Pineda In Camp Early

(Photo courtesy of the NY Daily News)

At this rate, there isn't going to be anybody to report on Sunday when the Yankees are supposed to "officially" open Spring Training.  Yesterday, newly acquired starter Michael Pineda arrived in Tampa to begin his spring work.

Anthony McCarron reported that Pineda is already forming a strong friendship with Robinson Cano, and Pineda said he's looking forward to working with CC Sabathia.  Being a guy who has made the transition from hard thrower to polished pitcher, Sabathia is the perfect resource for Pineda to use to improve his repertoire as he matures.  And he doesn't seem like he's going to waste any time getting to work on that, as McCarron also reported that Pineda said he plans to work on his changeup in camp.  I think that's a damn good place to start when you're working with the kind of heater that Pineda is.

For the sake of comparison, when I turned 23 I spent the majority of my time going out in downtown Milwaukee, getting near blackout drunk, and making out with almost all of my buddy from work's chick friends, so this is exactly the type of stuff you want to see and hear from a young pitcher like Pineda.  He's in camp early, he knows what he has to work on, and even a small improvement in his change will be incredibly beneficial to Pineda's development and a positive omen for his 2012 campaign.

P.S.- Big ups to Ron Antonelli for finally getting a shot of this guy in a Yankee hat.  I was getting tired of using pictures of him in a Mariners uniform.

For more on Pineda's first day in camp, check out this piece that McCarron wrote last night for The Daily News.