Rogers cheating!

Put me in the much ado about nothing camp as well.

And let's just play out the scenario if the Cardinals do ask the umps to intervene. Are they going to throw out the home team's hottest pitcher down 1-0 in the series in the first inning? I don't think so.

Or is the conversation going to go along the lines of the Gambler saying "I must have picked that up from a bat in the dugout" and the umps instructing him to wash it off and let him come back out and pitch. Seems to me that's the more likely scenario.

What the Cardinals are doing now are playing the games to try and keep the Gambler honest for game 6. Will be interesting to see if the scoreless streak can continue.

 

Mike Scott, where are you when we need you?

 

As long as we're dumping on the Cards, is there a worse baseball All-Star non-athlete than Scott Rolen? I know he's hitting, but he's built like a brick backstop, and to see him run into Inge the other night -- a squirt compared to Rolen -- and see Rolen go down just made me laugh out loud.

If Rolen wasn't a hitter he'd be checking tire pressure on shopping carts.

 

Kirk

Just noted your little tagline about Weaver.

I'm a firm believer that guy has never given up a "harmless homer." By that I mean he's never given up a solo shot in the first or a two-run dinger with his team leading by nine. He ALWAYS serves up a game-winner or momentum-changer.

I've often wished there was a video montage available which shows all Weavers mistakes because his reactions are always classic.

SSM

 

The only people who seem to think this is an issue are the ultra-naive with a superficial understanding of the game and how it's played. Pine tar has always been used to help grip baseballs in cold weather. Let's move on to a real issue please.

Like him or not, Kenny Rogers has been absolutely masterful this postseason. Other than the hopelessly naive, I suspect a lot of folks have latched onto this because of the shoving incident last year and like the idea of finding something else with which to try and bury the guy. If that's the case, it's intellectually dishonest.

 

Nor does he limit his damage to a solo HR or a 2 run shot. Usually, it's a barrage of hits leading to big number innings. Which is making his postseason thus far a bit miraculous in itself. Still waiting for the big shoe to drop, though. One more Weaver start to survive.

 

Bingo, cran.

Couldn't have said it better.

 

Well said, Cranberry. This story is getting more run because of the off day, frankly. The fact that Rogers shut the Cards down after his hand was "clean" makes it a non-story in my opinion. Christ, if they ejected every guy that did something, some kind of cheating, they wouldn't be able to play the games.

 

If LaRussa asked him to be checked, and the substance was found to be pine tar, Rogers is out of the game. Period. There is no provision in the rule for the umps to tell him to clean his hand off.

If LaRussa could have gotten the Tigers best pitcher ejected in the first inning, he should have. Whether or not you think it's not sporting to do it, LaRussa's responsibility is to his franchise, and maximizing the Cardinals chances to win. If he could have done this and chose not to, he's not acting in the Cardinals best interest.

If I'm a Cardinal player, I'm not thrilled with LaRussa's casual attitude.

The fact that Rogers dominated the game is all the more reason to try and get him ejected. What makes the Cardinals chance to win greater, facing Rogers who shut them down, or an unprepared long man?

 

I would pay cash money to see the umps try and determine if it was pine tar. How would they do it, by sniffing? The only thing they likely would smell would be Rogers' groupie girlfriend.

 

Cran,
I honestly didn't realized it was the same guy until well after I had posted on this thread (don't watch any regular season baseball, which might make me unqualified to comment on the situation in other ways, but that's another argument). Once I put 2+2 together this morning, though, I began rooting even harder for him to get shelled. I agree the onus was on LaRussa to act and he (intentionally?) screwed it up... water under the bridge now.

 

Eliminate all foreign and made in the U.S.A. substances from baseball. period.