Michael Pineda has some 'splaining to do, is possibly cheating

[Big Bid'Ness]

From:SBNation
 

 

Michael Pineda has some 'splaining to do, is possibly cheating
Or perhaps he has incredibly unfortunate hygiene.

 


Michael Pineda has a no-hitter through four innings against the Red Sox! He also appears to have dunked his hand in maple syrup or ... something unmentionable. To Twitter!
 

 

That's enough to draw your own conclusions. Maybe the dude just likes fudge. I like fudge. If there's a fountain of it in the Yankees' dugout, it would take a strong man not to wave his hand through it as he went out to the mound. I'm not that strong. Don't judge him.
 
But it's probably pine tar, which pitchers have used since the invention of the pine tree to get a better grip on the ball, which in turn helps them throw tighter breaking balls. Kenny Rogers was famously busted in the 2006 ALCS. There might be an explanation ... but danged if those pictures don't seem damning.
 
When you realize how much pine tar looks like poop, it brings a different perspective to that George Brett video.

 

 

[elcheato]

Never understood why hitters can use it to improve their grip, but not pitchers.

 

[Thomas-Panda-Saxby]

Or maybe it's pinetar?

 

[elcheato]

It is pine tar.
 
That or he just jerked off an elephant.

 

[Hurricane Season]

Maybe the toilet paper slipped when he was wiping his ass.

 

[Big Bid'Ness]

He says its Dirt

 

[The Guid]

He knows dirt doesn't luster, right?

 

[Pugz]

shiniest dirt i have ever seen.

 

[elcheato]

Never understood why hitters can use it to improve their grip, but not pitchers.

Why i still believe it's a non-story. Baseball has backwards ass thinking when it comes to ethics

 

[Giantmetfan07]

I was thinking the same thing, maybe they ran outta toilet paper and he had to use his hand.

 

[Big Bid'Ness]

 

Yankees' Pineda sorry, says pine tar incident won't happen again
Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports 12:09 a.m. EDT April 24, 2014

BOSTON -- It's like a small-time crook robbing the neighborhood convenience store one day, getting away with it, and returning the next week to rob the same joint again.
New York Yankees starter Michael Pineda may be naive, brazen or just foolish, but he got caught red-handed cheating Wednesday night on national TV, admitting that he used pine tar, in clear violation of major league rules.
 
PINEDA: 'My hands get sweaty'
 
Pineda was ejected after pitching just 1 2/3 innings in their 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox, and Yankees GM Brian Cashman anticipates a suspension. The suspension likely will be for 10 games, particularly considering it was the second time in three starts that Pineda used a foreign substance.
 
"I think we are all embarrassed,'' Cashman said. "This is a terrible situation. We all took ownership to it. Obviously, there is clearly a failure and a breakdown for him walking out of that dugout with something like that.
 
BOX SCORE: Red Sox 5, Yankees 1
 
Pineda, 2-2, 1.83 ERA, attracted the Red Sox's attention in his April 10 start against them when he appeared to use pine tar on his hand. Yet, he was never questioned by the Red Sox, or the umpiring crew. He covered up afterwards, claiming it was only dirt.
 
Major League Baseball didn't have the right to discipline Pineda at the time, but Joe Torre, MLB executive vice president of baseball operations, spoke to Cashman about the incident. And Cashman and the Yankees spoke to Pineda, warning him not to use pine tar.
 
The message appeared to last all of one inning.

 

Pineda, who gave up two runs in the first inning, said he had trouble gripping the ball, and put the pine tar on the side of his neck before the second inning.
Well, guess whose TV cameras zeroed in all over Pineda's body when they noticed a suspicious substance on his neck, shown repeatedly on NESN-TV, the station owned by the Red Sox. Red Sox manager John Farrell was informed by his clubhouse.
 
Farrell, who said Wednesday afternoon that Pineda couldn't be blatant with his use of pine tar, said he had no choice this time. He asked home-plate umpire Gerry Davisto check Pineda.
 
He examined Pineda's glove and hand. The ball. Clean.
 
He then took a look at Pineda's neck, and noticed a bright, brown shiny spot on the right side.
Davis wiped his right index finger on the neck, rubbed his fingers together, and felt the stickiness.
"Pine tar,'' Davis said.
 
And, in a calm demeanor, ejected Pineda, who walked off the field to a chorus of sarcastic cheers from the sellout crowd of 37,015 at Fenway Park.
 
"It was cold, I couldn't feel the ball in the first inning, I didn't want to hit nobody,'' Pineda said. "I apologize to my teammates, and to everybody. I'll learn from this mistake. It won't happen again.''
 
Considering Pineda's blatant use of the pine tar, Yankees manager Joe Girardi doesn't blame Farrell for summoning the umpires.
 
"He used poor judgment tonight,'' Girardi said. "He feels like he let his teammates down.''

 

[Pugz]

idiot.

 

[Fuhgeddaboudit]

Did he wipe his ass?

 

[Lake Louise]

He knows the rules, and it's not a shock that someone is using pine tar, but don't make it that obvious. I know that sometimes it does seem like it, but the umpires aren't actually blind Pineda. I'm sure he will do it again, just learn to be more discreat about it. Although, the whole pine tar ordeal is a slippery slope anyways. MLB should look into changing it and just allowing it so the pitchers can use it, the same as hitters can.