“Everybody uses pine tar,” said David Ortiz, one of the hitters who had to face Pineda that night. “It’s not a big deal.”

“I have pine tar on my bat,” said Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “That’s a non-issue.”

“Typically, you’re not trying to be as blatant,” said Red Sox manager John Farrell, a former major league pitcher and pitching coach, after that game. Before Wednesday night’s contest he added, “I would expect that if it’s used it’s more discreet than the last time.”

“I just think you don’t want to flaunt it,” said Boston reliever Chris Capuano.


SI’s own Tom Verducci said it plainly in his column about Pineda in the wake of the Yankee righthander’s ejection for using pine tar Wednesday night:

Wake up, people. It’s already allowed. Nobody enforces the actual rule that is on the books against any and all foreign substances. A small amount of pine tar, shaving lotion and/or sunscreen has always been allowed by the established etiquette of the game. Pitchers are using substances as grip aids and nobody — not even the hitters — has a problem with it.
Again, Verducci’s criticism of Pineda wasn’t that he broke the rule, but that he wasn’t shy about doing so.