NEW YORK -- Get a grip. Using a suspicious substance for a better hold of the baseball on cool days is not such a sticky situation. Whether its the Yankees Michael Pineda with a mysterious brown goo on his hand, Bostons Jon Lester with a green smudge in his glove or Houstons Josh Zeid spraying something on his forearm before entering a recent game, most major leaguers dont care whether pitchers get a little help -- even though its against the Official Baseball Rules. To some, its preferable. "Its an unwritten rule in the game. Im sure a lot of pitchers do it," Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino said Friday before Boston played the Yankees. "As a hitter, do what you got to do from letting that ball go astray and hitting me in the head. Im fine with that." Ever since pitchers started throwing to batters in the 1800s, theyve looked for an edge -- and it has continued long after doctoring the baseball was banned in 1920. Television cameras caught Pineda with what looked like sticky pine tar on his hand early in the Yankees 4-1 victory over Boston on a cool Thursday night, when the ball could be slick. Red Sox manager John Farrell didnt see a photograph of Pinedas hand until the fourth inning. By the time Pineda came out to warm up for the fifth, his hand was clean and Farrell didnt complain to umpires. "In conditions like last night, its not uncommon for pitchers to try and get a grip in some way," Farrell said. "Were more focused on what we need to do offensively to kind of get going rather than taking anything away from his abilities." Joe Torre, Major League Baseballs executive vice-president of baseball operations, said in a statement Friday that Pineda would not be suspended. "The umpires did not observe an application of a foreign substance during the game and the issue was not raised by the Red Sox," Torre said. "Given those circumstances, there are no plans to issue a suspension, but we intend to talk to the Yankees regarding what occurred." Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman spoke with Torre and said the issue was resolved. Pineda said hadnt spoken with any Yankees management as of early afternoon. Perhaps Farrell didnt say anything because his pitchers have been accused of using something extra. Toronto Blue Jays broadcasters last season thought they caught Clay Buchholz -- who faced Pineda Thursday -- using an illegal substance. During the 2013 World Series opener, Lester was seen on TV with something in his glove. Yankees manager Joe Girardi has never questioned his own pitchers, but he knows what goes on. "I dont talk to pitchers about that: Do you use or dont you use? This is not a recreational drug. I dont talk to people about that," Girardi said. "Im aware. Ive been on teams where Ive seen it. Im 99 per cent sure that I know of other guys on other teams that use it." Rule 8.02 says a pitcher may not apply a "foreign substance" to the ball, and section B of the rule says a pitcher may not have any "foreign substance" in his possession on the mound. The penalty if caught is automatic ejection and suspension. The rule has been applied, perhaps most famously when Twins pitcher Joe Niekro was caught with an emery board and sandpaper in the back pocket of his uniform pants in 1987. He was banned for 10 days. But Victorino agreed, doctoring the ball this way is different than improving ones grip. Dodgers reliever Jay Howell was suspended three days (later reduced to two) for pine tar on his glove in Game 3 of the 1988 NL championship series. For a player to be ejected, he has to be caught. Umpires are obligated to take action if they see a violation or if one is reported to them. Not so easily done. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Victorino each said they have never gone up to the plate and noticed whether a pitcher had something on his hand or uniform. But as camera resolution increases, spotlight has increased on all players. Unlike golf, which has a self-policing policy that allows fans watching at home to point out rules violations, theres no such mechanism in baseball. Challenging the use of an illegal substance is not among the reviewable plays under MLBs new replay system. Baseball executives plan to examine the rules and make changes for 2015, perhaps a path that would allow for a change. For most, though, the problem for Pineda was he was too blatant. "Be discreet," Victorino said. Daniel Sedin Jersey . LOUIS -- The St. Igor Larionov Jersey . 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Todd Bertuzzi Jersey . - On the night Dirk Nowitzki overtook Dominique Wilkins on the career scoring list, Brandan Wright was a human highlight film all by himself.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Baseball Writers Association of America continued to serve as the moral police on Tuesday. First of all, congratulations to the newest electees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as pitchers Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz, all got in on their first time on the ballot, while Craig Biggio enters one year after coming up just two votes shy. There is no question all four deserved to be in and while the general consensus is that this is a good day for baseball, Im not so sure. Yes, Cooperstown will be rocking next July with four people going in, but Im still focused on the guys who did not get in. And I am not even talking about the Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens types. I am talking about the guys who have now been labled steroid abusers without a shred of evidence by the BBWAA. If I had a vote Bonds and Clemens would be on my ballot, but I can at least understand why they are not on others. Someone, though, has to explain to me why Mike Piazza is not in the Hall of Fame. It was ridiculous that he wasnt in last year and its even more absurd that he has to wait for a third ballot. Piazza is the best hitting catcher of all-time. There is no dispute about that. But, the rank and file of the BBWAA has pegged him as someone who may have taken performance-enhancing drugs without any evidence. Piazza was the closest of those not elected and received 69.9 percent of the vote and was 28 votes shy of election. He is going to get in at some point and hes far from the best player not to get elected on his first or even second try. Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar and even Joe DiMaggio were passed over their first time around too. Yes, Joe DiMaggio was not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. This isnt some grass-roots campaign to get Piazza in, I just cant take the fact that people chose not to vote him in because, maybe, just maybe he may have dabbled with PEDs. Although nobody knows for sure. There is no paper trail like there is with guys like Bonds or Clemens. The only red flag for him are the obscene offensive numbers produced by a catcher in an era where the numbers were skewed by the guys we know were using. That and speculation from blogger Murray Chass, who once noted that Piazza had a case of back acne. So, of course, that means he is guilty. Caareer tarnished.dddddddddddd And you can throw Jeff Bagwell into that same mix too. Now if you held a gun to my head and asked me if either of those two guys took PEDs, Id say yes, especially in the case of Bagwell. But a whole lot of other people did in that time, too. Is it the 75-percent that Jose Canseco once claimed? Im not sure, but its probably not far from that number and Id be willing to bet some of them who did take them have already been elected. Remember, the Mitchell Report flat out stated that as far back as 1973 performance enhancing drug use in baseball was alarming. Now, there is nothing to suggest that Pedro, Unit or Smoltz ever used PEDs, but why are they not under the same scrutiny that Piazza seems to be? Pedro and Unit were as dominant as any pitchers we have seen in the last 50 years and Smoltz had to overcome Tommy John surgery in 2000 and eventually became one of the more dominant closers in the league. Are we 100-percent sold Smoltz did not take anything to speed up that recovery? If you smile a lot and get along well with the press, those questions dont seem to come up I guess. Forget Piazza, though, the Hall will always be tarnished for me until it opens its doors to Bonds and Clemens. The same group of people who chose to give Darin Erstad and Tom Gordon Hall of Fame votes are the ones who decided to keep Bonds and Clemens out. Makes perfect sense. When you go to a museum about American history, are the bad times just ignored? Of course not. And what exactly are they trying to keep so sacred up in Cooperstown? The Hall of Fame features a guy like Ty Cobb, someone who may have been a better racist than he was a ballplayer. And thats saying something. And Cobb is nowhere near the only bad guy in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Thats the point. For some reason, though, PEDs are the hill BBWAA will die on. Now, Piazza stands a good chance at getting in next year, as Ken Griffey Jr. is really the only lock candidate on the ballot. Dont get me started on Trevor Hoffman. Hell probably get in at some point, but it wont be his first time on the ballot. 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