World series game 2 pitcher controversy?

Question

I am curious to see what the general opinion is on the pine tar contorversy with the Detroit pitcher from game two of the world series. Do you think this is what it was on his hand and was the appropriate action taken? Would you say that he really cheated? Did Tony LaRussa make the right call by not loudly objecting to the player being left in the game? Many are saying that this will honestly make it a fair series by leaving him in. What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

It's typical pro sports and baseball in general. He was caught "red" handed sort to speak. That stuff gives you a competative advantage and he should have been called out for using it. Unfortunately since no one made a big fuss about it, all we have are pictures to prove that he had something other than dirt on his hands.

It is just like the use of performance inhancing materials.... many players use it to give them the edge...they just don't get caught. If you are caught then you should be punished.

Answer 2

I think He Cheated and Should Of been Thought Out of the Game I'm Not sure It was Pine Tar I hear on A Local Radio Show Yesterday He Might of used some kind of stick stuff But I do Feel He Cheated and If I were Tony LaRussa I would Of Complain Kenny Rogers Has A history of Cheating.
I think that the cardinal not complaining might cost them the World Series If the Tigers Had To Put another pitcher In they might of scored some runs. If the Cardinal Lose They can look Back and Say They Lost Because They Didn't Complain.


Just So You Know I'm Not a Cardinal Fan I want the Tigers To Win Because They Our In the American League But I Do feel Kenny Rogers Cheated

Answer 3

He did cheat, however a lot of pitchers do. Rogers had pine tar under his cap brim and went to it all game long. He has been using the same trick most of the season, and the reason he wasnt thrown out is the same that Clemmons wasn't in 2000 for throwing a bat head at Piazza. The Umps are very timid when it comes to ejections in the WS. Anything an ump does in the postseason can effect his career more than any player's actions can effect their careers. If a good ump makes a huge mistake in the WS it can cost him his livelyhood, a player on the other hand has plenty of options, both here and abroad.

Take Kenny Rogers for instance, a goat for the Yankees and the Mets in the post season. Has been caught cheating in the past, but here he is in thw WS again. If an ump were to be a goat of a WS by blowing a big crucial call, he gets death threats and fired. It's not fair, it effects the games but nothing can be done about it.

When was the last time you can remember a player or coach thrown out of a game in the World Series? Clemmons didn't for throwing a splintered bat at Mike Piazza, Rogers didn't for getting caught using a banned substance to alter balls. If you dig deeper there is probably a lot more.

Answer 4

Its cheating, the pinetar on his hand gives his off speed pitch pitch a lot more movement, which if u watched the game his braking ball kept him in. the pine tar has been on his hand throughout the entire post season, and even through many of the regular season games. if it was a corked bat the world would have condemed the batter, we arn't saying anything because its the world series and baseball has had a rough enough time with cheating...which leads to the reason that LaRussa kept it on the down low, it would have been too big of a bruise on baseball to see somthing like that at that level. Rogers is scrappy and i know we are saying he took it off and still pitched a great game, well it was removed from the hand but what was bothering him with his hat so much? he only touched his bill 100 times that game, another thing is why does he wear the batting practice hat with a black rim under the bill instead of the game hats that have gray underneath the bill? Rogers isnt the first to do such a thing but the first that cameras have fully caught. its rough because he is a good pitcher and baseball has had a tough time keeping some morals in the game but when the yankees walked back to the dugout after striking out each one of them made comments on how the ball is moving more than ever before....

they didnt leave him in because they thought it would make it fair nor because of his friendship with the tigers coach, it was simply because of the mockery it would have made on baseball

Answer 5

I am a Cardinals fan but I believe that cheaters never win. If it was pine tar, then Rogers knows in his heart it was not right. He did pitch a great game anyways without it, now people will start to question his and his ball clubs credibility. He is a fine pitcher but this game should have never went on with him pitching. If the rules are the pitcher is automatically thrown out the game then LaRussa should have done the right thing an asked him to be removed because if it was just dirt, why did he have to go wash his hands he should have wiped it on his pants and moved on. This was not fair to the Cardinals nor fair to the true sport of baseball.

Answer 6

It was definitely pine tar because no pitcher in the world can pitch with even a little peice of dirt on their hand, they will notice it and it will bug the hell out of them. Since Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland are such good friends, Tony told the umps to ask Kenny Rogers to just wash the pine tar off so it wouldn't embarass Leyland (the manager). However, later in the game, you can still see pine tar on Kenny Rogers hat and glove. You can also see pine tar in the same spots during the ALCS vs the A's and the divisional series against the Yankees,

Answer 7

As someone who is from Detroit, I really don't thinked he cheated. If, LaRussa was really that concerned then he should of made a bigger stink. Also, if it was pine tar then when he washed his hands, don't you think that his pitching would have been awful. The only reason that everybody is making a big deal out of this is because it's Detroit. We are the cindrella story of the year and nobody outside of Detroit knows it. LET'S GO TIGERS.

Answer 8

It was cheating-previous teams have complained about him and cameras have shown that throughout the playoffs he has had the substance on his hand. LaRussa tried to handle it like a gentleman because he and the Tigers manager are close friends--that being said he did not handle it to his teams advantage. The rule book is clear on what the penalty would be for a violation. LaRussa's job, first and foremost should be to help put his team in a position to win.

Answer 9

I think LaRussa did exactly the right thing. He asked the umpires to have Rogers remove whatever was on his hand, and they did. Rogers still pitched great, even with the substance off his hand, so I'm not sure why people are still so hung up on the situation.

I have no way of knowing if that was pine tar, resin, dirt, or a combination of all of them. It's just disappointing that people are still lacking back, and not forward to what should be another good pitching matchup tonight.

Answer 10

If it was pine tar on his hand, he would have been thrown out of the game. He pitched 7 flawless innings after that. Tigers win in 6 games.