Yankees: The best pitchers in the game will themselves to win

The Yankees lost a nail-biter last night, but they won a whole lot more as one of their “problem pitchers” has clearly turned the corner and is well on the way to being one of the fiercest competitors in the game today.

Yankees starter Michael Pineda was tagged with the loss last night, coming out on the short end of the stick against the hottest pitcher in baseball, Dallas Keuchel. But Pineda’s demeanor on the mound spelled “winner,” as did the fact that he threw 67 of his 98 pitches for strikes and every one of those pitches had a purpose.

For too long, Pineda has worn the label of being an enigma, the young hulk of a man who had all the talent in the world that he kept hidden somewhere in a shell waiting to hatch. Finally, now, he’s broken through that shell with an attitude and presence on the mound that displays only one thing – he’s become a major league pitcher who’s capable of willing himself to win.

His opponent last night, Keuchel, could have pitched all night if his body allowed it. His body language displayed the kind of confidence that said, “Hey, this is fun. Here it is, see if you can hit it”. Masahiro Tanaka has that same presence on the mound, seeking perfection on every pitch, exhibiting a will to win that matches his talent.

“The brain gets in the way – yet the brain makes the game.”

Pineda has yet to reach the level of either of these pitchers, but at least now, he is on his way in having a chance to match that level. For Pineda personally, the turnaround couldn’t have come at a better time, in his walk year, when he becomes a free agent at the end of this season.

And for the Yankees, and most notably, Joe Girardi, it means that the team can count on him to provide six or seven robust and competitive innings that give the team a chance to win, as they had last night in a game that was decided on the final play in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The secret life of pitchers

My subscription to Atlantic magazine paid off this month as there appears a compelling article titled, The secret life of pitchers. Written poetically by Will Leitch, the general thrust of his thinking is that “baseball is more about the mind, and the soul, than the body.”

And within the game of baseball, nothing compares to a pitcher standing on the mound alone, with all eyes on him, until he releases the ball. Leitch explains it better:

"A pitcher throwing to a batter is the most elemental event in baseball: Nothing can happen until the pitcher releases the ball. All the fielders, all the base runners—they’re just bystanders like the rest of us. The drama out there on the field can’t compare with the drama going on between those two men, one poised to pitch and the other to hit, each trying to outsmart the other"

Not every human being is capable of handling the stress that accompanies what is described above. And the annals of baseball are filled with stories about pitchers who have had all the talent in the world but have ultimately failed because it’s a game of mind over matter.

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Do you recall, for instance, the phenom pitcher, Rick Ankiel, who was once described as the next Sandy Koufax? And then on one day in October 2000, he “lost it” in just one inning, throwing nothing but wild pitches in a critical postseason game against Greg Maddux and the Atlanta Braves. And just like that, a career as a pitcher was ended only because Ankiel had lost that “edge” that is so necessary for a pitcher to have.

In his autobiography titled The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch That Changed My Life, written with Tim Brown, Ankiel can recall the exact moment that pitching a baseball became a game of mind over matter. Andruw Jones was the batter:

"Everything was fine. I wasn’t tired. Not too hot, not too cold … Head was clear. No thoughts of anything other than a curveball, so natural there’d be no need to consider the mechanics of it."

But then, as Leitch reports, He released the pitch a little late. Just a little late, but it went awry, a wild pitch, far away from the catcher, Carlos Hernández. “I stood near the front of the mound and watched all of it happen, sort of curious.”

Ankiel would, of course, try to revive his career as a position player. Leitch explains why this way: “Ankiel loved being at bat because for him, the task was reactive rather than proactive; he just saw the ball and hit it.” Which, of course, is the direct opposite of that he was tasked to do as a pitcher.

Bringing it all back home

Michael Pineda almost had that moment when he could have lost it all earlier this season when it appeared that he had lost the ability to be proactive as a pitcher. It was during his first start of the season against Tampa Bay when he managed only 3.2 harrowing innings in which he could be seen wandering around the mound after every pitch.

And at the same time, looking into the dugout with an expression that begged, “Joe, please get me outta here.” Girardi gave in.

In Off Speed: Baseball, Pitching, & the Art of Deception, the reporter Terry McDermott quotes Hank Aaron saying, “The pitcher has got only a ball. I’ve got a bat. So the percentage of weapons is in my favor, and I let the fellow with the ball do the fretting.” (Leitch)

Yankees: Sorry Derek, but the 25 guys in the dugout own the night

The Yankees have 25 guys in the dugout right now who have a better fit to own Sunday night, instead of Derek Jeter. Nevertheless, the show will go on.

Pineda was fretting that day. But not anymore. Because as Leitch points out, “The brain gets in the way – yet the brain makes the game.” Pineda’s brain is no longer getting in the way, and that’s nothing but good news for the Yankees.