Remember the good old days? A pitcher gets accused of using Bullfrog sunscreen while pitching in a dome -- as was the case with Clay Buchholz on May 1, 2013 in Toronto -- there is some skincare conversation and we pretty much move on.
The pitcher pitches. The whispers continue. And, eight years later, after buckets of Bullfrog, we care once again.
For Buchholz the crackdown seemed like no big deal, as his 12-1 record and 1.74 ERA for that season would have suggested.
Simpler times.
Now we have Garrett Richards.
Major League Baseball's decision to change course when it comes to truly caring about the stuff used by pitcher on the baseball has turned the Red Sox' starter's existence inside-out. with his hard-to-watch performance at Tropicana Field in the Red Sox' 8-2 loss to the Rays serving as the latest punctuation.
You had 1 2/3 innings, five runs, three hits and four walks.
But the results were one thing. Richards' unwillingness to hide what led him to this place were what really threw open the curtain on what was what.
No denials. No insinuations. No suggestions that SPF 30 was about staying safe and not to enhance spin-rate? Just flat-out frustration that he couldn't use some sort of sticky stuff anymore.
Remember when J.D. Martinez said that he thought MLB's enforcement was going to help the Red Sox pitchers because they didn't partake such chicanery?
Well, In this past week of "you better not or else" sticky baseball conversation, for whatever reason, the Red Sox' starters have gone 1-3 with a 6.31 ERA. Spoiler: It hasn't helped.
And for Richards, at least, we know why this is the case. He has told us. Listening to the guy who we oohed and awed at while absolutely befuddling the Mets on that April 2 ... the guy who was promising enough to sign a $10 million contract ... the guy who built his brand one the ability to manipulate a baseball like virtually no other pitcher in the game, well, it seems like he's now pitching with baseball that has no seams.
Quote 1: "Going through a little transition period right now. Changing some grips on some of my pitches, learning new pitches, just trying to figure this whole thing out. Like I said, a little transition period, still determined to get it figured out. Just on the fly having to kind of figure out how to get through it. But yeah just trying to compete and get outs."
Quote 2: "You know I’m an athlete. I’d like to think I’m going to be able to get over this and figure out a way to get it done. Like I was saying, it’s kind of, this just got brought on us real quick so I’ve only had about a week to work on it. So some guys are figuring it out sooner than others but for me, it’s taken a little bit more time so I’m just trying to figure it out."
Quote 3: "I think that like everything that’s going on right now kind of affects everything. I’m kind of just learning how to throw a baseball right now with what we’ve got. It’s definitely different than what I’ve had in the past obviously so this is all new for me. Like I said I’m trying to figure it out and just go out there and compete and give us a chance to win."
Quote 4: "Yeah, it’s frustrating. This isn’t cool to be a part of. I’m trying to deal with this stuff with myself and not make it a problem for everybody else. Unfortunately, my performance affected us tonight. It sucks. It doesn’t feel good. Tomorrow is another day and back to work tomorrow.”
Quote 5: “It’s changed pretty much everything for me. It’s changed a lot for me.”
Quote 6: “I feel like I need to be a different pitcher than I’ve been the last nine and a half years.”
"A" for honesty ... I guess.
But, let's be honest, it really doesn't matter what the presentation looks like when it comes to dealing with this new dynamic. A lot of guys besides Richards were relying on different substances. It's all about how they turn those frowns upside down.
Gerrit Cole, for instance, took a different tact than Richards when basically admitting to relying on the grip-enhancer. And it's well-documented how the Yankees' ace's spin rate has plummeted since MLB's midseason hammer. But he still hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his last three starts.
So while we are entertained by the chaos, the de-pantsing and hair-checking -- or even the kind of brutal honesty supplied by Richards -- nothing else matters but actually producing what these players are paid to produce.
Richards didn't produce, and the Red Sox paid the price. Hard stop.
It's time for the pitcher and his team to figure it out.