TAMPA, Fla. -- Michael Pineda, whose locker is next to Ivan Nova's, is laughing, as he often does.
But just moments earlier, Nova said, Pineda was angry. Nova didn't know why, but an annoyed Pineda muttered so fast in Spanish that neither Nova nor Jose Ramirez, who was over for a visit with his fellow Dominicans, could understand a word.
"He came here and I didn't understand anything that he said in Spanish," Nova said before mimicking how fast Pineda was talking. "I was like, 'What happened?' So Ramirez was listening and he didn't understand anything either. We all start laughing. He started laughing, too. He said, 'I'm crazy today. I'm crazy today.' I said, 'You are crazy every day, man.' But he is really good teammate. He is really fun to have here. I love that guy."
This could be the year Yankees fans finally "love that guy," too.
With all the talk about Masahiro Tanaka and Matt Harvey's comebacks, and with Dellin Betances' emergence, the best pitcher in New York in 2015 may be the 26-year-old Pineda. He is more comfortable than when he showed up in 2012 in a deal for Jesus Montero. Back then, he was overweight, wide-eyed and, though he is 6-foot-7, he seemed a little scared.
"I feel more comfortable," said Pineda, who, to his credit, attempts to use English, his second language, in every interview.
On Monday, Pineda started for the first time this spring, going two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. He made quick work of the Tampa Bay Rays, firing 17 strikes out of 25 pitches. It continued the trend that began when Pineda reported to camp early.
It may be a cliche to say you've come to camp in the "best shape of your life." But with Pineda's history, his arrival -- looking as if he paid full attention to his nutrition during the offseason -- was significant.
"He came out of shape that year," Nova said, referring to Pineda's first season in pinstripes. "You can see a difference now. He learned from that. He knows he cannot do it again. He is doing everything right."
Pineda just needs consistency to go with his maturity. His weight issue might have contributed to his major shoulder surgery. His DUI, during his shoulder rehab, demonstrated poor judgment. His pine tar incident made it so viewers of "Good Morning America" knew his name. If he can avoid new bumps and stay healthy, there's no reason to think he can't build on his 1.89 ERA in 13 starts last year.
"I can see the hunger that he has," Nova said.
Pineda's emerged on the other side of adversity as fun-loving as ever. Nova remembers watching a rookie Pineda in 2011, striking out Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. Nova was laughing as Pineda danced off the mound.
Michael Pineda
#35 SP
New York Yankees
2014 STATS
- GM13
W5
L5
BB7
K59
- ERA1.89
"I see a lot of rookies pitch against the Yankees and they are kind of nervous," Nova said. "The lineup that we had back then. We had a lot of people with big names. It was kind of funny. The way he was doing his moves. He would strike out. He walked to the dugout kind of like moving his body around. He was having fun."
He still is having fun, making his neighbors laugh. Like Nova, CC Sabathia, whose locker is a few stalls down, calls Pineda a "big kid."
Just the other day, Nova was going to take a run, so Ramirez, Vicente (formerly Jose) Campos, Rafael De Paula and Pineda wanted to join him.
"They said, 'Wait for us,' so all the Dominicans run together,'" Nova said. "But I said, 'I'm going to run 20 minutes.' They said, 'We can run with you.' I know that Ramirez and Pineda, they are really fast. They do the first lap with you, but once they feel the heat on their body they start going and they leave everybody behind. I was like, 'I don't want to run with you because you guys do the first two laps with me, but then you are already over there. You leave me behind.' They were like, 'That is not going to happen. That is not going to happen.'
"I said, 'OK, fine, let's go.' We were doing the full complex. We started with the first field, 'Nice.' The second one, 'Nice.'
"By the third one, [Pineda] said, 'OK, guys, see you.' He takes off. I said, 'Oh, my goodness.' I tried to catch him, but he is too fast. He told me he was going to do it with me, but then he left me. He was laughing. I was like, 'Come on, man. Don't play with me like that. We were supposed to do it together.'"
But that is Pineda these days. He is still laughing, but there is a seriousness, too.
"He is like a kid," Nova said. "He is like a kid, man, in every way, except pitching. Pitching and doing his work. When he has to do weight room and running and stuff. [Well,] even when he has to do running, he is like a kid."