New York Yankees News & Rumors: Masahiro Tanaka is Not Committed to His Pitches, Says Pedro Martinez
Pedro Martinez strikes again as the Hall of Fame pitcher took a swipe at New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka anew following the disappointing season debut of the Japanese pitcher.
Martinez, who said earlier this month that Tanaka will eventually undergo Tommy John surgery, said that the Yankees ace pitcher looks not committed to his pitches based on the way he performed during their 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in their season opener on Monday.
Tanaka missed the majority of the 2015 MLB season after sustaining a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The 26-year-old performed well in spring training, but Martinez is convinced Tanaka is pitching in pain and is not committed to throwing his best pitches.
"I've been there. I know that Tanaka is probably at 65 percent," Martinez told MLB.com. "He might be better than a young kid rushed up from the Minor Leagues, but in the end, it's going to come back to bite them. I think Tanaka is not committed to his pitches."
Tanaka, who is playing in the second year of his seven-year deal worth $155 million, kept the Blue Jays scoreless in the first two innings of their match, but Toronto hitters managed to figured his pitches out in the third inning after throwing at a lower velocity than his usual pitches.
According to Martinez, Tanaka, who tallied a 9.00 ERA and surrendered a homerun during their loss in the season opener, looked tentative and was not attacking the strike zone like what he was doing last season before hurting his throwing elbow.
"Tanaka is a guy who's aggressive in the strike zone and attacks the strike zone," Rodriguez said of Tanaka, who surrendered four earned runs in four innings on Monday. "He doesn't look like he's attacking the strike zone."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi thinks otherwise, though, saying that it is still too early to make a judgement on Tanaka's health. He also defended their ace pitcher for throwing at low velocity, saying that the location of every throw is more important.
Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild also came into the defense of Tanaka, saying that the Itami, Japan native does not need to throw mid-90s fastball in order to dominate.
"He didn't do it much last year," Rothschild told reporters when asked if Tanaka should throw mid-90s fastball. "That wasn't really part of his repertoire. I think it's the pitch that you'll see the same as you did last year."
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