May 22, 2015

Lack of Subtly

Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez caught Will Smith using a foreign substance on the ball Thursday night, and the umpires tossed Smith from the game.

Gonzalez said he noticed something when Smith, making his 19th appearance of the season, entered the game with two men on and one out in the bottom of the seventh in relief of Milwaukee starter Matt Garza. Atlanta was ahead 2-1 at the time.

Smith hit the first batter he faced, after getting ahead 0-2. But Gonzalez didn’t alert crew chief Jim Joyce to the substance on Smith’s arm until the second pitch to the next batter, Jace Peterson.

“I never went out there until he went to [the substance],” Gonzalez said. “It was about as plain as it could be. It’s pretty blatant.”

Craig Counsel used the everybody does it defense:

“It’s the rule. [But] pitchers are using it … I guess you have to be discreet about it, I guess,” Counsell said. “But it happens everywhere in the league. And it happens on his team, too.”

Said Gonzalez: “When [an opponent] tries to be that blatant, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.”

So the rule is about subtly? It’s okay to cheat as long as you are discreet about it?

The ejection worked for the Braves as they rolled to 10-1 victory.

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