NEW YORK — The Mets are officially a man down for the next 10 games.
Drew Smith was suspended by MLB for violating the foreign substance rules Wednesday afternoon, shortly before the team hosted the Yankees in the second game of the Subway Series. Smith was ejected before the top of the seventh Tuesday night at Citi Field after failing to pass a check by crew chief Bill Miller. He becomes the second pitcher from the club’s major league roster to receive a suspension for sticky stuff, and the fourth from the organization this season. Max Scherzer was suspended in April, and Triple-A right-handers Dylan Bundy and Eric Orze were also punished this season.
Smith insisted it was only sweat and rosin, which is what Scherzer has maintained he used as well. But four pitchers from one club will either lead people to believe that the Mets are cheating or lead people to believe that the league is out to get the Mets.
Manager Buck Showalter sees both sides of the argument but didn’t deny that something felt off.
“I don’t try to get in those conspiracy theories, but I’m also alert to something that if you do the math, you go hmm?” Showalter said. “I look in the mirror and go, ‘OK, are we doing something wrong that we need to fix?’ That’s my first thing is to look in the mirror and say, ‘You know, instead of it always being somebody else’s fault, and somebody else singling you out or picking you out, are you doing something wrong?’ That’s where I start with it.”
There were no clear answers to any of Showalter’s questions. If the Mets are being targeted, it could be for a few reasons.
The word could be out that Mets pitchers are using something to manipulate the spin on the ball. Spin rates haven’t necessarily jumped for Smith or Scherzer, neither of whom has been pitching very well lately. There is also the theory that the league is retaliating against the Mets for what happened last fall during the NL wild-card series when Showalter asked the umpires to check the ear of San Diego Padres’ right-hander Joe Musgrove.
Showalter said he doesn’t regret asking for the check on Musgrove after his spin rates spiked. Smith declined to comment when asked if he felt as though the Mets are being targeted. However, Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations, was spotted on the field Tuesday talking to the umpires, which didn’t go unnoticed by the team.
“Sometimes paranoia can set in, but I also try to be alert to things that just don’t quite feel right,” Showalter said. “It’s tough to take the emotion out of it, and look at things logically and realistically, but a lot can happen from the time that you’re initially looked at from the time you get in the dugout and get up the runway. They’re trying to be consistent. I think we all understand what they’re trying to accomplish with all this.”
Whether or not MLB has actually accomplished anything is up for debate. Pitchers will say no, the process is too arbitrary and random. Without a neutral arbiter, the appeal process doesn’t favor them either.
“It’s an uphill battle. That’s a nice way to put it,” Showalter said. “I mean, it’s like when a manager gets suspended or something, you have no right of appeal, even though you’re a part of the union. For some reason, they decided that they didn’t have any rights. Nobody said it was going to be fair, but it’s the rules you knew going to into it.”
Scherzer has been adamant about the process being unfairly flawed. SpiderTac and pine tar are different than rosin and the league has had trouble being able to specify the threshold for excessive or inappropriate rosin use.
Now comes the real challenge. The Mets won’t be able to replace Smith on the roster. Playing with seven relievers instead of eight isn’t ideal, given how much of a challenge it’s been for the Mets to get their starters to even throw six innings with regularity. Two off days between the 10 games help the bullpen, though.
They currently have three relievers with options in right-handers Jeff Brigham and John Curtiss and left-hander Josh Walker. Shuttling guys back and forth from Triple-A Syracuse will be key for the Mets as they play their next 10 games at home, in Houston and in Philadelphia. However, that’s not exactly easy for the guys getting on and off planes.
“The tough thing is when you have to send down people that are performing well,” Showalter said. “I’ve learned through the years you never assume anything that Max is going to pitch 5-7 innings or Justin [Verlander] is not going to get a ball hit off the knee or something. You have to always prepare for that.
“So we’re prepared for tonight.”
