Smudgegate...Yes or No?
I say yes. Yes as in, "Yes, that was pine tar on Kenny Rogers' hand."
I mean, he's on my team, and I want to believe him, but he needs to do a better job of convincing me. And when we find out he lies to the press about whether the officials said anything to him about the smudge, it only heightens the suspicions. Here's a picture I want to share.
All right, so he says it's dirt mixed with rosin. Right? You think dirt and rosin make your skin all shiny like that?
I climbed trees as a kid, I know what pine tar (or pitch, as we used to call it - perhaps even getting that particular nickname from the baseball connotation)looks like on my hand. It's sticky, and it's shiny. Like whatever was on Rogers' hand.
Now, I'm not saying that's what it is for sure. I mean, pine tar isn't exactly easy to get off your hand. You have to wash, and sometimes soap isn't even enough. I used to have to AJAX or COMET the stuff out of my skin back in the old days, and if Kenny wiped it off like he says he did, then it's a new breed of pine tar. But maybe he did wash.
Of course, avid Tiger fans will argue (as if I'm not one myself) that even if it was something substantial, it didn't matter - since the Cardinals got the first of their two hits that inning and didn't get another one until all the way in the eighth. Is this good logic?
Nope. Cheating is cheating. LaRussa didn't push it because he's rather fond of old Leyland and doesn't want to put that friendship on the line for something so small as the World Series. Of course, if he DOES push it, and it IS pine tar, Kenny's out of this game and suspended for 10 more. That happens, and the Cardinals win this game. No doubt, they win it. Even if it was for only an inning, and even if it didn't affect the outcome of the game, it's still wrong - even in the eyes of guys who might be secretly juicing on the side.
Baseball is full of cheaters, that's for sure. To my assessment of what happened today, Kenny Rogers might be one of them. I really don't want to believe that, and I wish I didn't, but Kenny - you didn't really leave me any other choice.
It'll be great if the Tigers are sparked by this and go on to win the Series...but do you really want to be looking back at this series twenty years from now wondering if Rogers' historic 23+ consecutive scoreless inning run was something of a doctored run? Sure, the guy's got talent, but I've got other loyal Tigers' fans telling me they've seen the same smudge during his other starts. It's always fun to see a great feat performed as you watch, but if you find out it was a trick later on, a fake, a hoax - it's not real.
And I'd hate to be wondering in twenty years if Kenny Rogers, the man Detroit's rallied behind, wasn't real.
This is Glory, Detroit, with a capital G. And you're representing us, with the D's on your chests. Don't take that Glory away from us by scuffing it up with words like "Cheating" and "Controversy." This is for the players. This is for Kenny Rogers. If you did it, own up. If you didn't, deny it. But be honest.
This is for the fans.
I mean, he's on my team, and I want to believe him, but he needs to do a better job of convincing me. And when we find out he lies to the press about whether the officials said anything to him about the smudge, it only heightens the suspicions. Here's a picture I want to share.
All right, so he says it's dirt mixed with rosin. Right? You think dirt and rosin make your skin all shiny like that?
I climbed trees as a kid, I know what pine tar (or pitch, as we used to call it - perhaps even getting that particular nickname from the baseball connotation)looks like on my hand. It's sticky, and it's shiny. Like whatever was on Rogers' hand.
Now, I'm not saying that's what it is for sure. I mean, pine tar isn't exactly easy to get off your hand. You have to wash, and sometimes soap isn't even enough. I used to have to AJAX or COMET the stuff out of my skin back in the old days, and if Kenny wiped it off like he says he did, then it's a new breed of pine tar. But maybe he did wash.
Of course, avid Tiger fans will argue (as if I'm not one myself) that even if it was something substantial, it didn't matter - since the Cardinals got the first of their two hits that inning and didn't get another one until all the way in the eighth. Is this good logic?
Nope. Cheating is cheating. LaRussa didn't push it because he's rather fond of old Leyland and doesn't want to put that friendship on the line for something so small as the World Series. Of course, if he DOES push it, and it IS pine tar, Kenny's out of this game and suspended for 10 more. That happens, and the Cardinals win this game. No doubt, they win it. Even if it was for only an inning, and even if it didn't affect the outcome of the game, it's still wrong - even in the eyes of guys who might be secretly juicing on the side.
Baseball is full of cheaters, that's for sure. To my assessment of what happened today, Kenny Rogers might be one of them. I really don't want to believe that, and I wish I didn't, but Kenny - you didn't really leave me any other choice.
It'll be great if the Tigers are sparked by this and go on to win the Series...but do you really want to be looking back at this series twenty years from now wondering if Rogers' historic 23+ consecutive scoreless inning run was something of a doctored run? Sure, the guy's got talent, but I've got other loyal Tigers' fans telling me they've seen the same smudge during his other starts. It's always fun to see a great feat performed as you watch, but if you find out it was a trick later on, a fake, a hoax - it's not real.
And I'd hate to be wondering in twenty years if Kenny Rogers, the man Detroit's rallied behind, wasn't real.
This is Glory, Detroit, with a capital G. And you're representing us, with the D's on your chests. Don't take that Glory away from us by scuffing it up with words like "Cheating" and "Controversy." This is for the players. This is for Kenny Rogers. If you did it, own up. If you didn't, deny it. But be honest.
This is for the fans.
3 Comments:
I'd say rosin. I used it when I bowled and it would mix with lane oil and become sticky and quite dirty. You'd think if he was using a banned substance he would hide it a bit better...? I'm sure he's aware FOX has 25 cameras around Comerica Park.
Reading the paper this morning all parties involved seem to agree it was nothing. Of course the unbiased(yeah, right) Fox announcers were the first to point out the substance.
i think rosin is shiny too. anyway, my roomate john thinks SOME pine pitch is okay? but there's a limit and that's part of the controversy? but do sticky fingers make you sail the ball through the strike zone?
Heck, I'd respect him more if he was cheating...just get the damn win!
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