Either New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi is just as ignorant as Michael Piñeda or just as complicit in Piñeda's ordeal on Tuesday night.
Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday night that home-plate umpire Gerry Davis ejected Piñeda, the Yankees pitcher, who was 1 2/3 innings into his start against the Boston Red Sox. Davis found pine tar on Piñeda's neck.
The incident came 13 days after Piñeda was pitching against the Red Sox and was accused of having pine tar on his hand but was never questioned by the Red Sox or the umpires. He claimed he had only dirt on his hand.
"He used poor judgment tonight,'' Girardi said, according to USA TODAY Sports. "He feels like he let his teammates down.''
The same could be said for Girardi. At the very least, the Yankees manager failed to have someone make sure Piñeda was clean.
It was suggested after the April 10 incident that Farrell didn't want to start a controversy against the Yankees in their first series of the season and therefore did not summon the umpiring crew. Piñeda denied using a foreign substance.
"My hands get sweaty," Piñeda said, according to USA TODAY's For the Win, after that game. "It was dirt. I don't use pine tar."
According to USA TODAY Sports' report Tuesday night, Piñeda said he had trouble gripping the ball in the first inning against the Red Sox and put the pine tar on the side of his neck before the second inning.
NESN-TV, a television station owned by the Red Sox, zeroed in on the substance on Piñeda's neck and informed the Red Sox clubhouse, which informed Boston manager John Farrell. Farrell said he had no choice but to ask umpires to check Piñeda.
After the first incident, Major League Baseball executive vice president Joe Torre talked to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman about the incident, USA TODAY Sports reported. Cashman and the Yankees warned Piñeda not to use it.
But it's hard to believe that the April 10 incident was the first time Piñeda experimented with pine tar.
And Girardi did nothing to ensure Piñeda played without it. Why he didn't remains a mystery, especially after the brush with pine tar two weeks earlier.
Do you think Joe Girardi should've done more to ensure that Michael Piñeda pitched without pine tar Tuesday night? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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