Red Sox would like Pineda to be less 'blatant'

NEW YORK -- If Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda wants to improve his grip on a cold night, the Red Sox essentially feel he should do what he needs to make that happen. But they do feel he could try to hide it a little more.

There were screen shots all over the Internet on Thursday of what appeared to be pine tar on the palm of Pineda's right hand in the early innings of his start against the Red Sox.

"Last night, to me, in my opinion, that was a little too overboard and a little blatant," said Shane Victorino, who didn't play in the game because he's on the 15-day disabled list. "But again, I didn't play in the game, so I'm not going to sit here and critique the situation.

"All I know is that it was obvious and I sure think Pineda is a good pitcher. I still give him credit for being a great pitcher. Beyond that, last night was a little obvious. Whatever the league does, the league does."

"Well, again, I think if a pitcher is going to use some additive to gain a grip, you'd like to think it would be a little bit more discreet," said manager John Farrell.

But Farrell also reiterated that whatever was on Pineda's hand likely had nothing to do with the result of Thursday's game, a 4-1 loss by the Red Sox.

"We're more focused on what we need to do offensively to get going rather than taking anything away from his abilities," said Farrell.