Another ugly outing last night puts Joel Pineiro in danger of losing his spot in the Angels’ rotation and the veteran right-hander hasn’t been able to figure out why he’s struggling, telling Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times:
Pineiro had a 3.84 ERA in 23 starts last season and a 3.90 ERA through 14 starts this year, but he’s coughed up 24 runs in 13 innings during his last four starts as his ERA ballooned to 5.31. Things got so bad last night that manager Mike Scioscia yanked the right-handed Pineiro in the middle of a bases-loaded at-bat against the right-handed Michael Cuddyer, bringing in the left-handed Hisanori Takahashi ... who promptly served up a grand slam on his first pitch.
This is embarrassing. I’m making the team, the staff and myself look bad. I’ve got to turn it around. If it’s going to be like this the rest of the year, it’s going to be a long year for me.
I wish I had an explanation, but I have no idea what’s going on. I’ve tried everything. I’ve seen video, worked on mechanics, thrown in the bullpen. Honestly, the next thing I can do is sacrifice a live chicken.
Pineiro had a 3.84 ERA in 23 starts last season and a 3.90 ERA through 14 starts this year, but he’s coughed up 24 runs in 13 innings during his last four starts as his ERA ballooned to 5.31. Things got so bad last night that manager Mike Scioscia yanked the right-handed Pineiro in the middle of a bases-loaded at-bat against the right-handed Michael Cuddyer, bringing in the left-handed Hisanori Takahashi ... who promptly served up a grand slam on his first pitch.
That speaks to how little confidence the Angels have in Pineiro at this point, but they might have even less confidence in the potential replacements at Double-A and Triple-A being ready to step into the rotation with better results. In the meantime: Joel, leave those chickens alone.