What's the deal with all of this? It's such a weird situation. He obviously had pine tar or something else on his hand, it sure as shit wasn't dirt. Are the umpires trying to cover this up? Why didn't Larussa take advantage of the situation and get Rogers booted from the game and the series? Cause he has class? I don't buy that. Plus his statements made me sick considering he had king steroids(MgGwire and and Canseco) help him win a World Series. Is Selig trying to sweep this under the rug like he does everything else? Why is it that baseball seems to always run into these type of issues while other sports don't?

Basically, this is what frustrates me about baseball in general. There's all these "unset" rules that just make the game worse and ends up blowing up in their faces at the worst times. Comments?

i like Kenny Rogers.

In this case, it IS a "set rule".



Here's the options:
A) It was dirt/poop/etc as Rogers claimed. He showed the ump, dirt isn't a foreign substance. Washing his hands is perfectly acceptable in this highly unlikely circumstance.
B) It was (obviously) pine tar...now..
B1) If the umpires knew it was pine tar, they should have ejected him and subsequently should be severely punished themselves. Instead, they had him wash it off perhaps before Larussa had a chance to object, which is why he was reluctant to discuss it.
B2) If the umpires just believed him when he said it was dirt and just asked him to wipe it off, then the umps should be punished for not investigating it further.
B3) If LaRussa really knew something was up and didn't do anything about it, I'd be shocked. He has pitchers checked for crap all the time during the regular season just for giggles. To claim he knew something was up and chose not to do anything about it is hogwash. Of course he'd do something about it, Larussa is as intense and competitive as they come, regardless of his friendships with other managers.

What I think happened is B1.
I think that covers my opinions.

i agree with B1 for the most part... the part your missing is about Rogers being punished for his actions

Well, there's no way to go back now and show that it was pinetar unless the ump comes out and says so, in which case...can you suspend a player for something that the ump didn't eject him for when he was clearly supposed to? And, if that were to happen, the ump is asking to lose his job and be the face of ridicule for the rest of his life. I don't see it happening.

I guess players have been fined/suspended for onfield actions that they weren't ejected for, but it's usually for fighting or language or something.

I dunno.

yeah, it's nearly impossible to prove... so i don't see anything happening and understand why nothing really can

There are pictures and video of Rogers having this shit on his hand during other outings this year. I've seen July 8th and July 20th as two examples. Palermo was on WFAN before and his excuse was thay maybe Rogers did it every start because it brought him luck and he was superstitious. If that's the case, why bother wiping off this "dirt". It's not illegal to have dirt on your hands as a pitcher.

Maybe Larussa did get a complaint in? It's hard to say at this point.

It's a big deal, but it didn't change the outcome of the game. It was one inning where he *probably* had some crap on his hand. The biggest fingers should be pointed at the umpire crew if you ask me. I'm a big, big believer in "If you ain't cheatin, you ain't tryin'"

Gammons said on the radio that he feels most (60% i believe) players use pinetar whether it's on their gloves, hand, hat, etc... he almost shook it off like it was no big deal... kinda fucked up... i don't get it... if it's illegal and a 10-game suspension, then wtf

Heh, no kidding.
:sharpens cleats:

you don't just 'wipe off' pine tar.

Thanks Mike.

think they had turpentine in the dugout?

There have also been complaints that he has a doctored had that he uses to mess with the ball. maybe he cleaned the pine-tar off his hand and just kept the stuff on his hat. It's quite the coincidence that he was statistically the worst playoff pitcher of all time and now has 23 shutout innings in a row.

what does pinetar do anyways?

I think the most obvious answer why LaRussa didnt say anything is he has guys that do the same thing.

allows for better grip on the ball...helps the ball spin and bite better

Also, are Cards fans going nuts about this? I'm curious to know what they think of Larussa purposely letting it slide so Rogers didn't get ejected. I'd want my managers head if he didn't take advantage of a chance to get a hot pitcher out of a series.

dude..I've wanted his head for quite a while...nothing has changed