Under any other circumstance, Tony La Russa would not hesitate to have a suspected pitcher searched for illegal paraphernalia on the mound. But for some reason, La Russa didn't resort to his usual gamesmanship. Instead he had a "chat" with the home plate umpire, who had a "chat" with the suspect pitcher, who may or may not have had some foreign substance on his hand that he used to doctor the ball and make it break in an unusual manner. Kenny Rogers went on to pitch seven more scoreless innings after he "washed" his hands, so you might think that the point is moot. Not so fast.
La Russa is a close friend of Detroit manager Jim Leyland. The article suggests that La Russa chose the "chat" route over inspection, to preserve that friendship. If that's the case, and the Cardinals end up losing to Rogers again in a possible deciding game six, La Russa should lose his job. Friendship is nice, but when it comes to breaking the rules or staying friends, the rules should win out every time.
If Rogers did have a foreign substance that he used to doctor the ball, he would have been ejected from the game immediately and faced suspension for the rest of the series. Instead he got to wash his hands and stay in the game and the series. I can't wait to see game six.
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