Tuesday, October 24, 2006

10/24/06 Know When to Walk Away

I'm only going to talk about this once - The Kenny Rogers incident. And I'm going to focus on the Tony LaRussa part. The question keeps coming up - Why didn't Tony LaRussa (manager of the opposing Cardinals, for those that don't follow baseball) make a bigger deal about the "dirt" found on Detroit pitcher's, Kenny Rogers, hand? There is only one answer. And the answer is simple. The answer is that most pitchers do what Kenny Rogers did. And Tony LaRussa knows better than anyone "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying." And if he made a real big deal over the "dirt", then every pitcher in the World Series would be TSA violated for the next week. And even then, if you're looking for some "stick" how hard would it be to find some clear, sticky hair gel for $4.99 at Target for your next start? Worst case, you just rub some jalapeno up your nose and get it running.

Remember, Tony LaRussa seemed liked the only one in Mark McGwire's corner when congress and the entire baseball world came down on McGwire over his alleged steroid use. Say what you want about LaRussa. He knows that guys go above and beyond and bend the "rules" to gain a competitive advantage. They always have. And they always will. He knows it. We know it too. Although we seem to deny it for our own benefit. One thing I admire about LaRussa is that he defends the guys that gave their all for him, no matter what they may have done to do it. That includes steroids. And that includes pine tar.

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Well said Keith Olbermann. Well said.

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