Disgruntled Girardi Pushes ESPN Camera Watching Pineda

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

As if he wasn’t upset enough already that his starting pitcher Michael Pineda had just been thrown out of the game, what happened next was the cherry on top of the cake of misery for Joe Girardi and the Yankees. After Pineda was ejected in the second inning against the Red Sox last night for having pine tar on his neck, ESPN cameras followed Pineda into the visitor’s tunnel at Fenway Park, where he was seen talking with pitching coach Larry Rothschild, and trainer Steve Donohue. Noticing the camera was shooting into the tunnel, manager Joe Girardi gave the camera a somewhat violent push to stop the shot. Cameras are only allowed to shoot what’s happening in the dugout, and according to the Yankees, ESPN is currently under investigation by MLB.

“What frustrated me is that the camera is meant for the dugout and Michael was already out of the game so I don’t want it down in our tunnel,’’ Girardi told George A. King III of the New York Post. “It’s a private area and it has been clearly stated that it is for the dugout, not for the tunnel and conversations that happen between players and coaches. “If I was really going to tear up the camera I would have torn it up but I was just trying to get it from being in the tunnel.’’

Asked if he believed MLB would have a problem with him putting his hands on a camera, Girardi said the issue should be with the network and not him. “I think MLB is going to have a problem with ESPN,’’ Girardi said. “I didn’t break the camera. All I did was keep it from going into our tunnel. You guys are acting like I ripped it apart. The camera worked the rest of the game, didn’t it? All I did was turn it so it was on the field or in the dugout. If I get fined for that I will have a problem with that.”

The camera issue is the least of Girardi’s concerns at the moment however, as Pineda has been suspended 10 games by MLB. However, he is only expected to miss one start due to a scheduled off day for the Yankees.