Max excited for reunion after break
PORT ST. LUCIE — Max Scherzer has spent most of his career on teams that surrounded him with other stud starting pitchers, whether it was Stephen Strasburg, Clayton Kershaw or Jacob deGrom.
For the second time in his career, Scherzer will belong to a rotation that includes Justin Verlander. The dynamic duo pitched for the Tigers from 2010-14 and have been reunited this spring training, after Verlander signed with the Mets in December.
“I know we pitched together for five years, but we have actually been apart for eight now,” Scherzer said
Wednesday at Clover Park. “[After Verlander’s] experiences
[in Detroit] and Houston, it’s going to be real fun to start comparing notes, because the game has evolved since we played together.
“It’s going to be real fascinating to see his mind on how he sees how you attack different guys and things that kind of work for each of us. Things that make him successful and make me successful and where things line up.”
Scherzer and Verlander, by their own admissions, were hardly the best of friends during their Tigers years. But Scherzer said he expects a different kind of relationship this time.
“We’re at different stages of our careers and more importantly we’re at different stages of our lives,” Scherzer said. “Things will definitely be different now. I really don’t see that being an issue whatsoever.”
Verlander said he and Scherzer train at the same gym in the West Palm Beach area and worked out together over the winter.
“I’m really looking forward to being here with him again,” Verlander said. “We’re obviously in different situations in our lives and I think we could both look back at our time in Detroit together, where we had such an incredible team and weren’t able to achieve the ultimate goal. So hopefully, reunited here, we can achieve that.”
Scherzer, 38, pitched to a 2.29 ERA in 23 starts (145 ¹/₃ innings pitched) last season. He was placed on the injured list twice with a strained oblique, prompting him to focus this offseason on workouts that he hopes will lessen the possibility of a recurrence.
The goal, he said, is 200 innings pitched this season.
“You have got to be nimble on how you train and for me it’s figuring everything out, exactly what you have got to do,” Scherzer said. “That’s the fun part. That’s the challenge. You have to figure yourself out in order to be durable. You’re never done learning in this game and especially as you age you get new challenges put in front of you. This is a challenge I have got to jump over.”