Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
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By Roger Rubin
New York Daily News
(MCT)
DETROIT - Did he or didn't he?
When the final out had been recorded in the Tigers' 3-1 Game 2 win in the World Series, everyone wanted to know whether the Cardinals thought Kenny Rogers was using an illegal substance in the first inning to gain an advantage on the mound.
None wanted to give a definitive answer. Most of them talked around it. Some, like Scott Spiezio, let their feelings be known without making a declaration.
"You have your suspicions, but who knows? He said it was dirt," said Spiezio, who struck out in the first inning on his way to an 0-for-3 night. "It's possible. I guess anything is possible.
"What do I think? I really don't want to say."
Baseball can be a strange game, with its many traditions and secrets. For example, players don't talk much about a pitcher tipping pitches. In this case it might be understandable that the Cardinals did not want to make an outright accusation.
After Rogers was made to remove the substance he called a "clump of dirt" from his hand, he completely befuddled them.
"The bottom line is that we got our chances," said David Eckstein, who grounded out to lead off the game. "He looked just as good to me in my other at-bats against him as he did in the first.
It's believed that first St. Louis player to notice the discoloration at the base of the thumb on Rogers' throwing hand was Jose Vizcaino. And Juan Encarnacion conceded that there was a great deal of talk about it in the dugout leading up to manager Tony La Russa asking umpires to check Rogers.
"It's not important," La Russa said after the game when asked about his conversations with the umps. "I wouldn't discuss it. When a guy pitches like that, as a team, we don't take things away from anybody."
"Whatever he does out there, there are some pitchers who can get away (with it)," said Albert Pujols, who walked in the first inning and didn't get a hit in his two other at-bats against Rogers. "And if he was using something . . . I'd think he was more veteran than (to do) that."
The prevailing theory was that the cold might have made the ball hard to grip and that Rogers used the substance to help. Some of the Cardinals thought Rogers should have been approached during that first inning - certainly after television cameras showed the discoloration clearly.
"I guess it would have been nice, if he did have pine tar," Spiezio said. "But I don't think it affected us. He's the one who has to worry about that, not us. . . . We still had pitches to hit. I hope they fix it the next time."
The tactic is not that uncommon in baseball. The Cardinals all agreed they have run into pitchers who have done it.
"There's a ton of pitchers that do it. There's a ton of pitchers that got caught," Spiezio said. "If he did it, he got away with it. So good for him, I guess."
New York Daily News
(MCT)
DETROIT - Did he or didn't he?
When the final out had been recorded in the Tigers' 3-1 Game 2 win in the World Series, everyone wanted to know whether the Cardinals thought Kenny Rogers was using an illegal substance in the first inning to gain an advantage on the mound.
None wanted to give a definitive answer. Most of them talked around it. Some, like Scott Spiezio, let their feelings be known without making a declaration.
"You have your suspicions, but who knows? He said it was dirt," said Spiezio, who struck out in the first inning on his way to an 0-for-3 night. "It's possible. I guess anything is possible.
"What do I think? I really don't want to say."
Baseball can be a strange game, with its many traditions and secrets. For example, players don't talk much about a pitcher tipping pitches. In this case it might be understandable that the Cardinals did not want to make an outright accusation.
After Rogers was made to remove the substance he called a "clump of dirt" from his hand, he completely befuddled them.
"The bottom line is that we got our chances," said David Eckstein, who grounded out to lead off the game. "He looked just as good to me in my other at-bats against him as he did in the first.
It's believed that first St. Louis player to notice the discoloration at the base of the thumb on Rogers' throwing hand was Jose Vizcaino. And Juan Encarnacion conceded that there was a great deal of talk about it in the dugout leading up to manager Tony La Russa asking umpires to check Rogers.
"It's not important," La Russa said after the game when asked about his conversations with the umps. "I wouldn't discuss it. When a guy pitches like that, as a team, we don't take things away from anybody."
"Whatever he does out there, there are some pitchers who can get away (with it)," said Albert Pujols, who walked in the first inning and didn't get a hit in his two other at-bats against Rogers. "And if he was using something . . . I'd think he was more veteran than (to do) that."
The prevailing theory was that the cold might have made the ball hard to grip and that Rogers used the substance to help. Some of the Cardinals thought Rogers should have been approached during that first inning - certainly after television cameras showed the discoloration clearly.
"I guess it would have been nice, if he did have pine tar," Spiezio said. "But I don't think it affected us. He's the one who has to worry about that, not us. . . . We still had pitches to hit. I hope they fix it the next time."
The tactic is not that uncommon in baseball. The Cardinals all agreed they have run into pitchers who have done it.
"There's a ton of pitchers that do it. There's a ton of pitchers that got caught," Spiezio said. "If he did it, he got away with it. So good for him, I guess."