Just when you think Rob Manfred couldn’t piss off the players any more than he already has, he does just that. If you aren’t familiar with the current situation, pitchers are being checked for “foreign-substance like objects” on their gloves, hats, or maybe even their ass according to Sergio Romo, Pitcher for the A’s. After setting down a couple Rangers on K’s, Romo walked off the field and when he noticed the ump coming to check him, he quickly ripped off his belt and dropped his drawers.

a perfect reaction to an absolute overreaction on the leagues part, these past few days have been a mess and there needs to be some kind of middle ground. 

They really hit an all time low Wednesday night when 33 year old knuckleballer Mickey Janis made his major league debut and they checked the guy for substance. First, spin rate kills knuckleballs so why the hell would he be using anything to boost spin. Second, it’s his DEBUT. show the guy a little respect and let him be in rhythm without the other manager begging for pointless substance checks.

Clayton Kershaw weighed in on the checks and called them “A little weird and funny looking.” Also sticking up for Max Scherzer who had two post inning checks and a mound visit check which was requested by opposing manager Joe Girardi. Keep in mind all three of Scherzer’s checks were before the 4th inning. Kershaw made a great point about how it knocks guys off their rhythm and that teams should be punished if the umpires don’t find any foreign substance by taking away their opportunity to use a replay challenge. Unfortunately old man Rob Manfred won’t be making any disciplinary action rules for these incorrect checks even though his biggest goal is to speed up pace of play, so we better just start getting used to watching pitchers be frisked on the field.