Sunday, January 22, 2012

Michael Pineda's First Interview As A "Yankee"

"I'm Not Scared"


Christian Red of the NY Daily news traveled to the Dominican Replublic recently and interviewed the soon to be Yankee Michael Pineda, his first time being interviewed since being traded to the Yankees. I say "Yankee" because the trade is not official yet, pending physicals. If you want to read the whole write up you can read it HERE, but I wanted to skim and just hit the high notes. 

Pineda , when talking about the team that he will soon be playing for:

“It’s a tremendous team, with good pitching. It’s very exciting for me — for the first time in my life, I’ll have the pleasure of playing with Alex Rodriguez, a huge star, and Derek Jeter, one of the most well-known players ever. And Mariano Rivera, (Robinson) Cano, (Mark) Teixeira, Rafael Soriano,” Pineda says in Spanish, his voice trailing off as he sifts through the Yankees’ roster. “I never thought in my life that I would be in this situation.”

Pineda, when asked if he was scared to pitch for the Yankees:

“I’m not scared. I’m always focused, working very hard every day,” says Pineda, whose gold earring spelling his name sparkles in the late-evening sunlight. “I don’t think about anything else on game days. I’ve never pitched in New York or at Yankee Stadium, but I’m dying to. We’ll see what happens. I’m going to work very hard to do my job.”

There is much more but if you want to read it then check it out on the Daily News link , again, HERE

Pineda sounds like he is excited to be a Yankee and almost grateful to be a Yankee. That is the kind of people that we need on the team, players that want to be here and not just simply collect a paycheck. Once his number situation is resolved, because he wore #36 in Seattle which is currently occupied by Sweaty Freddy Garcia, I fully intend on purchasing a Pineda jersey.

Welcome to New York Michael.