CRACKING DOWN
Bauer, pitchers prepare to deal with MLB’s enforcement of grip enhancers
The crackdown is coming. In a memo to teams and a press release, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that there will be new enforcement of the rule against using foreign substances on the baseball that could include 10-game suspensions.
The release asserted that the “existing on-field enforcement process has not deterred an increasing number of violations.” Umpires will conduct “regular checks of all pitchers” whether the opposing team challenges for it or not.
The new standard for enforcement will go into effect on Monday.
The Dodgers have been at the center of the spin-rate/sticky-stuff controversy
with a number of their pitchers having exhibited increased spin on their pitches and decreased spin as word of the impending crackdown spread. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he is not worried about any dropoff in performance from his pitchers in the crackdown days.
“The spin rate is only one part of getting big league hitters out,” Roberts said. “But the deeper dive is there’s a lot of other things that pitchers are doing really well to get hitters out. Just a random 200 rpms (in spin-rate decrease) — I just don’t think that’s the end-all, be-all. I really don’t.
“I just believe ... pitchers that are really good are going to remain really good. That’s what I believe . ... The good ones are still the good ones.”
Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer has been outspoken in his criticism of MLB’s failure to enforce the rule on foreign substances in the past, and is now critical of their attempt to start enforcing it in the middle of the season after assuring players in the spring that this season would focus on gathering information on the issue.
“They haven’t thought through a lot of things ... typical MLB fashion they didn’t get a whole lot right,” Bauer said on SportsNet LA before the game, while giving MLB credit for “at least” finally trying to address the issue.
Bauer demonstrated to reporters on the field before Tuesday’s game that a combination of sweat and rosin was sufficient to allow him to stick a baseball to his hand, palm down. On his Twitter account, Bauer challenged MLB, asking if that would draw a 10-game suspension and pointing out the arbitrary standards of what’s “too sticky” will likely vary from umpire to umpire.
“Please tell us how umpires who have never been trained to know what a ‘sticky’ substance is or isn’t are supposed to automatically enforce that uniformly?” Bauer posted. “What is the standard for what is ‘sticky’ and what’s not?
“Might want to clarify that, ya know, for the ‘competitive integrity’ of the game. It would be really unfair to have one crew think sticky is one thing and another crew to think it’s another thing. Rules are supposed to be uniformly enforced right? Almost like you should’ve used an offseason to define that.”
Roberts has also been critical of a midseason change in enforcement of the rule, pointing out that there was potential for injury to pitchers if they were forced to change the way they grip a ball. Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow was diagnosed with a torn elbow ligament this week. He said Tuesday that going “cold turkey” from using “sticky stuff” forced him to grip the ball differently and he woke up after his start last week “sore in places I didn’t even know I had muscles in.”
“I 100% believe that contributed to me getting hurt,” Glasnow said.
Roberts called Glasnow’s injury “unfortunate” and deferred to the young righthander on whether it is related to his eschewing the use of any grip enhancer.
“My hope is that this is not a sign of things to come,” Roberts said. “I did say, a couple weeks back that to make a change in the middle of the season, I think is difficult and challenging. That certainly can be debated but that’s not my call.
“So outside of that, I just don’t know what else to say. Again I hope pitchers can stay healthy because you always want the best talent on the field. And we want a level playing field.”
Bellinger to IL
Outfielder Cody Bellinger was not in the starting lineup again Tuesday and was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring injury.
This is Bellinger’s second trip to the IL this season – neither related to the offseason shoulder surgery he underwent. Bellinger suffered a hairline fracture in his left leg during the fifth game of the season and missed about seven weeks.
In his 12th game back from that leg injury, Bellinger injured his hamstring during Friday’s 12-1 route of the Rangers. He will be eligible to return on June 22.
“Obviously there’s got to be some frustration in there because ... there’s been the start and stop,” Roberts said. “There’s still a lot of baseball for him to put together a really nice season and help us win baseball games and I know he knows that. But I do think that part of the inconsistencies of spring training (while recovering from his shoulder surgery) to then coming back, having a five- or six-day rehab assignment to then kind of not get on track offensively has been part of that.”
Bellinger has hit .226 with only one home run in his 16 games this season.
Also
Left-hander Scott Alexander threw to hitters in a simulated-game setting for a second time Tuesday afternoon. Alexander is on the 60-day injured list with shoulder inflammation.