New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi is frustrated with ESPN for some of their camera work after Michael Pineda was ejected for having pine tar on his neck Wednesday night. After Pineda was given the boot, he stopped in the tunnel heading toward the clubhouse to talk with team trainer Steve Donohue and pitching coach Larry Rothschild. The exchange was briefly caught on camera.
Girardi thought it was inappropriate that an ESPN camera was filming a player in the tunnel after he had left the game. When he saw where the remote camera was angled, he shoved it so it faced another direction.
“What frustrated me is that the camera is meant for the dugout and Michael was already out of the game so I don’t want it down in our tunnel,” Girardi said, per George A King III of the NY Post. “It’s a private area and it has been clearly stated that it is for the dugout, not for the tunnel and conversations that happen between players and coaches.
“If I was really going to tear up the camera I would have torn it up but I was just trying to get it from being in the tunnel.”
According to the Yankees, Major League Baseball is investigating ESPN’s use of the remote camera. Girardi was asked if he thought MLB would have a problem with him taking it upon himself to turn a camera.
“I think MLB is going to have a problem with ESPN,” he said. “I didn’t break the camera. All I did was keep it from going into our tunnel. You guys are acting like I ripped it apart. The camera worked the rest of the game, didn’t it? All I did was turn it so it was on the field or in the dugout. If I get fined for that I will have a problem with that because I didn’t do anything to hurt the camera.”
You can see why Girardi was angry. ESPN had every right to film Pineda from any angle it wanted while he was on the field or in the dugout, but once you go down the steps and have removed yourself from the game you should be entitled to privacy.
But you know how all of this really could have been avoided? If Pineda chose to hide the pine tar somewhere other than the side of his neck. Yeah, that probably would have been the easiest solution.
H/T LBS tipster David
