Whether its the Yankees Michael Pineda with

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. Cheap Air Max 90 Uk Sale . Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. 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Tsonga would have moved up one spot to No. 6 with a win over Querrey at the City of Arts and Sciences, but his serve deserted him in the second set as the 116th-ranked American broke twice to reach the quarter-finals. MADISON, Wis. -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Colonels coach Jeff Neubauer acknowledged thats not the best plan of attack against No. 4 Wisconsin. Ben Brust scored 20 points and Wisconsin shot a season-best 60 per cent from the field in beating the Colonels 86-61 on Saturday. The Colonels force 18 turnovers a game, including an average of 11 steals. While Wisconsin committed 11 turnovers, two more than its season average, it wasnt nearly enough to offset the Badgers shooting performance, particularly from the free throw line. "Weve been very effective at creating bad decisions by other teams, and today we werent able to do it," Neubauer said. The Badgers (12-0) are off to their best start to a season since 1915-16, when they started 12-0 and finished 20-1. They are in The Associated Press top 5 for only the second time in school history. They now get two weeks off for finals and the holidays before one last tuneup heading into Big Ten play. Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan isnt ready to talk about this seasons team being special but he couldnt help but be impressed at least a little with what the Badgers did by holding Eastern Kentucky to 33 per cent shooting in the first half. "Im telling you, weve got this team on tape, on DVD, and theyre a much better shooting team than this. So youve got to give our guys credit for what they did defensively," Ryan said. Brust said a preseason trip to play in Canada combined with the two extra weeks of practice this year helped the Badgers mould a roster that include contributors across all four classes. "Weve got a lot of pieces, and its coming together nicely. But weve got a lot of work to do," Brust said. The Badgers made a living on free throws and 3-pointers in a game that wasnt close after the opening minutes. Averaging 21 free throws a game coming in, they went 25 of 33 from the free throw line -- led by freshman Nigel Hayes going 13 of 17 -- as the undersized Colonels (7-4) committed 26 fouls.dddddddddddd. The Badgers finished 9 of 15 from beyond the 3-point line with Brust making five, two short of his school record. Wisconsin used a 10-0 run in the first half featuring two 3-pointers by Brust to take control early and then continued to gradually pull away. The Badgers first got the lead to 20 points with just over 2 minutes left in the first half and to 30 just past midway through the second half on a layup by Hayes. Wisconsin shot a season-best 60 per cent from the field. "At the offensive end, it felt like they made every shot," Neubauer said. Hayes scored a career-high 17 points for the Badgers, while Sam Dekker added 16 and Frank Kaminsky shrugged off a right foot injury that hampered him this week to add 13. Glenn Cosey scored 21 points to lead the Colonels, while Orlando Williams added 13. The Colonels, who start four guards and a forward, started the game at a physical disadvantage that was exacerbated by their early foul trouble. Starting forward Eric Stutz was whistled for his second foul less than 8 minutes into the game. But Neubauer brought him back in after a brief rest only to see him whistled for his third a few minutes later. In all, Eastern Kentucky committed 16 fouls in the first half with three starters whistled for at least two, while reserves Timmy Knipp and Jef Johnson both committed three. Things got marginally better in the second half. But the Colonels were still whistled for 26 fouls overall, though no player ended up fouling out. Brust said the break is coming at a good time for the Badgers, and they can take the next two weeks to take care of school and nagging injuries before facing Prairie View A&M on Dec. 28. They open Big Ten play at Northwestern Jan. 2. "Its good to get time off," he said. ' ' '