What To Make Of Michael Pineda

I’ll be the first to admit it. When I first saw that the Yankees acquired Michael Pineda, I got a little excited. I had picked him up the year prior in Fantasy Baseball and he did pretty well for me. In his first 18 starts, he went 8-6 with a 3.03 ERA and 133 K’s. He was named to the All-Star game as a replacement his rookie year. He very well could of, and maybe should have been chosen in the first place.

When I saw that Jesus Montero was part of that Yankee deal… I got a little less excited.

Granted the Yankees needed pitching at the time, and we had a few catchers in the system but, how could they trade away their, at the time top prospect, for a kid that had to yet, really established himself?  If I would have known then what I know now, I would have been a lot more excited.

Basically, the Yankees got Pineda for nothing. Think about it. They sent Montero and Hector Noesi to the Mariners, both of whom are long gone from Seattle. Montero is languishing somewhere in the Orioles system looking for another chance while, Noesi is pitching in Japan after being with the Yankees, Mariners, Rangers, and White Sox.

With all that being said, this piece from Newsday shows the reason why, even with those factors, it’s hard to call this trade a win.

“Give the Yankees credit for the Michael Pineda trade. In essence, they got the big righty from Seattle in 2012 for Jesus Montero, who went from can’t-miss prospect to overweight, twice steroid-suspended bust.

And give the Yankees credit for getting Pineda back on the mound after he missed more than two seasons after serious shoulder surgery. They were patient, and Pineda worked hard to come back from an injury that can often mean the end of a career.

That’s where the credit ends, though, for both player and team.”

After missing 2012 and pitching just 6 games for AAA Scranton in 2013, Pineda won the 5th starter role in 2014. Since that time the Yankees have received a lot of foreplay with very little action. He started the 2014 season off great with a 1.83 ERA in his first four starts.

Of course, within those first four starts, there were the now infamous pine tar incidents.

Over and over we have heard about how Pineda has the “stuff” to be a very successful starter in the Major Leagues. In fact, at times he has shown that he does, at least until there are two outs. This issue has been a problem too long now, and I don’t know what can be done to correct it. Does Larry Rothschild have some kind of magic trick in his pocket to help corral this? He seems to know as much as us fans do, about what can be done.

“Michael might’ve left Larry scratching his head more than anybody else,” manager Joe Girardi said. On whether he personally spent the off season wondering how to get Pineda better, Girardi said: “Offseason, in-season, mid-season. Every season.”

After this season Michael is a free agent and, more than likely will be wearing a new uniform next year if he cannot somehow overcome his 2 out jitters.

I really hope, as I’m sure all of you do, that this can somehow be fixed. Forget 32nd St. the Yankees need a miracle at 161st St.

–Michael Carnesi
BYB Writer
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