Max Scherzer, ace pitcher for the Mets and all-around baseball legend, finds himself in a bit of a pickle. And no, we’re not talking about his love of pickles as a pre-game snack. He’s got problems! Between the pitch clock, sticky stuff, and his own aging body, Scherzer has a lot on his plate. And that plate just so happens to be worth a cool $358 million. Can he figure it all out in time to save the day for the Mets? Let’s find out.

It’s clear that Scherzer needs to shake off his troubles and get back to dominating the game. The Mets are counting on him, especially now that their other two aces are out of commission. And don’t even get us started on Justin Verlander’s injury. It’s a rough go for them, to put it mildly.

Kodai Senga is the only hope for the Mets’ rotation at the moment, which is kind of like relying on the last slice of pizza in the box when you’re already starving. Scherzer was supposed to pitch on Sunday, but he had some lingering soreness that pushed his start back to Wednesday. He looked great for three scoreless innings against the Dodgers, only to be ejected for using an illegal foreign substance. Oops.

Things got heated fast, with Scherzer and his agent on one side and umpire Phil Cuzzi and crew chief Dan Bellino on the other. Scherzer kept saying that his hand and glove were just sweaty and rosin-y, nothing illegal going on here. He even swore on his kids’ lives, which might be overkill but we can relate to the sentiment.

The real problem here is that rosin can be considered an illegal substance in certain instances, according to a memo sent to all 30 clubs in spring training. So even though Scherzer insists that he washed his hands with alcohol and just grabbed some sweat and rosin, any rosin he used in the tunnel would not have been approved. You can’t win ’em all, Max.

Scherzer’s agent is calling for a standard that is “objective and verifiable,” but it seems like that might be easier said than done. Umpires are trained to determine whether a pitcher is using an illegal substance, but what about spin rates and other off-field metrics? The league and the players’ union might not see eye-to-eye on this one.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Scherzer. He’s not a fan of on-field inspections and thinks they should be done in private. He’s also concerned about the pitch clock leading to more injuries, which is a fair point. But whether he likes it or not, the game has changed and he needs to change with it.

At the end of the day, Scherzer needs to get his act together and start dominating the game like the Hall of Fame pitcher he is. The Mets are relying on him, and a suspension for using sticky stuff would only make matters worse. He needs to stay healthy and adapt to baseball in 2023. And who knows, maybe he’ll even find a new love for pickles along the way.

Serious News: nytimes