Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez Diagnoses Yankees’ Michael Pineda

Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez may have the fix to Michael Pineda‘s mind-boggling mediocrity. It would be wise of Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild to regurgitate Martinez’s advice during Pineda’s next bullpen session.

Will we one day find ourselves in a magnanimous world, in which Pedro Martinez deserves a “thank you” from Yankees fans?

In his heyday, Martinez had a hard-nosed playing style that got under the skins of every New York Yankees enthusiast. However, the former seven-year Red Sox ace has given a valuable two cents that could go a long way in sharpening Michael Pineda’s effectiveness.

If there is a sudden turn-around in the right-hander’s results, well, it may be the villainous Pedro who ultimately saved the day.

"“I’ve seen Pineda [pitch] a lot. [He needs to] trust his fastball more,” said Martinez during a live look-in of Monday’s Yankees-Mariners game on MLB Network."

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Martinez added that Pineda flashes his slider too often and early in games, recommended decreasing its usage, and criticized the right-hander for not having another go-to pitch.

Pedro served 18 years in the majors, logged 2,827 1/3 frames, had a career 10.0 K/9 ratio and was selected to eight All-Star squads. On July 26, 2015, he was immortalized into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Red Sox legend be damned, if this man offers you advice specifically tailored to your approach, you best listen.

Besides, his analysis is 100% correct. When Pineda’s slider is off, his entire game crumbles. He essentially is rendered a fastball pitcher, because like the struggling Luis Severino, Pineda doesn’t seem to trust his changeup.

The look-in captured Pineda fooling around with sliders while behind in the count to Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager during the fourth inning. Seager, knowing Pineda had to come with a fastball on 3-0, grooved a 95-mph meatball over the center field wall. The runners that were on first and second trotted home easily, and the Yankees’ 2-0 lead became a 3-2 deficit.

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Gary Sanchez and Starlin Castro, who muscled two homers a piece, provided New York’s entire offense. Their four blasts put the Yankees up, 5-3, through the top of the sixth.

But continued struggles in the bottom-half thwarted victory for Pineda and the Yanks. With one out and two on, manager Joe Girardi opted for a tandem of Tommy Layne and Anthony Swarzak to bust the M’s rally.

Southpaw Layne went one-and-done after Adam Lind popped out weakly for the second out. Then, Swarzak did what he does best and conceded a three-run shot — hit by Mike Zunino — that put the Yankees behind the eight ball for good.

That makes 10 homers Swarzak has given up in 29 innings this season.

The two runners he inherited counted toward Pineda’s final line. Five earned runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings Monday pushed Pineda’s ERA to 5.02, which is 76th-worst among 85 qualified starters.

In the eyes of Pedro Martinez, Pineda’s over-usage of the slider is undermining his own ability. Per FanGraphs, Pineda uses a changeup only 8.1% of the time, while the slider (40.2%) nearly rivals the fastball (51.7%) in appearance. Nearly every other pitch Pineda throws is a slider.

Any major-league hitter will track a pitch effectively with exposure, and they are seeing Pineda better than ever this season. Hitters have smacked him around for a career-high 86.2 contact percentage on pitches within the strike zone.

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Maybe a little advice from an arch-nemesis and a repertoire renovation could shape Pineda into the ace Yankees fans have been (im)patiently waiting for. 2017 will be his last year with the team barring an unforeseen extension. How he pitches from now until then will determine whether he is begged to return or shoved out the door.