Yankees' Pineda sorry, says pine tar incident won't happen again

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 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. He was suspended 10 games by MLB on Thursday.

"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.

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.''

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