BOSTON — Maybe Michael Pineda can use some pine tar to get a firm grasp on common sense.
Pineda was ejected in the second inning of Wednesday’s Red Sox-Yankees game for having a blob of pine tar on the side of his neck. It was a stupid move by the young pitcher, and one that backed the Yankees’ bullpen into a corner early.
As crazy as it sounds, Pineda’s ejection wasn’t the only noteworthy aspect of Wednesday’s game, which the Red Sox won 5-1. Let’s take a look at all of the important developments.
— Pineda’s ejection obviously was the big story, and an assortment of links can be found throughout this post. It’ll be interesting to see the length of the 25-year-old’s inevitable suspension.
— John Farrell and the Red Sox were more upset about how blatant Pineda was in his pine tar use than they were with him actually using a substance.
— Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he didn’t know Pineda applied pine tar onto his neck and that the pitcher used “poor judgment.”
— Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the organization is “embarrassed” by the pine tar incident.
— Umpire Gerry Davis said Pineda didn’t offer an explanation upon leaving the mound.
— Pineda confessed to the substance being pine tar and apologized.
— Girardi appeared to grow upset when an ESPN camera attached to the visitors’ dugout swiveled to show Pineda walking down the tunnel following the pitcher’s ejection. The Yankees skipper knocked the camera around for a few seconds.
“What frustrated me is the camera’s meant for the dugout, not for the tunnel,” Girardi told reporters after the game. “Michael was already out of the game. What I wanted was I don’t want it down in the tunnel. That’s our private area. It has been clearly stated that that is for the dugout and not for the tunnel and conversations that happen between players and coaches. That was my beef.”
Girardi was asked if he thinks he’ll get fined for wrestling around with the camera.
“If I’m going to get fined for that, I’ll have a real problem with that because I didn’t do anything to hurt the camera,” Girardi said. “The camera’s in my way. There wasn’t one on the other side. The camera’s in my way. That’s where I stand every day. The camera’s in my way.”
— John Lackey was outstanding for the Red Sox. He gave up just one run over eight innings while striking out 11 en route to a victory.
Lackey’s 11 K’s were the most by a Red Sox starter against the Yankees since Tim Wakefield struck out 12 Yankees hitters on Sept. 11, 2005.
— Grady Sizemore snapped an 0-for-13 slump with a leadoff triple in the first inning. He scored Boston’s first run.
— Mike Napoli, who went 3-for-4, extended his career-high on-base streak to 18 games, in which he’s hitting .319 (22-for-69).
— Dustin Pedroia collected two hits and is hitting .417 (10-for-24) during his six-game hitting streak.
— David Ortiz tied Harold Baines for the most games ever as a designated hitter (1,643).
