If you look quickly at the above picture of Michael Pineda from tonight’s game, you probably won’t see any evidence of a foreign substance in play. But look again. Be sure to focus on the lips and the surrounding area. Then carefully inspect the cheek and the chin. But don’t stop there. The most damning evidence is in the most damning place. All over the right hand.
When a Major League pitcher goes to such great lengths to conceal his wrongdoing, David Cone thinks the other manager might look the other way. Relying on his experience in the big leagues, Cone noted that if a pitcher shoved his cheating in the face of the opposition, then and only then would the umpire be called in to inspect.
How then are we to react to cases such as tonight? Where the infraction was expertly crafted and deployed with such care that Sherlock Holmes himself would be unable to penetrate the subterfuge?
Tip your cap. That’s what Holmes would do. And that what the Yankees did, to their credit. So impressed with the Red Sox superior character and sportsmanship, the Yankees gave up their remaining at bats for strike outs in deference. Only the incompetence of John Lackey checked the total at 14.
The box score says the final was 5-1 to the Red Sox, but who can really measure the difference between angels and demons?
Oh, if only Pineda held the innocence of that child ...
This is gonna be a long, long season, isn't it...
Coffee Joe had the perfect opportunity to do his uncanny Geogre Brett imitation tonight. But he blew it.
Also, Michael Pineda said that was just dirt.
[3] I agree. His reaction seemed too mellow to me. I hope he's going to be all over the Sox pitchers now, checking for illegal substances.
BTW, I posted this (below) on the other thread, may I post again?
Cheating is banded about too much in this game. For example, why doesn't a player get tossed for pretending to catch a ball that he really trapped? That is cheating in every sense of the word.
Repeat for me too from the game thread: This team lacks veteran leadership since A-Rod went away.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/46411/pinedas-pine-tar-opens-up-can-of-worms
Hm.
So, does anyone have an explanation for whether there is an "unwritten rule" among managers or not? If there isn't, why hasn't any manager got an opposing pitcher tossed before? And if there is, why did Farrell break it?
Hmmm, the site goes down on the day Pineda gets ejected? I'm blaming the Red Sox. Let the rivalry continue! Screw Farrell, put the microscope on every Red Sox pitcher. And plunk Big Poopi.
After reading Girardi's comments I'm inclined to think the kid is just dopey and dumb not arrogant or at all sinister. He gets a pass from me but this is obviously strike two because the consequences of his goof aren't slight for the team.
9) He is going to be studied gong forward, and every station but Yes will be trying to catch Pineda now. It was dumb as he got away with it last week, and was basicly daring the Sox to say something.
He should go into his next game without any help, and just go high and tight to a few hitters. A little lack of control will keep people from digging in on him, and can be even more effective.
Bucholtz is going to go in there with nice dry hair next time they face each other.
[10] If it's really to help in the cold weather, that issue should dissipate soon in any case.
If they insist on playing night games in the early season up North then they have to figure a way for the pitchers to get a feel for the baseball legally. Pineda seems like a nice kid.