A Possible Explanation For Pine Tar On The Neck Of Yankees' Pineda

Michael Pineda looks pretty stupid right now.  After all, he used pine tar--blatantly--for the second time, against the same team. He did it after that team--and, at least one other--publicly declared they would watch him closely for signs of it, or for any other form of cheating in the future.

Definitely not the sharpest tool in the box.

Or, is he?

A few minutes after Pineda left the field in disgrace, something interesting--to me, at least--came to mind.  I posted my thoughts about it on Twitter:

Pineda's thinking must have been: "As dark as I am, they'll never know the difference!" #Yankees #RedSox
— Bernadette Pasley (@LadyWriting) April 24, 2014

Now, before you curse the screen and vow never to read this blog again, keep in mind that I, myself, am a dark-skinned woman, though perhaps slightly lighter than Michael Pineda.

In any case, I don't think it's a stretch to believe that Pineda felt his dark skin was camouflaging the pine tar.

His mistake may simply have been to forget about today's technology: HDTV, multiple camera angles and high-tech lighting.  Had Pineda tried this five or ten years ago, he might just have gotten away with it.

So, Michael Pineda looks pretty stupid, right now. But, perhaps, not that stupid.