SPORTS

Michael Pineda won't be punished by MLB for substance

Brian Heyman
bheyman@lohud.com

Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda will not be punished for having this foreign substance on his hand during Thursday night's win over Boston.

NEW YORK – Michael Pineda was still sticking to his dirty story Friday to explain that shiny brown spot on the palm of his pitching hand seen during his brilliant start Thursday night against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees' right-hander reiterated that he put dirt on his hand because it was very sweaty. Of course, after seeing the TV and photographic evidence, the speculation ran rampant that the shiny area was from pine tar to improve his grip on the ball, a foreign substance that's supposed to be a no-no. Then pictures came out of the same type of thing from his first start in Toronto.

But Pineda doesn't have to worry about being suspended by MLB over the Boston game.

"The umpires did not observe an application of a foreign substance during the game and the issue was not raised by the Red Sox," Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Joe Torre said in a statement to the Associated Press. "Given those circumstances, there are no plans to issue a suspension, but we intend to talk to the Yankees regarding what occurred."

Torre indeed spoke to Brian Cashman, and the general manager then pronounced it "a resolved issue." Manager Joe Girardi said he spoke to Pineda, but not about this issue.

"I don't talk to pitchers about that, like, 'Do you use or don't you use?' " Girardi said. "I mean, this is not a recreational drug. So I don't talk to people about that.

"I'm aware. I've been on teams where I've seen it. I'm 99 percent sure that I know of guys on other teams that use it, and I just haven't said anything. So will we talk to Michael? If we did, I wouldn't tell you anyway."

Boston manager John Farrell said the substance was gone by the fifth inning.

"Everybody does it," Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino said. "It's an unwritten rule in the game. I'm sure a lot of pitchers do it. Last night, it was obvious."

But should the written rule be changed to allow pitchers to better deal with hot or cold conditions?

"The way we're addressing rules now, I think we could address that and get some clarity on it," Girardi said. "It would probably be helpful."

Injury update: Girardi said he expects Mark Teixeira to return from his hamstring strain by May 1, but Cashman wouldn't commit to that timetable and said the same thing about David Robertson returning from his groin strain.

Brendan Ryan is doing light baseball activities now in his comeback from back trouble, but Cashman said the backup shortstop wouldn't return until sometime after May 1.

Twitter: @bheyman99