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Pine Tar Was the Case that they Gave him
- An anonymous bullpen coach says that he's certain Kenny Rogers cheated in the World Series:
It was pine tar. It couldn't be anything else. Pitchers use pine tar, shaving cream and suntan lotion. Pitchers use them to help them grip the ball and make the ball move more. Bullpen guys sometimes keep suntan lotion in the ball bags. It's not for a tan. Pine tar works the best. It's been around the longest. - Sports Illustrated
- Third Baseman, Brandon Inge says the pine tar hoopla is just another way for the critics to diss the Tigers:
"This is another prime example of people trying to discredit our team," Inge said. "We beat the Yankees [in the Division Series], they wanted to fire Joe Torre," Inge said. "We beat Oakland [in the ALCS], they fired their manager [Ken Macha]. It's like they're saying, 'You should be embarrassed to have lost to the Tigers.' No one gives us credit for being the team we are." - worldseries.com
- Two-time AL Manager of the Year and now Cardinals hitting coach Hal McRae said that pine tar was just the tip of the cheatberg:
It was so blatant. What was so strange about it was how obvious it was, in the World Series. It's a shame a guy would cheat in a World Series game. It hurts the integrity of the game. He wasn't just cheating by using pine tar; he was scuffing balls, too. We collected about five or six balls that are scuffed. He had to be using his fingernails or something. - USA Today
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- Even though he didn't complain during the game, Cards manager Tony LaRussa now says he doesn't think the smear on the pitcher's hand was natural:
I don't believe it was dirt. Didn't look like dirt. - AP
The Bard himself prophesied this years ago through Lady MacBeth:
All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. - SI.com
- Several large photos of the smear, including one from a previous game - SI
- Gaylord Perry not only says it was pine tar, but has a tip on how to use it and not get caught next time.
Oh, well, he probably just used a little pine tar. There’s nothing wrong with that. If he got some North Carolina pine tar, that’s clear. You’ve got to know what you’re doing. - NY Times
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- Frank Robinson says LaRussa was wrong not to fix what he thought was broken:
It's not difficult going out there. It's just a matter of you doing what you have to do for your team, to protect your team. If someone is breaking a rule, I'm not going to sit there in the dugout and watch him do it. If I feel like a rule is being broken, then it's my duty as a manager to correct it. What is starting to happen in baseball, there are starting to be unwritten codes, kind of a buddy-buddy, friendly-type of code. Lots of guys have played with each other or coached with each other, and they don't want to upset anybody. It doesn't belong in baseball. It doesn't belong in sports, period. - Washington Post
AP photos
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