IN Simulated Battle, Pineda Neutralizes Tex

Neither of the above-named superstars has managed to log an actual pitch, swing, at bat or throw and catch at George Steinbrenners' Yankee stadium in Tampa.

Both are coming off what seems a lifetime of injuries, delayed recoveries and surgeries.

Yesterday, finally, they went mano a mano.

Tex hit sharp grounders to an imaginary second baseman, playing in short right field.  Each grounder turned into a double play, as the simulation involved moving a runner over from first and busting it, in an imaginary sense, down the ninety feet to first.

Pineda showed a quirky, slow pitch curve and a high fastball in the mid-seventies on the radar gun.

His command and control were decent, as Tex only drew one walk per inning.

Limited to 35 pretend pitches, Pineda claims that his arm is feeling good.

At the buffet table later, both were seen snarfing down seared tuna sandwiches, fried beet chips, and a ding dong.