Palm Aid

It's been a relatively uneventful playoff season in baseball with no controversial call or plays so far. The only thing even approaching controversial occurred in Sunday night's contest when Fox Sports zoomed in on Tigers pitcher Kenny "the Gambler" Roger's thumb to show what looked like a dreaded 'foreign substance'. Make up your own joke here.

When asked to explain he said,

"It was a big clump of dirt, and I wiped it off," Rogers said. "I didn't know it was there, and they told me and I took it off, and it wasn't a big deal."

Sure, Kenny. Everyone does that. On the playground when they're eight, maybe.

While some press outlets such as AFP didn't even mention the event at all, others showed a comparison picture of Rogers during Sunday's game and one during the ALCS against the A's. There was an orangish smudge during the ALCS, too. Weird, wild, stuff.

Did anyone else find it strange that after the umpires huddled about the smudge Rogers' on-field demeanor seemed to change? He was barking at people, gesticulating and otherwise giving the impression of being half nuts. Even his manager was concerned:

"It makes me nervous to see someone that pumped up," Leyland said.

Was the show of emotions an improvised act designed to detract attention away from the smudge? Hard to say, since Rogers has been known to get wild in the past. Regardless, the Cardinals couldn't hit him either way.

St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa was wise to not make it a big deal. Not yet, at least.