Oct 14, 2008 5:39 PM EST

The Yankees fired third-base coach Bobby Meacham and special pitching instructor Rich Monteleone on Tuesday.

Meacham spent six seasons as a player with the Yankees and was hired last November when Joe Girardi replaced Joe Torre as manager.

"Whenever you lose a friend on your staff it's going to be tough," Girardi said in a statement. "However, as an organization, it was time to make a change. Bobby is a good baseball man, but moving forward we realize changes are going to have to be made in various areas of the club."

Via ESPN