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BOSTON -- Michael Pineda says he was just trying to get a better grip on the ball. Now, he wont need one for a while. A day after being caught using pine tar on the mound, the New York Yankees pitcher was suspended for 10 games by the commissioners office on Thursday. Pineda said he wont appeal, costing him two starts before he can return May 5 at the Los Angeles Angels. "I accept it," Pineda said before Thursday nights game at Fenway Park. "I know I made a mistake." Pineda was ejected in the second inning of New Yorks 5-1 loss to Boston after umpires found the pine tar on the right side of the right-handers neck. After the game, Pineda admitted that he used the pine tar to help him grip the ball on a cool, windy night. "I feel so bad," he said Thursday. Pineda said he had never used pine tar before this season. He spent his first season in the majors with the Seattle Mariners in 2011, then missed the last two with the Yankees following right shoulder surgery. "I think he understood" the seriousness of his action, said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who expected a suspension of about 10 games, "but I think he got caught up in the moment of competing and it got the best of him." Girardi indicated David Phelps would take Pinedas turn in the rotation. Phelps came into the game with two outs in the second after Pineda was ejected. The ejection set off a debate in the baseball world about pitchers who try pine tar, and whether it should be allowed in certain circumstances. Many former aces said they had done it, albeit in a more discreet manner. "Ive seen a lot of things in my career, so Im not blind to it" being viewed as part of baseball, said Girardi, a former catcher in his seventh year as Yankees manager. Rule 8.02(b) prohibits pitchers from altering the ball to gain an unfair advantage, and forbids them from having a foreign substance on them or in their possession on the mound. "I wouldnt be against coming up with an idea" to modify the rule so pitchers could get a better grip on the ball in cold weather, Girardi said. "It would be a great time for someone to start looking at" finding one substance pitchers would be allowed to use. Pineda wasnt seen with the pine tar in the first inning, when the Red Sox roughed him up. Boston manager John Farrell asked plate umpire Gerry Davis to check Pineda after two fast outs the next inning. "I felt like it was a necessity to say something," Farrell said. "You know, I fully respect on a cold night youre trying to get a little bit of a grip. But when its that obvious, something has got to be said." Davis went to the mound, touched Pinedas neck and ejected him. Pineda said no one told him to use it, that he did it "by myself." Earlier this month, Pineda pitched well in a 4-1 win over the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Television cameras showed a substance on his hand in the fourth inning -- Pineda said it was dirt, not pine tar. His hand was clean in the fifth and Farrell didnt ask for him to be checked. Pineda said he didnt use pine tar in a start against the Chicago Cubs, in between his Red Sox outings. Among other suspensions of pitchers for pine tar in the past decade, Tampa Bays Joel Peralta was penalized eight games in 2012, the Angels Brendan Donnelly 10 days in 2005 and St. Louis Julian Tavarez 10 days in 2004. The suspensions of Donnelly and Tavarez were cut to eight days after they asked the players association to appeal, and Peralta dropped his challenge with no reduction. Pineda said Thursday he didnt feel the ball well in the first inning when he allowed two runs on four hits. And he said he wanted to be careful not to hit any batters. "I know its pine tar, but the pine tar did not help me" throw harder, he said. "It helped me for feel, (get) a better grip." Red Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski understood why Pineda used the pine tar. "I dont have a problem with guys that do it," he said. "I know as a hitter, I want to get in there and know the guy has a grip. "Put it on your hat, put it on your pants, your belt, put it on your glove, whatever you have to do. You just cant do it that blatantly. That was what the biggest issue was. No one has an issue with him doing it. Its just more of the fact that its so blatant." SF Air Force 1 Φθηνα . The 55th-ranked Istomin saved 11 of 14 break points to win in just over two hours, setting up a second round meeting with Australian Marinko Matosevic. It was the Uzbeks third win in three matches against fifth-seeded Kohlschreiber, the 2007 and 2012 tournament winner. Nike Air Force 1 Φθηνα . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. http://www.airforce1greece.com/air-force-1-low-greece.html . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). Nike Air Force Ελλαδα . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. Nike Air Force Παιδικα . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate).TORONTO - There are many questions surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs, namely: How did this happen? How, in less than two weeks, did a team that was sitting pretty in second place in the Atlantic Division fritter away a three-point lead over the Montreal Canadiens and nine-point advantage over the Detroit Red Wings? As the players come to grips with the roots of their six-game losing streak, Tuesdays almost-comeback against the St. Louis Blues highlighted a big issue: Why cant the Leafs play with the desperation they show when down two or three goals at the start of games? "Thats the million-dollar question right now," winger James van Riemsdyk said. "It seems like every time we get down we start to ramp it up, and then its always just a little too little, too late at the end." It may be too little, too late for the Leafs if they cant figure out how to solve that problem. Theyre tied at 80 points with the Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals but are fourth among those teams for the Eastern Conferences two wild-card spots because theyve played the most games (74). Of course that also means their eight remaining are the fewest among those in the race and theres not much time to figure out slow starts, a central problem during this losing skid. Against the Blues, the Leafs scored first for the first time since March 10, but they also gave up a season-high 23 shots in the opening period and were hemmed in their zone often. "We just couldnt get out of our zone," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "They put a lot of pressure on us, and we couldnt handle it." Coach Randy Carlyle noticed some of the pressure that has been building on his team early on Tuesday night. "Theres a lot of tenseness in our players," he said after the 5-3 loss. "The first three puck recoveries, we just slapped the puck away. We didnt pick up the puck and skate with it at all. Thats showing signs of being nervous, tense, (a lack of) confidence not wanting to make a mistake, which led to more offensive-zone time (for St. Louis)." The listless Leafss led for less than five minutes, then trailed from the time David Backes scored with 32.dddddddddddd3 seconds left in the first period until the end of the game. It was only after ex-Toronto forward Alex Steen scored to make it 4-1 that the Leafs showed some fire and launched a comeback bid that fell short. At this point, players are even self-aware that the transformation is happening once they fall behind. "It seems like when we get down, then were playing with no fear, were letting some of our skill take over, our defencemen are rushing the puck out of the zone and making plays," Lupul said. "Theres something to be said about being down and not having that fear anymore, but realistically weve got to play like that right from the start. Its more of a psychological thing than it is a physical thing." If its a mental problem, defenceman Carl Gunnarsson doesnt have the answer. "Weve been talking about it," he said. "I dont know whats going on there, but weve got to figure out a way here to change it." Changing it and managing to play as well as they did in the bulk of the third period against the Blues would give the Leafs a good chance of coming out of this tailspin and making the playoffs. Gunnarsson and goaltender Jonathan Bernier agreed that, although thats a challenge, the end result could be scary for opponents. "If we play like we did in the third period for 60 minutes, I dont think theres a lot of teams that can beat us," Gunnarsson said. Of course if the Leafs make mistakes like they did in the first half of the game and throughout this losing streak, they can lose to any team left on the schedule. They visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday before returning home to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and also have games against the Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators to close out the season. We have a lot of fight left in us," van Riemsdyk said. "Theres eight games left, and well have to leave it all out there in every game." ' ' '