You can say what you want about Kenny Rogers. Sure, he's a hotheaded cameraman abuser who may or may not have cheated in the first inning of last night's game two of the World Series, but he's been at it for 19 years and the bottom line is, he wiped whatever-the-heck that was off his hands after the first inning and still threw seven more shutout innings against Pujols and company. The Tigers won the game 3-1 to even the series at one game apiece.
The 41-year-old leftie has been virtually unhittable this postseason, but a smudge of brown stuff on his hand has fueled his naysayers and Cardinals fans longing for the world title, a championship Rogers has gotten in the way of.
But except for Rogers' existing enemies and people who love Sir Albert, no one really seems phased by the possibility of impropriety. 
The media is focusing on the old man's stellar pitching of late. The "dirt" creates scandal, so the media has obviously talked about it, but this isn't exactly BALCO. Today's Sports Illustrated report on the subject indicated all parties involved seemed to shake it off, so to say.
Rogers insisted he merely had a "clump" of dirt on his hand that he wiped off when asked. That was enough to satisfy both sides' coaches and home plate umpire, Alfonzo Marquez, who noticed it first and asked Rogers to clean up. "Dirt is not a foreign substance," umpire supervisor Steve Palermo said. "That's what we play on. That's the playing surface."
Even Aaron Miles, a Cardinals infielder, admitted Rogers threw good pitches all game, whether he had dirt/pine tar on his hand or not. "Somebody said they thought they saw pine tar on him. That's about it," he said. "Whether he got rid of it, or he never had it in the first place, we don't know. His stuff was good all game."
His stuff was good the whole game, and it's been good throughout the playoffs where he enjoys a 3-0 record. The four-time All-Star has 207 regular season wins over 19 seasons. He was 17-8 this year, which tied for his second best regular season win total.
The buzz around him isn’t all that bad. No one is looking to put an asterisk on his stats and he might be a Hall of Famer. If he did doctor the ball, he’s as stupid as the golfer in the HDTV commercials - if not, should learn to wash his damn hands.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Rogers did pitch well the rest of the game and got an extra metal edge from the allegations, but the "it's only dirt" theory needs to be taken with a grain of salt as this is the third game now that Rogers has had dirt in the same location. I saw it on ESPN and the NY Times website.
2 - RJ Elliott
Well, as innings 2 - 8 indicate, Rogers apparently doesn't need no stinkin' dirt...although maybe Todd Jones does...
3 - Donnie Marler
Rogers is about a hundred wins shy, more or less, from the Hall of Fame.
I agree, RJ! Kenny should give Todd Jones a handful of that 'dirt.'
My God, it was like watching Isringhausen if you're a Cards fan.
4 - John Guilfoil
Four-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove, six-time Al wins leader. He's close. Maybe not totally there yet but he's up there. He's like Wells and Hershiser.
5 - Donnie Marler
I agree he's got impressive credentials. Whether they're HOF worthy of not I don't know. Two sure HOF first ballot pitchers today, Clemens and Glavine. I'm sure there are others, I just think these two are no brainers.
Then again, I thought Buck O'Neal was a no-brainer and he didn't make it.
6 - MCH
It is true that the last 8 innings were legitimately magnificent, but anyone who thinks that substance was not pine tar also probably believes that wars are won by blogging macho military slogans...
7 - Donnie Marler
Dammit, MCH! That's the third time today I've spit coffee on my monitor!! lol
8 - El Bicho
Compare the stats from Rogers last three magic dirt games with his previous when he want 0-3 with an ERA over 8.
You left out that he's one shove of a cameraman shy of the Hall of Fame, also.
9 - John Guilfoil
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!
10 - Matthew T. Sussman
Not take any more away from Rogers performance, but all three of his games have been at home. That helps.
You really wanna be proud of someone? Be proud of Nate Robertson. His start tonight will be his third road start in the playoffs. He took the loss against the Yankess in Game 1 to "get the jitters out of the way." Then he won Game 1 against Oakland and now has to put Detroit in the lead tonight.
A lot of people talked about the Big Three in Detroit (Bonderman, Rogers, Verlander) and rightfully so. Robertson has been the "fourth pitcher" much like the third tenor and the third man on the moon. But Robertson has legitimized himself as much as the other three, and if he can go 6 IP/2ER tonight, he won't be "the other" anything.
11 - Donnie Marler
So, you're saying Tigers tonight? Or will we continue to qualify our pick with 'if?' If nothin'! Win or lose tonight, Matt?
Seriously, I like the Robertson kid. He's pitched tough. Carpenter ain't bad either, although he's been less than his usual stellar self of late.
12 - Matthew T. Sussman
Well, Robertson did beat Zito in the ALCS. However, I think Edmonds and Rolen struggle against left-handers, and Pujols will be sittin' pretty, so it evens out. I see this game being won something like 6-4 or 6-3 or 5-3, but this will not be the pitchers duel it was on Sunday. Both pitchers will struggle.
I'm not making any more predictions after the ALDS, when I went 3-for-4. That's a high note to leave on.