Domingo German to make first start since suspension Monday night
Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German walks to the dugout after the third inning of the team's game agains the Blue Jays on May 16 in Toronto. Credit: The Canadian Press via AP/Chris Young
Domingo German still is not clear on exactly how much sticky stuff on his right hand is too much in the eyes of Major League Baseball. But he is clear on this: He cannot run afoul of that standard again.
“I’m a professional athlete,” he said through an interpreter before the Yankees’ 10-7 victory over the Padres on Sunday, which marked the end of his 10-game suspension.
“My responsibility is to be here with the team and do whatever I need to do to stay with the team.”
That process will begin with a scheduled start in Seattle on Monday night, at which time the umpires and the Yankees will be closely monitoring the state of his pitching hand.
“It’s us being more vigilant and checking to make sure we are in a good spot,” manager Aaron Boone said.
German was ejected before the bottom of the fourth inning in Toronto on May 16 when he was deemed to have overstepped the fuzzy bounds of acceptable stickiness.
His subsequent suspension left the Yankees a man short on their active roster. He called his absence “very hard.”
“I put the team in a tough spot when they needed me to be here,” he said.
German said he was told that if he’s suspended again, it will cost him 50 games, but in fact, there is no set amount on the books for a second violation.
Regardless, everyone involved will be extra cautious.
The tricky thing about sticky things is that such matters are subjective, a reality German said is “uncomfortable.”
“As far as a direct explanation of how much to use or not, I haven’t gotten a better explanation from MLB or the umpires,” he said. “To me, I have to keep using it, understand how much to use and keep a balance.”
German said he will continue using “rock rosin” over the powdered type, and that he hopes warmer-weather perspiration will help his grip.
“You have to do something different, because what I did before got me ejected from the game,” he said. “I’ll probably go back to previous years, where I used [rosin] way less.”
Notes & quotes: Juan Soto was scratched from the Padres’ starting lineup with back tightness but pinch hit in the ninth inning and grounded into a forceout . . . Boone did not rule out activating Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) against the Dodgers this coming weekend, but next week’s homestand seems more probable. When Stanton does return, he will DH for one to two weeks . . . Catcher Jose Trevino (hamstring) will accompany the team to Seattle and could be activated shortly. Boone said the team will not carry three catchers.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
