PORT ST. LUCIE — Max Scherzer stalks the mound like a madman, emotion often dripping like sweat, willing himself to victories any way he can.
He will shout at opposing hitters and umpires — he was ejected last season while in the Mets’ dugout during a game in which he wasn’t pitching — and hunt for edges at any corner. It is no accident Scherzer was the first pitcher this spring to explore using the pitch clock against opposing hitters.
On the rubber, Scherzer slings more than throws his pitches, which have evolved over the years, but have never broken radar guns. He whips fastballs and sliders and cutters and curveballs out from a low arm slot that can be difficult to pick up.
There is nothing quite so frantic or deceptive about Justin Verlander.
