Prove it or get over it
Given that I am Tiger fan, I may be a little biased when it comes to the Kenny Rogers dirt fiasco but I’m going to vent my opinions anyway.
Before I start, let me say that cheating, especially by pro sports players in the World Series, makes me sick. If evidence surfaces that Rogers has cheated and he is found guilty of cheating, he should certainly suffer the consequences.
At this point, though, Rogers was not found doing anything wrong. The umps checked his hands and did not observe pine tar. Period. If LaRussa thought it was such a big deal, he should have had Rogers’ hand inspected more closely or ordered that he be searched for illegal substances. But he didn’t, and that is where it ends.
I find it ridiculous that this Houston Chronicle blog had the gall to run a story entitled “Is Kenny Rogers a cheater? Many say yes!” Talk about sensationalism. If Rogers or another player is accused and found guilty of cheating in one of the remaining World Series games, by all means, report about it. Until then, present hard facts or evidence in this situation, not just a bunch of conspiracy theories. And when did the United States become an uncivilized society? For anyone new here, we abide by an “innocent until proven guilty” justice system and I am guessing the same goes for other incidents such as this one. The guy said it was dirt and dirt is not considered a foreign substance in baseball. Since no search was ordered, we have to take his word.
And another thing, just because Rogers wasn’t into the media’s questions about his hand doesn’t mean he is a cheater. At 41 years old and having pitched the most important game of your life in the bitter cold, would you want to answer questions from a group of people alleging you are a cheater? I highly doubt it.
Two things for anyone that thinks some sort of “action” should be taken against the Tigers or Rogers because of last night’s dirt incident:
1. If the Cardinals would have won, do you think this story would be making headlines? I think not. It would be buried in the back of the paper. In my opinion, anyone that is crying over this is a poor sport.
2. Rogers pitched worse in the inning when he had the mark on his hand, and better after he’d cleaned it! Now who’s the smart one?
whew… you’ve never written so passionately!!! hehe…
Players have always tried to cheat in baseball, and in some ways, it’s part of baseball lore. Gaylord Perry used to hide KY jelly on his hat and pants so he could throw his mighty spitball. Even when he didn’t try to cheat the batters were nervous that he was going to. Sammy Sosa corked his bat. Barry Bonds did steroids. Shoeless Joe Jackson tried to fix the 1919 World Series. This is one of those things you don’t find in other sports anymore because baseball’s rules can be “bent”
You’re right, La Russa should have demanded that the umps check that out the second he saw it. He could have gotten Rogers tossed, but he didn’t, so as they say, “the rest is history!”
Nice! I love the 2nd justification
Tom, thank you for the insight. I have spoken to a few of the men in my life – my dad and my husband – about baseball’s acceptance of cheating that you mentioned and they cited many of the same instances that you did and were in agreement that MLB operates under a “turn a blind eye” mentality, including previous incidents involving steroids.
Frankly, I am flabbergasted to discover that cheating is a regular occurence in baseball and have lost a lot of respect for the game. My husband actually told me that he heard a baseball manager the other day say that 60% of pitchers use pine tar or something on their hands when it’s cold outside, so if Rogers did do that, it shouldn’t have been a big deal.
WTF?!?!
My question to that is, if they all do it and nobody cares, why don’t they just change the rules? Obviously that doesn’t apply to the steroids thing, but it seems kind of useless to make rules when nobody follows them. It also sets a bad example for kids that ogle these sports heroes.
I don’t know enough about baseball (or sports for that matter) but is this type of thing similar to the wacky speed limits we have in Michigan? (I’m not sure if it applies in other places or not so I just said Michigan) You know, the even-though-the-speed-“limit”-says-30-I-can-go-5-over mentality? I guess I can kind of relate to that, but I still don’t understand why they don’t just change the rules (in baseball, and on the roads).
The problem with these types of unenforced rules is they promote confusion and there aren’t any clear answers. When that 1 person out of 1000 gets called on it, he or she is technically in the wrong, but, in the case of speed limits, the law is hardly ever enforced, and, as a result, most drivers subconsciously start adding 4 or 5 miles to the “limit” after they’ve been driving for a few months. Is it fair to hold them accountable for this? I don’t know, there are points on both sides of that arguement. As there are, I suppose, in this one. It reminds me of that ridiculous canoeing fiasco a few years back with that old Michigan law that was never taken off the books…
I know I’m rambling here, but I’m kind of a cut and dried/left-brainer sometimes, so avoidable confusion frustrates me : ) Okay, I’m officially done ranting. Go Tigers! And clean up your act, baseball; we’re in the 21st century.