Yanks Put Pineda Fiasco In Rearview Mirror

Apr 24, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira (25) is congratulated by catcher Brian McCann (34) after hitting a homerun off Boston Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront (not pictured) during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Pineda made himself and the New York Yankees look like a bush league organization with his pine tar debacle on Wednesday. Thursday, however was a new day.

The Yankees came out yesterday with the opportunity to move past this issue or let it bog them down. Joe Girardi was determined to make sure they put their best foot forward.

“I’ve moved on”, said Girardi before Thursday’s game to Richard Justice of MLB.com. It seems his team had too.

Not only did they win, they won big. The 14-5 thrashing of the rival Red Sox allowed the Yankees to breathe a little. The Pineda fiasco is now a thing of the past as opposed to something fans and radio personalities will dwell on for days.

Instead of talking about one player’s idiocy, we can talk about the fact that the Yankees have won five of seven against their nemesis. We can talk about a solid team win. A game where six different Yankees drove in runs. A game that C.C. Sabathia went six strong innings and struck out eight Red Sox. It was an all-around effort for the Yankees. A day after it was all about one player, the Yankees needed it to be about the team.

The quick turnaround shows the 2014 Yankees are not a team that will dwell on a negative episode. Baseball is a long season. The sooner a team can move past a disappointment, the better off they are. Pineda messed up. There are twenty-four other guys on that roster that picked him up Thursday.

The Pineda issue will not be the only letdown this year. The season is young and will be filled with ups and downs. The good teams find ways to pick themselves -along with their struggling teammates- and move on. The best thing about baseball is that whatever happened yesterday, today is a clean slate.