IT’S "PINE"DA!
Well, Michael Pineda has done it
again - he’s embarrassed himself, his team, Yankees’ fans, and the NYY’s
organization. The Yankees’ young,
surgery-recovered starting pitcher was caught with obvious pine tar along his
neck, only one week after TV cameras had caught the same substance on his hand
(both games against the most ignored cheater’s team, David Ortiz’ Boston Red
Sox). Still, two wrongs don’t make a
right. Pineda admitted utilizing the
pine tar to help his cold fingers have control over non-fastball pitches. The next day, he was suspended for 10
games. As a Yankees’ fan, I personally
feel humiliated and disappointed.
My humiliation stems from the prestigious
expectations of the Yankees dating back from the early 90s to today’s Yankees. Throughout those years, the Steinbrenners
have worked hard at creating an overall classy persona for the organization, with
players such as Jeter and Rivera leading the way. Yes, they've had some bumps (mainly A-Rod),
but no other team during those years has proven themselves with so many
distinguished players (including Don Mattingly) and future hall of fame players
(Jeter, Rivera), while accomplishing 5 world championships. That’s why whenever one player goes outside
the boundaries it gets magnified so much.
I’m disappointed because Pineda was
already reprimanded after his last start by his manager, Joe Girardi and his
pitching coach, Larry Rothschild.
Additionally, both Joe and Larry should have ensured that a full
understanding was absorbed by Mike after they delivered their lecture. The second usage of the pine tar proved
otherwise!
Ironically, shortly after Pineda was
ejected, baseball fans began to learn that almost ALL pitchers in the Major
Leagues have been using pine tar for many, many years, according to several
former players and managers! Not only
did former pitchers such as Rick Sutcliffe, David Cone, and Al Leiter admit to
using it in their past, but former Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Roy Smith
estimated through his professional experience that 75% of the pitchers typically
use it. No one in MLB insinuated
otherwise.
That common inside-baseball knowledge
was one reason why the Red Sox manager, John Farrell hesitated the last time to
officially object to Pineda’s pine tar usage.
Even in Pineda’s second usage, Farrell didn't act vehemently mad, but
instead focused his objection towards Pineda’s blatant display of the substance.
His own players, Shane Victorino and
Dustin Pedroia, had supported pitchers using it for better grip just as hitters
similarly used it on their bats. Farrell
also knew his own pitchers were using it (but concealed their usage). Not surprisingly, the next game’s starter for
the Red Sox, Jon Lester, “coincidentally” had absolutely no control of his
breaking ball and sinker pitches and got hammered by the NYY hitters for an
eventual lopsided loss.
Pine tar’s offense usage was even a
bigger deal back in 1983 when George Brett used a bat exceeding the allowed
amount (18” from the bat’s barrel) of pine tar.
Billy Martin knew Brett was using an exceeding amount for approximately one
year! He waited that whole time for an
opportune moment to capitalize on Brett’s rule-breaking usage. When Brett hit a 3-run homer in the top of
the 9th inning in Yankee Stadium against Goose Gossage to put his
Kansas City Royal’s team ahead 5-4, Billy came out to protest the bat and the
umpires threw Brett out of the game while disqualifying the home run. Four days later, the American League
President, Lee MacPhail, determined that they would allow the home run from Brett’s
“illegal” pine tar usage, bringing the game back to a Royals lead with a 5-4
score and scheduling a later date (25 days later) for the Royals to play their
one-third remaining inning and the Yankees to play their unfinished half-inning. Neither team scored another run. Thus, the Yankees ended up with a loss. George Brett’s whining and temper tantrum
were unfortunately rewarded. It’s just another
instance in which favoritism rarely seems to “favor” the Yankees.
My main take on this whole Pineda
incident is that it has now opened up Pandora’s box - not only related to pine
tar, but to the fact that MLB is still hiding potential cheating from its fans. It’s time for MLB to stop concealing things
from the public. They should have
learned their lesson from the whole steroids issue! With today’s TV coverage, anything physical
can be detected, including non-blatant pine tar or any other substance. MLB claims they’ll review the whole pine tar
usage after this season, but why
wait? Procrastination rarely results
into anything positive. MLB should
immediately review the need of pine tar by both pitchers and batters. You can’t let one use it for an advantage and
not the other. Perhaps a compromise of allowance
such as certain game-playing temperatures, a limited amount on a ball (susceptible
to an umpire’s inspection at any given moment), a gripping glove (partial or
whole) for a pitcher, etc. could resolve the issue. In any case, stop the ignorance. Let’s get this and any other upcoming
surprises upfront and resolved!
