New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda ejected for ball tampering in Boston

MICHAEL Pineda may or may not have the physical tools to be a successful major league pitcher. What we know after Wednesday night is that he is likely the dumbest player in the big leagues.

After being caught with pine tar on his pitching hand the last time he faced the Red Sox in The Bronx when the Red Sox knew of it and didn’t complain, Pineda figured he could get away with it again at Fenway Park Wednesday night when he applied an illegal substance to his neck before taking the mound for the second inning after giving up two runs in the first.

It didn’t take long for the TV cameras to find the substance and with two outs and Grady Sizemore hitting, Red Sox manager John Farrell strolled to the plate to alert home-plate umpire Gerry Davis, the crew chief. That led Davis to the mound where he checked Pineda’s glove, turned the pitcher around and fingered the right side of his neck. Davis quickly determined the gooey substance was foreign and politely ejected Pineda.

“I would expect if it’s used it will be more discreet than the last time,’’ Farrell said before Pineda unbelievably put the pine tar in a more visible spot than his hand.

When Pineda went down the steps of the dugout and into the long tunnel that leads to the clubhouse, Joe Girardi spotted a remote television camera near the dugout trained on Pineda sitting in the tunnel and altered the camera’s angle with his hand.


Pineda was ejected after umpires found with a foreign substance on his neck.. AP.Source: AP
And by the way, the Red Sox overcame the Yankees and brisk evening to post a 5-1 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 37,015 that braved 50-degree temperature and a 24mph winds.

Pineda is a lock to draw a suspension and it likely would be more than five games but less than 10.



With Ivan Nova done due to an elbow injury that will likely require Tommy John surgery, the Yankees are already down to Vidal Nuno, an inexperienced lefty, as the starter Saturday against the muscular Angels.

David Phelps, who replaced Pineda, is an option depending on the length of the suspension and when it’s given.

Pineda’s dumb move also taxed the bullpen.

In addition to Phelps, Girardi used Matt Thornton, Preston Claiborne and Adam Warren.

The two runs Phelps surrendered in the third were unearned thanks to a throwing error by Derek Jeter whose 11-game hitting streak was halted with a 0-for-4.

Pineda gave up four hits and two runs in the first when the pine tar wasn’t on his neck and absorbed the loss. He is 2-2.

While Pineda was caught cheating, John Lackey didn’t resemble the pitcher the Yankees spanked on April 12 at Yankee Stadium for six runs and 12 hits in 5 ²/₃ innings in a 7-4 Yankee victory. Lackey gave up four homers in that loss.

Wednesday, Lackey blanked the Yankees until the sixth when Carlos Beltran doubled leading off, moved to third on a ground out and scored on Alfonso Soriano’s sacrifice fly.

Pineda didn’t have the swatch of glob on his neck in the first inning when the Red Sox scored two runs and got four hits.

David Phelps was Girardi’s choice to follow Pineda who worked 1 ²/₃ innings, allowing two runs, four hits and required 40 pitches to get five outs.

Sizemore hit Pineda’s third pitch of the game on a line into the right-field corner for a stand-up triple and scored on Dustin Pedroia’s single to centre. Mike Napoli’s one-out single sent Pedroia to third and he scored when A.J. Pierzynski’s two-out ground ball up the middle glanced off a moving Jeter’s glove for an RBI single.

The Red Sox extended the lead to 4-0 in the third against Phelps with the help of a Jeter throwing error on Pedroia’s leadoff grounder. David Ortiz’ single to right chased Pedroia to third and Napoli’s ground-rule double to right scored Pedroia and put runners at second and third for Mike Carp.

Phelps fanned Carp for the first out, walked Pierzynski and retired Xander Bogaerts on a fly to right field that wasn’t deep enough to score the lumbering Ortiz from third. A wild pitch while working to Brock Holt did score Ortiz from third for a 4-0 Red Sox cushion.

http://nypost.com/2014/04/23/pineda-...e-tar-on-neck/