(The following is being syndicated fromThe Captain’s Blog).
The Yankees have big expectations for Michael Pineda, which is fitting because, at 6’ 7” and 270 pounds, the right hander is a very big man, perhaps too big, according to some early skeptics. Ever since the young right hander reported to camp about 10 pounds overweight by his own estimation, there have been whispers about his conditioning, which have become more audible on the eve of his exhibition debut. Considering the high profile nature of the trade that brought him to the Bronx, such speculation in not particularly surprising.
Is Pineda's waistline a weighty concern? (Photo: Reuters)
Although the media’s skepticism about a young player coming to New York is par for the course, comments from Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi have raised some eyebrows. Just after the trade was completed, Cashman went out of his way to describe Pineda as a work in progress who was in need of a third pitch, and more recently, Girardi stated that only CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda were . That’s hardly the reaction you’d expect from a team unveiling its prized offseason acquisition, but it seems as if the Yankees are more intent on sending Pineda a message than building up his self esteem.
Michael Pineda is a major league pitcher. He proved that last season. Sometimes, however, early success can go to a player’s head, so perhaps the Yankees stern approach is their way of making sure Pineda doesn’t rest on his laurels? If so, you really can’t blame them for being cautious. Recent experiences with Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy suggest that fostering entitlement isn’t the best way to handle young players, so Cashman and Girardi may be hoping to avoid making the same mistake.
The Yankees would not have traded Jesus Montero if they didn’t envision Pineda starting the season in the rotation. And, quite frankly, nothing has happened since the trade to suggest that won’t be the case. However, that doesn’t mean something can’t or won’t occur between now and the end of the spring training to change the team’s thinking.
If Pineda doesn’t go north with the team in April, the circumstances will have to be fairly dramatic. Simply struggling in his spring starts probably wouldn’t be enough to prompt a demotion. But, if he makes little or no progress developing his change-up and comes up lacking in terms of work ethic, the Yankees could opt to send Pineda a wake up call instead of allowing him to endure a nightmarish start to his Yankees career. Under this scenario, the Yankees could opt to send Pineda to the minors to not only round into shape, but tinker with his changeup, a process that would also serve the purpose of limiting his innings, which could be a concern if the team advances deep into the post season. Also, having Freddy Garcia start the year in the rotation could boost his trade value, allowing the Yankees to maximize a return should they decide to deal him upon Pineda’s inevitable return. Considering the beneficial externalities, it’s easier to accept a scenario that would have the Yankees leaving Pineda out of the Opening Day rotation.
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If one of the youngsters falter, Freddy Garcia could take the lead in the competition for the last slot in the rotation.
If the Yankees decided to crack the whip with Pineda, it won’t be because of something inherently wrong with his character. In fact, the hypothetical scenario outlined above could just as easily apply to Phil Hughes or Ivan Nova. With potentially one of the youngest rotations in recent franchise history, the Yankees’ biggest challenge could be managing expectations…not only those of the team and fans, but of the pitchers themselves. If the Yankees’ long-term plans really do include the cultivation of young pitchers, they must be prepared to teach them valuable lessons, and sometimes that has to be done the hard way. So, although Pineda and Nova appear destined to be in the rotation, and even Phil Hughes seems to have an inside track, nothing should be taken for granted. At least, that’s the message the Yankees are trying to send.
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I laughed when I saw one of the linked articles was from the NY Post.
People read WAY too much into what is said around camp. Of course the media sluts know this and feed the villagers whatever they can to keep them rabid.
Nice piece Will. Some of the same folks who were bashing these articles today were the ones saying the same things about Hughes last year, and Montero to a lesser extent. Some people can’t accept that there is a human element to baseball, and it can be even more determinative than someone’s talent level. Character is fate, in baseball and life.
For the readers who are looking for ‘rah rah, go Yanks’ drivel, you may want to look elsewhere for that content. Every player is a collection of strengths and weaknesses, and we encourage critical thinking around here.
Lol
Lol, the only thing keeping Pieneda out of the rotation to start the season is Tommy John surgery. Shocked you would even pay any attention of the coaches speak, about only 2 players having a rotation spot locked up. In fact, all 5 rotation spots are locked up.
The author borrowed a shitty article based on a shitty article based on manager speak. Derrp. Swing and a miss.
The above comments are all very convincing, coherent arguments. Despite their eloquence, I’ll stick to the position that if any of the Yankees’ young arms end the spring both pitching poorly and out of shape, the team will consider leaving them out of the rotation.
Some things really don’t merit convincing coherent counter-arguments. Suggesting Pineda isn’t a lock for the rotation is one of those things.
The Yankees can say whatever they want to make it seem like theres a competition going on or to motivate these guys(though I doubt they are buying in) but it’s all just for show. The rotation is already set.
At least we agree the “counter arguments” above aren’t convincing and coherent. Leaves no reason to consider them further.
It’s also worth noting that you and those commenting above have completely missed the point being made. Pineda and Nova are not in a competition. They don’t have to win their slot. However, they can wind up losing it. If you can’t see why the Yankees would chose to have an out of shape, poor performing 23-year old spend a month in Scranton (ASSUMING that was the case, which is the premise), then I guess it’s easier to ignore what is a reasonable possibility and opt for the laziness of an “LOL”.
I would need an example where a guy like Nova or Pineda have ever been sent to the minor leagues to start a season after coming off of rookie years like last year. I can give alot of examples of fat, out of shape pitchers who make the team. Hughes, Colon, Wells, CC come to mind immediatly. You thinking that there is some way on earth that a healthy Nova or Pineda start the year in AAA is shit like posters on MLB.com would say.
If you really need proof, just look at Hughes last year. He came to camp out shape, lazy and had no fastball. Started the season in the rotation while being badly out pitched in ST by Colon.
Exactly…look at Hughes last year. The Yankees made a mistake, so it’s easy to understand why their philosophy may have changed. Once you get past knee jerk emotion, it’s not hard to come up with a set of circumstances whereby the Yankees would use their glut of starters to send a small message, if needed. Otherwise, why would Girardi and Cashman both feel the need to make such provocative comments? My guess is because there is a small grain of truth in them. Hopefully, we never find out, because as I mentioned, the scenario would have to be extreme.
Again you miss the point, Hughes still never went to AAA, he went to the DL and when he came back wasnt very good and still didnt get sent down. Again, this is just coach speak done to keep up the illusion of competition in meaningless ST games. lol no idea why I’m arguing in such a stupid thread. This is it though, I’m done, I mean it.
Pineda’s slider showed some real bite to it today. So long as Pineda remains confident in both his plus pitches (FB & slider), he’ll “stick” in the rotation and avoid a two week trip to Scranton. Cant wait to watch Pineda’s next start. The development of the changeup is something to watch, but Pineda is going to feast on all the too-aggressive hitters for a good month who just wont have that timing down to drive that FB.
His slider is certainly a beast of a pitch, watching him last year it was one of the best sliders in baseball visually. The impressive thing is his command, for such a tall, power throwing, young starter he has an incredibly advanced feel for his mechanics and control. It probably helped him a lot that he had a growth spurt from around 6’3 or 6’4 to 6’7 while in the Mariners system. Even in his first start of the year today, when it would be acceptable for him to be wild, he still had a great ability to hit the glove.
He also flashed a couple of good changeups today. With his velocity it doesn’t have to be the best change in the world, he just has to throw it with the same arm angle and arm speed as the fastball and he’ll be fine.
I love the fact that his slider is such a weapon, but the Yanks are right to lean on him to develop a change. Its a weapon facing lefties, and pitchers that rely too heavily on the slider often wind up in Dr Andrews office getting TJS. Liriano and Joba come immediately to mind. He already hurt his elbow once in 09.
I think Pineda needs to get more credit in his willingness and want to develop a changeup. I always read the team is doing the right thing forcing him to develop a third pitch, but it’s clearly something he wants to develop and something he knows he needs. No one is forcing this upon him, he clearly is and has been working hard on this. I read today about a meeting Martin and Pineda had before today’s games, how he specifically addressed wanting to throw as many changes as possible in his two inning window.
My point is I don’t think Pineda is the kind of kid who wants to get by on what he did last year, he already has dismissed much of his success last year as luck and having never been seen before. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and knows he needs to keep developing to reach his potential, which isn’t always the case with a young, talented kid, who dominated the league the way he did last year.
It’s a different subject somewhat but I’m still not sure of the connection between a slider and TJS. There is some solid circumstantial evidence to support it, the same with the dreaded “inverted W”, but neither has been proven to cause injury without a doubt. Plenty of pitchers have and still do rely on the slider without injury, just as many pitchers have and still do pitch with an inverted W and never get hurt. I think genetics and luck play a much bigger role than pitch selection or mechanics, though it would be silly for me to dismiss those two altogether. I’m just not 100% on the exact nature of the link between those things and injury. Adam Wainwright for instance threw a slider 19% or more of the time in each of the 07, 08 and 09 seasons, yet didn’t throw one slider in 2010. So is his TJS in ST of 2011 because of the sliders he threw from 07-09? If so why didn’t he have the injury until a full year after he stopped throwing the pitch altogether?