Jeurys ruling delay working for MLB

THE GOOD news for the Mets is that Jeurys Familia is blowing hitters away in the World Baseball Classic for Team Dominican Republic, showing no psychological hangover from blowing the wild-card game to the Giants in October.

The bad news is that on Sunday he pitched for the third time in four days, in an atmosphere defined by its high intensity. On March 12, with more big games ahead in the tournament, that's not exactly ideal or a closer who has carried a heavy workload the last two seasons.

So from a baseball standpoint, perhaps it will turn out to be a blessing for the Mets if Familia is suspended, as expected, perhaps 30 games or so at the beginning of the season for his role in a domestic violence episode last fall.

That is, if MLB ever makes an announcement on the matter.

Last year, remember, MLB announced a suspension for Aroldis Chapman on March 1 after an offseason incident.

So why is this one taking so long, considering the prosecuting attorney in Fort Lee, N.J., dismissed the case back on Dec. 15, nearly three months ago?

A few weeks ago, Mets GM Sandy Alderson speculated that MLB would wait until after the WBC to announce any suspension for Familia. He didn’t say that would be a self-serving decision, but obviously MLB benefits from having as many high-profile players as possible play in an event it pushes hard to promote.

However, MLB sources make the point that the league doesn’t have unilateral power to suspend a player from the WBC, as the tournament is held jointly with the Players Association and international federations. Which means the union would have to consent to any suspension.

In addition, sources say Familia’s visa issues at the beginning of spring training delayed his interview with MLB.

Whatever the complications, however, it’s hard to believe MLB hasn’t concluded its investigation.

Even if the league couldn’t suspend Familia from the WBC, the optics would have been bad to have him playing in the tournament after announcing a regularseason suspension, especially after commissioner Rob Manfred set a strong example in the first year of MLB’s domestic violence policy with the suspensions of Chapman and Jose Reyes.

Delaying a decision makes life easier for the parties involved, though the Mets sure would like to know exactly what they’re looking at to start the season.

As for Team Dominican Republic, Familia is a huge factor. The DR already survived close calls with the USA on Saturday and then an 11-inning game on Sunday against Colombia, thanks largely to a deep pen that includes Dellin Betances, Fernando Rodney, Alex Colome and Hansel Robles, all of whom are set-up men to some degree for Familia.

The Mets’ closer has finished each of the DR’s three victories, and he has yet to allow a hit in 2.1 innings. As it turned out, Familia had a 10-3 lead when he pitched the 11th inning on Sunday, after the DR took advantage of the tournament speed-up rules, which start innings with runners at first and second from the 11th on, by rallying for seven runs.

But without Familia at the back end of the pen, the DR might not have gotten to that point, using six relievers ahead of him.

Actually, DR manager Tony Pena said he had no intention of using Familia had the game not gone into extra innings. But he was allowed by rule to use him, and with national pride on the line, the Mets’ closer was not about to say no.

Therein lies the inevitable conflict that comes with the WBC. It is great theater, in part because of the elimination aspect, in part because of the pride and passion that comes with playing for your country. But there’s no getting around the risk involved. Injuries happen in spring training, too, but the intensity with which these games are played surely increases the chances.

As it is, the Mets took a hit on Sunday when Brandon Nimmo suffered a significant hamstring injury playing for Team Italy, and is expected to be out a few weeks.

For most teams, however, the real concern is for pitchers who need to ramp up the high-stakes mentality a month earlier than normal. For that reason, you can’t argue with Noah Syndergaard and others who say no to playing in the WBC.