Sour grapes on Girardi’s part or nah?
As the details surrounding ‘pine tar-gate’ continue to unfold following Michael Pineda’s suspension for using the banned substance, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi has come out swinging.
After Girardi took it upon himself to physically turn the perched ESPN camera off the tunnel in the dugout after Pineda’s ejection from the game in the second inning, Girardi wants to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Dugout cameras are standard in games, but the tunnel of the dugout, especially whilst players are having meetings with coaches and other staff are kept away from the public’s eyes.
Pineda was talking with pitching coach Larry Rothschild and trainer Steve Donahue, when an angered Girardi turned the camera away. Girardi became very defensive on the topic when asked about his ‘meltdown’ on the innocent piece of equipment:
“I think MLB is going to have a problem with ESPN going into the tunnel,” Girardi said. “I didn’t break the camera. I just kept it from going into the tunnel. You guys are acting like I ripped it apart.”
“If I’m going to get fined for that, I’ll have a real problem with that,” he said. “If I really was going to tear up the camera, I would have tore it up. I was just trying to get it from being in the tunnel.”
The team is now investigating ESPN for their use of the dugout cameras in the tunnel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7CQ4ucJfBI
[NYPost]
