October 23, 2006

GOTTA LEARN TO PLAY IT RIGHT:

The Gambler's legend grows (Larry Stone, 10/23/06, Seattle Times)

This is getting seriously historical, what Kenny Rogers is doing in this October of his redemption.

Rogers is snorting and snarling his way to one of the all-time great postseasons, one that started out evoking the name of Orel Hershiser and now is moving rapidly into Christy Mathewson territory.

On a bitterly cold night at Comerica Park, Rogers on Sunday put another indelible stamp on his growing legend, and added a bit of intrigue and controversy in the process.

Just what was that dark blotch on the palm of his pitching hand, isolated on TV still shots after the first inning? Was it pine tar, as some Cardinals hitters seem to have suspected? Or merely dirt, as Rogers insisted, and umpire supervisor Steve Palermo concurred?

It hardly mattered in the big picture.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 23, 2006 8:17 AM
Comments

I guess this isn't about Kenny Rogers the singer.

Posted by: erp at October 23, 2006 9:10 AM

Lousy cheater.

Posted by: Pepys at October 23, 2006 12:04 PM

How did the ol' Cards catcher, Tim McCarver, happen to see a brown smudge on someone's hand 200 feet away? We Tiger fans want to know what he knew and when he knew it. Is Tim still dealing with the results of the '68 Series?

Posted by: JimBobElrod at October 23, 2006 12:42 PM

The Cards can't hit lefties at all, which makes Rogers' obvious cheating pretty humorous--he must have some major self-confidence issues (understandably, of course). Hey, Kenny--next time try to have an explanation worked out that is at least vaguely plausible. "I make my living entirely on the work of my left hand, and yet I did not even notice a pound of 'mud' was caked on it" is something that even a great politician wouldn't try to pull off...

Posted by: b at October 23, 2006 1:06 PM

Aw, c'mon - he just wiped his mouth, which had a big chaw in there. Or he wiped something else, just before taking the field.

Posted by: ratbert at October 23, 2006 3:09 PM
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