Look, I have no doubt that the Michael Pineda can be a success in the Bronx. But we haven’t even gotten to spring training and it’s been decided that the Yankees got a Cy Young pitcher. Let’s just get him on the field, in pinstripes and mixing it up with guys like CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova and watch the guy work. No doubt he will do great, but let’s go baby steps, it's exciting and I don't want to blow it.
In 2011, Pineda was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA. He also had 173 strikeouts and only walked 55. The biggest concern is he hits a wall in the second half, and as one of our writers, Jesse Schindler has stated, it’s going to happen with a young kid. It’s now Larry Rothschild job to get his hands on him and balance him out. It can be done and if it’s done right, expect a dominant 1, 2 punch for sure in CC and Pineda. 1 big difference between the well promoted 1, 2, punch of 2009 of CC and AJ Burnett and this potential 1, 2 punch…Pineda is young enough to be fixed if needed, and AJ Burnett was already established as a good pitcher but add in some inconsistency. It’s hard to snap out of something you’ve been doing for so long, and while Rothschild worked with AJ and fixed him a bit, he seems to always fall back into bad habits. That's what I think any way.
Once the Yankees and Mariners made the trade official, Michael Pineda said this about the whole ordeal:
“I’m feeling great and I’m beyond excited. I never thought I would become a New York Yankee so early into my career. This is the best thing in the world...Pitching alongside CC Sabathia, I’m speechless. And playing alongside players such as Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter is unbelievable.”
Read it all HERE. Pineda already sounds like a New York Yankee. You know, you see players come and go in the Bronx all the time. Some have press conferences, some don’t but you always remember the players that are grateful and honored to be in pinstripes and their willingness to get on the field, feel wanted by the fans and want to win a championship.
Pineda fits that mold… Johnny Damon was so excited to be in pinstripes and he fit that mold. Someone like Rafael Soriano...didn’t. He looked like a Mexican drug boss who was just captured by authorities. You know when they prance out their captured drug bosses in cuffs for the world to see? Soriano looked like that... nervous and worried. 
Granted, Soriano molded into a team player for the Yankees in 2011, much to my surprise and I liked what he offered down the stretch, but you can see potential at those press conferences and meetings with the new players and Pineda has it and to tell you the truth, it’s exciting.
Most of us will try and follow Jesus Montero in Seattle the best we can. Many of us wanted to see true dominance from him in the Bronx as he developed, but that won’t happen. Montero will turn into a cult figure to us, on another coast, probably having a decent career. All we can do is stick with our New York Yankees, and that’s just fine with me, because one thing’s for sure; The New York Yankees did what they needed to do to improve. And now that we’ve done it, there’s only one thing left to do… go out and kick some ass as we start our journey to #28...
I can almost taste it.
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