BOSTON — There’s gamesmanship, there are unwritten rules, and then there’s just utter stupidity. The Red Sox showed Wednesday night that they have extreme tolerance for the first two qualities and very little patience for the third. They won’t suffer fools gladly.
On this chilly evening, John Farrell turned into Popeye, who frequently exclaimed, “That’s all I can stands! I can’t stands no more!”
Less than two weeks after he defended the honor of Michael Pineda, the Red Sox’s manager dropped a dime on the Yankees’ resurgent right-hander and got him a second-inning ejection. Consequently, Pineda likely is looking at a suspension — the guess here is between eight and 10 games — for being caught with pine tar on his neck, of all places.
“Given the last time we faced him, I felt like it was a necessity to say something,” Farrell said after the Red Sox prevailed, 5-1, over Pineda and the Yankees. “I fully respect on a cold night, you want to get a little bit of a grip. But when it’s that obvious, something has got to be said.”
“When you put it out there for the whole world to see, it’s tough,” Red Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. “But I know John didn’t want to go out there. It’s tough for him. It puts him in a bad spot. At some point, the rules are the rules, and you’ve got to do what you can.”
This did not constitute a risk-free proposition, as the Red Sox have opened the door to Joe Girardi calling for a Boston pitcher — perhaps the suspected Clay Buchholz — to get checked. Farrell conceded and explained: “[I’m] well aware of what the thought across the field might be, that there may be more of a willingness to have our guys checked. But again, I think there’s an accepted level of some additive used to gain a grip. I just felt like, in the two starts that we’ve had against Pineda, that’s been a little bit above that.”
About 3 ¹/₂ hours before he performed baseball’s version of a citizen’s arrest, Farrell said this about Pineda and his usage of pine tar: “I would expect if it’s used, it’s more discreet than the last time.”
The “last time” occurred April 10, when Pineda appeared to have a few goops worth of pine tar on his right hand — he claimed it was dirt — as he dominated the Red Sox in a 4-1 Yankees victory.
Boston saw no signs of trickery in the first, as they teed off on Pineda for two runs and four hits. The second inning, however, proved a different story.
“I’d rather a guy have control of his ball when it’s cold,” Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli said. “But you really can’t do it that way.”
Hence Farrell’s action with two outs in the second, with a 1-and-2 count on Grady Sizemore.
“There seems to be some pine tar on his neck,” he told crew chief Gerry Davis, according to Farrell, “and that’s where I’d like you to take a look.”
“Look, everyone has something,” Pierzynski said. “Catchers have pine tar on their shin guards all of the time. It’s not a big deal. But as long as it’s not blatant.”
Pierzynski added of Pineda: “Apparently he needs it, and that’s his thing.”
Such is the game’s culture that the Red Sox seemed more saddened than outraged by Pineda’s pathetic attempt at chicanery.
“It’s a shame. Very talented guy,” Boston coach Juan Nieves said. “But it was too blatant, I think.”
“I don’t have a problem with guys that do it,” Pierzynski said. “Put it on your hat, put it on your pants, put it on your belt, put it on your glove. Whatever you’ve got to do.
“But at some point, you can’t do it that blatantly. That’s what the biggest issue was. No one has an issue with him doing it. I think it’s just more the fact that he did it so blatantly.”
Yes, the Red Sox used the word “blatant” quite often in the wake of Pineda’s blatant transgression.
Whether this galvanizes the Red Sox to a higher level of play, or whether it motivates the Yankees to avenge their fallen teammate, we eventually will discover. For now, Pineda found out he can’t rely upon the kindness of opponents anymore.