MLB Spring Training 2012: Michael Pineda and the Second Red Flag for the Yankees

It's only a week into MLB spring training 2012 and Michael Pineda has already thrown up two red flags. The second one came on Monday when Pineda reportedly dodged his after-workout press conference.

I told you about the first red flag when it was reported that Pineda might have come to camp anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds overweight. One bad thing isn't a big deal, but two is the start of a trend.

It was the biggest negative of what was otherwise a good workout for the second-year starter.

ESPN.com's Wallace Matthews spills the beans with great detail about Pineda's latest misstep.

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"Michael Pineda's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he was surrounded at his locker by the 11 intrepid members of the Yankee beat this morning. After all, all he had done was throw some live batting practice to Colin Curtis and Melky Mesa, an "event'' that would have gone largely ignored when he was a Seattle Mariner."

 

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Clearly this type of attention is not the norm for the young righty. Pineda then went on to make a verbal promise to the Yanks' beat writers that was never fulfilled.

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"So instead of discussing his "outing,'' Pineda politely asked for some time to get his head around the concept of a press conference after an early spring workout. He promised he would talk to us "in a few minutes.'' He then disappeared into a circle of teammates and never did return to give his assessment."

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This latest folly from the Yanks' newest acquisition is much more embarrassing because it isn't something that happens everyday. Many baseball players come into camp out of shape (see: Bartolo Colon) and still end up having fine years, so I wouldn't hold that against him.

But the last thing a young pitcher like Pineda would want is to ignore the media. Now it puts even more unnecessary attention on someone who has no desire for it and that will ultimately bring a brighter, hotter spotlight.

New York is the toughest place to play in sports and it takes a different type of person to not only survive the constant onslaught of attention, but to succeed in it as well (see: Derek Jeter).

It appears Pineda has more than just a changeup to work on this spring training. He needs to work on his maturity as well.