TAMPA, Fla. -- CC Sabathia, a redwood of a pitcher at 6-foot-7, has a pants inseam of 36 inches. Ivan Nova, who is about 6-5, has an inseam of 40 inches. "But I have it that long because I wear my pants long," Nova explained, saying his legs really aren't as long as that inseam measurement suggests.

Michael Pineda is bigger than Sabathia, bigger than Nova. Phil Hughes is 6-5, and as he worked in the same group as Pineda, Sabathia and Nova at New York Yankees camp here Monday, he might as well have been Eddie Gaedel. Pineda's inseam is 40 inches, and there's nothing dressy about the longest pants size anybody can remember being handed out by the Yankees.

But if Pineda's enormity -- he is about 6-8, 290 pounds, his teammates guesstimate -- is the first impression others draw from being around him, then his raw talent as a pitcher is a close second. Sabathia, Nova, Russell Martin and others told stories of how they first heard about the Yankees' acquisition of the right-hander -- Sabathia got a text from Alex Rodriguez, asking him to call immediately because there was news -- and surprise that the Yankees could land someone so young, with so much ability. "He's big, but I see someone who is in control," Martin said.

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