Pineda says power in his arm will come back
Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda warms up against the Atlanta Braves. (March 10, 2012) Credit: AP
TAMPA, Fla. -- Michael Pineda said not to worry.
The velocity is coming.
"I have more," Pineda said after allowing one run and five hits in five innings Sunday against the Tigers. "The power will come back."
The 23-year-old righthander, who walked two and struck out four, hit 94 mph and sat mostly at 90 to 92.
Pineda said he "learned" from spring training last year, when he came out throwing 95 to 97 and continued to do so throughout the first half of the regular season. Then his velocity decreased in a disappointing second half.
He said he threw his fastball and slider too hard too soon last year and it cost him. This year, the focus has been on throwing his slider at a variety of speeds and developing his changeup.
"I understand ," Pineda said. "But I feel good."
And he pitched -- in the truest sense of the word -- that way, according to Russell Martin and Joe Girardi.
"I thought he was a guy who threw hard and had a nasty breaking ball," Martin said of his impressions before catching Pineda in spring training. "He knows how to pitch."
Said Girardi: "It's a little surprising that he has an idea of what he wants to do, that he can make his slider bigger when he wants to and he can change it from righthanders to lefthanders a little bit. It is surprising for a kid his age."
Martin said Pineda can win without a few ticks extra on his fastball, but he added that when the real games begin, he expects the velocity to increase. "I'm not too concerned with it," Martin said. "He's 94 now. You can add a couple miles per hour when the competition gets a little more heated."
Pineda lowered his ERA from 3.97 to 3.31, the latest pitcher in the rotation battle to make Girardi's decision a tough one.
"You look at track record, you look at what the guys did for you last year, you look at the way you see the ball coming out of their hand," Girardi said of some of the factors he'll consider. "And I've always said we're not really going to see who fits in the bullpen better . . . Those are the things you look at and kind of what your gut's telling you about what you're watching with your eyes.
"It's not going to be an easy decision, I can tell you that."
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