Rogers cheating!

[Moland Spring]

Kenny Rogers, the oracle of morals and decency, cheats by putting pinetar on his hand. He wasn't suspended, though it says he should be in the rules. Then he lies in the press conference, saying no one told him about it, when LaRussa clearly did. He calls it "a clump of dirt."
Did the umps just tell him to simply clean it off? Lame.
Why, oh why, are players still allowed to cheat in Major League Baseball?
Isn't somebody going to report on this? Please...

 

[markvid]

That was not dirt.

 

[Oz]

Oh, but baseball loves cheaters. John McGraw, Gaylord Perry, Albert Belle, Joe Niekro ...

 

[jagtrader]

Either Rogers had the same mysterious dirt on his hand for every playoff start or he cheated. And if he's cheating by putting it on his hand, he probably has it other places -- like under the brim of his cap and in his glove.

 

[rgd]

Kenny Rogers, the oracle of morals and decency, cheats by putting pinetar on his hand. He wasn't suspended, though it says he should be in the rules. Then he lies in the press conference, saying no one told him about it, when LaRussa clearly did. He calls it "a clump of dirt."
Did the umps just tell him to simply clean it off? Lame.
Why, oh why, are players still allowed to cheat in Major League Baseball?
Isn't somebody going to report on this? Please...

La Russa didn't tell Rogers about it and the umps didn't tell him to clean it off. He washed it off after he came off the field in the top of the first. The Fox cameras showed someone in the dugout who appeared to be telling Rogers what was shown on television, and that seems to be when Rogers cleaned his hand. It was not until after the bottom of the first when La Russa talked to the umps and the home plate ump talked to Rogers after the top of the second, but he had already washed off whatever was on his hand.

Rogers kept touching the back of his cap, seemingly on every pitch, so I wonder if he had something on his cap. I don't know much about on-field cheating in baseball, but it seems like players can do it in an assortment of ways.

 

[Moland Spring]

Also, let's do some first-guessing on beat writers. We all have been in this situation when something crazy happens on deadline on a game you expected to be just like any other.
So, with like eight reporters there, what does the Freep do?

 

[lantaur]

Oh, but baseball loves cheaters. John McGraw, Gaylord Perry, Albert Belle, Joe Niekro ...

Baseball loves Albert Belle?

 

[shotglass]

Certainly would have a little more meat to it if St. Louis started hitting the guy after he cleaned his hand.

They did not.

 

[Oz]

Oh, but baseball loves cheaters. John McGraw, Gaylord Perry, Albert Belle, Joe Niekro ...

Baseball loves Albert Belle?

Good point, I digress there.

 

[Van Lingle Mungo]

Certainly would have a little more meat to it if St. Louis started hitting the guy after he cleaned his hand.

They did not.

Hell, that inning was the only time they put two runners on base against Rogers.

 

[BYH]

Oh, but baseball loves cheaters. John McGraw, Gaylord Perry, Albert Belle, Joe Niekro ...

Baseball loves Albert Belle?

Jason Grimsley did. Hey whatever happened to that guy?

 

[D-3 Fan]

Baseball also loves Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Pete Rose...

Carry on.

 

[jagtrader]

Certainly would have a little more meat to it if St. Louis started hitting the guy after he cleaned his hand.

They did not.

Do you think he stopped cheating after he cleaned his hand?

 

[bigpern23]

Baseball also loves Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Pete Rose...

Carry on.

Did I miss the sarcasm font on that one?

 

[Oz]

Rick Vaughn: What's that **** on your chest?
Eddie Harris: [wiping his finger across his chest] Crisco?
Eddie Harris: [wiping his finger across his waist] Bardol?
Eddie Harris: [wiping it along his head] Vagisil. Any one of them will give you another two to three inches drop on your curve ball. Of course if the umps are watching me real close I'll rub a little jalapeño up my nose, get it runnin', and if I need to load the ball up I just...
Eddie Harris: [wipes his nose] ...wipe my nose.
Rick Vaughn: You put snot on the ball?
Eddie Harris: I haven't got an arm like you, kid. I have to put anything on it I can find. Someday you will too.

 

[bigpern23]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2635538

Interesting stuff here about the substance, described as dirt and resin mixed together.

ESPN also reviewed his previous playoff starts and saw it on his hands in those as well. Very interesting, though nothing will ever come of it.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Once again, any chemist will tell you that pine tar is liquid resin.

It has the same properties as Rogers picking up the bag on the mound and mixing it with perspiration.

I do think he should have been tossed because Jay Howell was ejected for the same thing.

 

[Columbo]

Either Rogers had the same mysterious dirt on his hand for every playoff start or he cheated. And if he's cheating by putting it on his hand, he probably has it other places -- like under the brim of his cap and in his glove.

Lester Hayes used to play with that "dirt" on his shins... and everywhere else.

 

[Columbo]

Once again, any chemist will tell you that pine tar is liquid resin.

It has the same properties as Rogers picking up the bag on the mound and mixing it with perspiration.

I do think he should have been tossed because Jay Howell was ejected for the same thing.

But r-o-sin is not the same as r-e-sin, right?

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Rosin is a hardened resin.