior to being appointed to his former position with Seattle, Adair spent four seasons as a minor-league pitching coordinator for the Texas Rangers.

Adair served as the Rangers minor-league pitching coordinator for the Rangers in the 2008 season before joining former Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu for the 2009 season.

Referring to the Yankees' pitching coordinator, Torre added: "I talked to Billy Connors, and he said Irabu was in a good frame of mind.

That is why Dave Wallace, the Met organization's new pitching coordinator, was consulted heavily before the deal was consummated yesterday morning.

On November 30, 2009, Willis was named the Seattle Mariners minor-league pitching coordinator.