MIAMI — If one $43.33 million pitcher is down, it’s nice to have another $43.33 million dollar pitcher. Such are the advantages of a nearly unlimited payroll.
If Cooperstown-bound Justin Verlander has to take a break — a small one, the Mets hope and believe — it’s nice to have Cooperstown-bound Max Scherzer. They were together in Detroit, too. But that was a decade ago, before superstar inflation.
No other team could afford such a luxury. But considering the Mets’ historically unfortunate fortunes, it’s good they are alone in this regard. Scherzer helped saved Opening Day Thursday by throwing a solid six innings, and beating the Marlins 5-3 on a day when many an ace around the leagues took a beating.
As usual, Scherzer did everything in his power to make sure that wouldn’t happen. He’s practically the only pitcher primed to throw seven innings by his second spring start. If there’s any competitor better it’s Verlander, who looked equal parts startled and sheepish to have to begin his Mets career on the injured list.
“[Scherzer] and Verlander both are the ultimate competitors,” legendary manager Jim Leyland, who had the duo in Detroit, told The Post by phone. “Both have got great stuff. And both are the ultimate competitors. They are competitors to the hilt. They don’t shortchange anyone. I understand they make a lot of money. But they don’t shortchange ’em.”
Scherzer is not only determined to do his best. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that he does. At whatever he does.
Scherzer will take the ball and fire it, literally or figuratively. When he suggested once again that the pitch clock is unnecessary now, that guys are used to the speed, he challenged a writer to a debate, and wanted argument “on the record” when the writer suggested they keep it off.
“I love the pace,” Scherzer said emphatically. “I don’t love the clock.”
Scherzer has a five-pitch mix he uses to deceive batters. But when it comes to issues, no off-speed pitches mixed in.
That’s true no matter who you are, whether you’re a Mets beat writer or one of the top officials in MLB. At the bargaining table in Jupiter a year ago in March, when the league made a particularly weak offer, league officials say Scherzer let one of the very top MLB executives have it, guns blazing.
Things were already going OK for Scherzer, as he had his record $130 million, three-year deal by then. But he and the rest of the leadership wanted to help their brethren and believed the league wasn’t trying in negotiations. Ultimately, he and the other seven players in leadership voted against MLB’s final offer before rank and file decided they couldn’t afford to strike, and took a deal that wasn’t maybe a home run but maybe only a single or double.
“He’s a very intelligent guy, and he’s competitive in all ways,” Leyland said. “He’s going to dissect an issue and tell you what he thinks.”
Scherzer is always up for a game. Even when he isn’t pitching he’s on that top step, bi-colored eyes blazing. When he pitches, he storms around the mound, which earned him the nickname Mad Max. When he’s not, he wants to win just as bad.
If the Mets ever needed him, it’s now when he’s the clear leader of the staff, not just the co-ace sharing the top spot with his compatriot Verlander. If ever was a time to step up, when $73 million worth of pitchers are unavailable to the Mets, this is it.
Not that anyone could tell a difference in his demeanor. He’s always on, but particularly so on Max days, when the intensity is not only palpable but maybe even visible. His teammates marvel.
“When he flips a switch, it’s special, that’s for sure,” Pete Alonso said.
Once the light goes on, he only knows one speed. That won’t change, he said, whether the team is at full strength, or down a man or three.
One thing’s different. They need him to be at his best now.
The injury to Verlander hurts, even if he doesn’t believe the low grade strain of the teres major muscle will keep him out long. Verlander was scheduled to play catch Friday, so that’s a good sign before he goes to New York for a scan of the shoulder area to make sure the pain is contained.
“Hopefully, he can get out front of it, and nip it in the bud,” Scherzer said. “We all know how great he is.”
The reality is they are equally great, statistical equals only separated by two years (Scherzer is the kid in the duo). That is the magic of this record Mets roster.
Scherzer actually passed Verlander by one career strikeout in the opener – 3,199 to 3,198. He isn’t focused on personal numbers, and his game doesn’t change whether he’s the ace or co-ace. No matter what’s happening around him, he just goes out to pitch as well as he can, as long as he can.
“All the other news doesn’t change my job,” he said.
That’s fair. But it does increase his importance.
