The Yankees And Pineda: A Classic Case Of Enabling Poor Behavior

The Yankees, unlike their knack and ability to develop position players, have not been able to do the same when it comes to their pitching talent. The gobble ’em up and spit ’em out as if they were sunflower seeds. Except for one pitcher who has them bamboozled.

The Yankees made no mistakes when they developed Derek Jeter as a young talent. And they are following the same game plan now with Gleyber Torres. A long list could follow going all the way back to when Casey Stengel brought Mickey Mantle under his wings, moving him from shortstop to centerfield where he eventually morphed into a Yankee legend.

But for some reason, their track record with pitching talent falls more into the opposite category in which they gobble up talent and spit it out with one story of failure after another. The Yankees do fine when they inherit a pitcher who needs nothing from them. Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera come to mind, for example, as two guys who had it all figured out before they even became a Yankee.

The Yankees run their business when it comes to players, and especially pitchers, like parents who bring four children into the world, and the one that needs the most attention gets the least

But on the other side is a long list of team failure with pitchers, all of whom had what’s referred to as “live arms” and untapped potential. Joba Chamberlain, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, and Ivan Nova all fit the bill of this conversation. And in 2017, Michael Pineda trumps them all, and Luis Severino is not far behind.

To illustrate, let’s take a closer look at Joba Chamberlain, who was rushed through the Yankees organization in record time. Possessing what was then blazing speed with a 95 mph fastball, Chamberlain had the Yankees dreaming of him as the second coming of Roger Clemens.

The trouble was, though, that he was unrefined as an athlete and as a person. You might even have characterized him as not being the sharpest tool in the shed based on his behavior at times.

Chamberlain, for instance, once thought it would be a good idea to bounce on the trampoline he had installed in his backyard – alone. As luck would have it, he fell and lay on the ground for hours, near death until a neighbor stumbled upon him. The Yankees response was to merely shake their heads as if to say, “Boys will be boys.” They did little to help him grow up, though.

In fact, they further stilted his growth by doing an Adam Warren on him. One day he was starting, the next night he was a reliever, and a week later he was making a spot start with no assurance that he would start again in five days.

Warren gives the appearance that he can handle it. In fact, he says he welcomes the uncertainty of his role with the team. Chamberlain, however, could not take care of it. And worse, the Yankees knew he wasn’t handling it, any yet, they did nothing to correct the mess they had created.

The Yankees finally allowed Chamberlain to pursue free agency and he bounced around with other teams for a while, most notably the Tigers where he almost made it back. Eventually, though, he was released and forced out of baseball when no other team would take a chance on revitalizing a career that for Chamberlain in his early thirties.

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The Hughes and Burnett stories are similar but only in the sense of the disinterest on the part of the Yankees help them in overcoming their inability to pitch up to their full potential.

Now before you even think it, let me say it. The Yankees are not running a nursery school. And they don’t keep (as far as I know) a full-time psychiatrist on call or in the dugout. And you can argue that they, and possibly all teams, should have one on duty, but that’s a matter for another day.

But to me, the Yankees run their business when it comes to players, and especially pitchers, like parents who bring four children into the world, and the one that needs the most attention gets the least. And then, they kick him out of the house when he gets arrested for the second time at age 18.

The Yankees Enabling Of Michael Pineda

Which brings us to the most intriguing and convoluted case of Michael Pineda. It’s interesting because, unlike any of the instances mention before in situations like this, in the case of Pineda, the Yankees have bent over backward giving him a chance after chance. And it’s not like we’re talking about yesterday. Pineda came to the Yankees in 2012!

The Yankees had their first look at Pineda when he reported to Spring Training following the trade with Seattle overweight. He said it was ten pounds, but Brian Cashman said it was 20. Not a good impression and that’s how things started.

From there it got worse when Pineda was arrested while speeding through Tampa at 3:00 in the morning. He was charged with DUI and released on bail. No “charges” were brought forth by the Yankees, and the enabling of his behavior was now in full swing.

Speed forward to the day when Pineda thought it would be a good to put some war paint on his neck while he was pitching. Only it was pine tar and not paint. Pineda gets caught red-handed and is thrown out of the game. The Yankees, not Pineda, suffer the embarrassment. Once again, there are no repercussions brought forth by the Yankees on Pineda.

Speed forward again to the other day when Pineda makes his first start of the season and exhibits the most unprofessional behavior that I’ve ever seen by a pitcher on the mound. It occurred when he turned his back on his catch, Gary Sanchez, who’s walking out to settle him down to prevent further damage to what is already a disaster in the making.

Then to add insult to injury, Pineda keeps looking into the dugout at Joe Girardi as if he’s almost in tears and crying, “Please take me home, Daddy.” Girardi complies, Pineda gets his way, the Yankees do nothing except to pencil him in for another start on Monday at the Stadium for the home opener. You can’t make this stuff up.

Yankees: Where’s Their “Downright Nasty” Starting Pitcher

The Yankees starting staff lacks someone like a Roger Clemens, who can intimidate and dominate a lineup in the same way as a Syndergaard.

I don’t know where this all ends, but I’m tired of writing and reading about it. Damn tired of it as a matter of fact. What say you, Yankees brass?

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