Yankees' Pineda on pine tar controversy: 'My hands get sweaty'

By BOB NIGHTENGALE

William Perlma/THE STAR-LEDGER via +USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — It was the controversy that ended in a dud.

Even in New York.

New York Yankees starter Michael Pineda, who dominated the +Boston Red Sox in a 4-1 victory Thursday night, was spotted by the Red Sox’s broadcast team on NESN with a substance on his hand that appeared to be pine-tar.

Surely, he was cheating.

Only Pineda said it was nothing more than dirt.

“My hands get sweaty,” Pineda said. “It was dirt.

“I don’t use pine tar.”

+New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi insists he didn’t see anything unusual. Let alone illegal.

“I really don’t have anything to say on the subject,” Girardi said. “He pitched great, and we’re glad to have him.”

Pineda yielded just four hits and one run in six innings during his Yankee Stadium debut.

Red Sox manager John Farrell said the he became aware of something on Pineda’s hand in the fourth inning, but by the time he got notified, it was too late.

“It was not there,” Farrell said, “by the time I was aware of it.”

Pineda’s hand apparently was wiped clean, and no one from the umpiring crew was asked to check Pineda.

“That was never brought to our attention,” said umpire crew chief Brian O’Nora. “No one said a word.”

When it was mentioned that the TV cameras showed a brown substance on Pineda’s hand, O’Nora said it made no difference.

William Perlma/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

“I can’t comment on it because we’re on the field,” O’Nora said, “and the Red Sox didn’t bring it to our attention. So there’s nothing we can do about it.

“If they bring it to our attention, then you’ve got to do something.But they didn’t bring it to our attention.”

The Red Sox players, in fact, said they were completely unaware of the budding controversy until reporters asked about it after the game.

“Everybody uses pine tar in the league,” Red Sox DH David Ortiz said. “It’s no big deal at all.”

Red Sox catcher A.J. Pierznyski also said that he was unaware that anything funny was going on until notified later by reporters.

“I didn’t see it, sorry,” Pierznyski said. “He threw a good game, and that was it.”

The Red Sox, of course, were accused of doctoring the baseball themselves last season. Clay Buchholz, who started Thursday for the Red Sox, was accused by +Toronto Blue Jays TV analyst Jack Morris last season of throwing spit balls. Jon Lester was shown on TV during the World Series with a green substance on his glove in Game 1, which he later said was rosin. The +St. Louis Cardinals never complained.

Stay tuned.

The Yankees and Red Sox play 18 more times again this season, with another game scheduled Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

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