ATLANTA -- Count Braves right fielder Nick Markakis among the Major League hitters who are comforted by the trend of pitchers using a hidden foreign substance to improve their grip of the baseball.
But when that substance is clearly visible -- like it was Thursday night when Brewers left-hander Will Smith was caught with a mixture of sunscreen and rosin on his right forearm -- umpires really have no option other than to abide by the rules.
"When you do it that blatant, you kind of deserve to get caught," Markakis said. "There are a ton of other places you can put it.