Tigers#1
10-24-2006, 05:00 PM
Notes: Tigers closer Jones admits to using pine tar in 2003
"Apparently, it didn't really help me a lot," said Jones, who was 1-4 with an 8.24 ERA in 33 games in Colorado.
"There's all kinds of way to do it. This is not brand new. Hitters use it, catchers use it on their shin guards, fielders have it on their gloves. It's an accepted thing.
"There's a difference between pine tar and Vaseline. Pine tar is helping you grip the ball so you know where it's going. You don't want to hit the hitter. If you can't feel the ball and it's slick, you may smoke somebody and not try to do it. I've played with all kinds of pitchers and there's a lot of discussions on things like this. I'm not talking about scuffing or using Vaseline. I think everybody would say there's a difference between that and trying to break even."
Jones, however, says that he believes it would have been grossly unfair for Rogers to be suspended, and that pitchers should not be checked without proof.
"There are unwritten rules about that," Jones said. "You don't check if there's not an advantage being made. This is something that has gone on for years. Whether it's right or wrong is up for debate. But if the other team doesn't have a problem with it because their team is doing it too, I don't know what everybody else is worried about. Don't make a big deal about this."
No big deal: Tigers first baseman Sean Casey believes this is simply a matter of the Cardinals trying to get into Rogers' head, hoping to break his concentration.
"It's making a mountain out of a mole hill," Casey said. "He said it was some dirt on his hand. For seven innings after that, they didn't touch him. It's not a conversation here at all.
"I think it's being made into a bigger deal than it is. The guy has dominated in the postseason and people are looking for things."
Not accusing: Cardinals catcher Vance Wilson refused to directly accuse Rogers of cheating, but says that Rogers shouldn't have benefited that greatly by using a foreign substance.
"I don't care if the ball had stick-em or pine tar, or whatever you want to call it," Wilson said, "it's not going to make the ball do crazy things, only once in a while. You still have to make pitches and make guys swing and miss."
Meanwhile, Cardinals second baseman Ronnie Belliard, when asked if it's still cheating if not caught: "If a guy uses a corked bat, or a substance, he's cheating. It's that simple."
Lack of offense: The Tigers are even in the World Series, but it doesn't have a lot to do with their offense. They were beaten 7-2 in Game.1, and Kenny Rogers' pitching was the reason were able to win Game 2.
The Tigers have a .219 average in the first two games. Second baseman Placido Polanco, the MVP of the American League Championship Series, is 0-for-7 and catcher Ivan Rodriguez is 0-for-8. The Tigers had chances to blow Game 2 open, but couldn't. They even loaded the bases with no ones and couldn't score.
Rodriguez is in a 0-for-20 post season slump. Tigers manager Jim Leyland thinks that Rodriguez's bat is going to be a factor.
"I think by nature Pudge is such a fierce competitor," Leyland said. "I think he's put himself into a trap where he's trying to do too much. He wants it so bad. It's hard to criticize a player for that."
Leyland said that in Rogers' case, extra adrenaline has helped, but in Rodriguez's case, "over adrenaline has hurt him so far. Some guys that stuff is good for. Other guys get too tense up trying to do too much and it backfires."
Rodriguez says Leyland's assessment is correct. He says that he's been struggling and swinging at bad pitches.
"I'm going to wait for my pitch and not be too anxious," Rodriguez said. "I'm happy and I feel good."
Layoff: The Tigers' dominance in the postseason has a down side: Tuesday's Game 3 starter, Nate Robertson, hasn't pitched for two weeks, when he beat the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the ALCS.
"I don't know what we are going to get," Leyland said. "We could get a fastball with a little bit more velocity than normal, but maybe not as good of control. Or, we could run into a situation like we did with (Justin) Verlander," referring to his Game 1 pitcher who lost his fastball because of the layoff.
"I think I'm going to get a good performance, but you really never know for sure," Leyland said. "We've had some extra bullpen sessions with these guys, to try to keep them as sharp as possible. But in all fairness, there's nothing like game conditions."
Shuffle: Sean Casey, who was the Tigers' DH in the first two games to protect his injured left calf, will return to first base for Game 3, meaning that shortstop Carlos Guillen will shift back to shortstop.
Guillen took over when Casey went out with the injury in the ALCS. He doesn't mind first base, but he prefers shortstop. And, to make sure he hasn't lost his sharpness, he's been taking grounders at shortstop and first base each day.
"You have to think about the angles, throwing the ball and the foot-work," Guillen says.
Workout: The Tigers worked out at Busch Stadium for the first time Monday and Leyland says the team isn't going to gain much about the ballpark in one session.
"We'll get a feel of the outfield," Leyland said. "It's kind of a cram course."
The Cardinals say their new ballpark plays fair.
"It's not a hitter's park, and it's not a pitcher's park," says Cardinals closer Adam Wainwright. "A lot depends on which direction the wind is blowing. If you hit it well, it will go out. It not, it won't."
Cardinals outfielder Preston Wilson said the ballpark plays similar to the old Busch Stadium.
"It's fair, but it is a little bit bigger in the gaps."
From the port side: The Cardinals don't have to be reminded that their 23-34 record against left-handers was the NL's worst during the regular season, but they hear about it all the time anyway.
That's been especially true after Rogers held them to two hits in eight innings Sunday, and with Robertson, another lefty, scheduled to take the mound Tuesday for the Tigers in Game 3.
Cardinals outfielder Preston Wilson, however, says their styles are quite different.
"He's a lefty who has decent stuff, he has a good slider, good fastball, likes to pitch in. He's aggressive that way," Wilson said of Robertson. "But he's not like the (Tom) Glavine, Kenny Rogers, Greg Maddux type, who rely on a whole lot of deception and changing speeds."
Dinger equals dinner: If Tigers left fielder Craig Monroe continues his recent run of power hitting, the nation's fast-food aficionados will be the beneficiaries.
Taco Bell announced Monday that if a home run is hit to left field in Tuesday's Game.3, "everyone in the U.S. will have the opportunity to enjoy a free seasoned Beef Crunchy Taco."
Monroe smoked a pair of home runs to left field in Games 1 and 2.
A similar shot tonight likely won't put the Irvine, Calif.-based fast-food giant out of business. Approximate retail value of one beef crunchy taco: 77 cents.
"Apparently, it didn't really help me a lot," said Jones, who was 1-4 with an 8.24 ERA in 33 games in Colorado.
"There's all kinds of way to do it. This is not brand new. Hitters use it, catchers use it on their shin guards, fielders have it on their gloves. It's an accepted thing.
"There's a difference between pine tar and Vaseline. Pine tar is helping you grip the ball so you know where it's going. You don't want to hit the hitter. If you can't feel the ball and it's slick, you may smoke somebody and not try to do it. I've played with all kinds of pitchers and there's a lot of discussions on things like this. I'm not talking about scuffing or using Vaseline. I think everybody would say there's a difference between that and trying to break even."
Jones, however, says that he believes it would have been grossly unfair for Rogers to be suspended, and that pitchers should not be checked without proof.
"There are unwritten rules about that," Jones said. "You don't check if there's not an advantage being made. This is something that has gone on for years. Whether it's right or wrong is up for debate. But if the other team doesn't have a problem with it because their team is doing it too, I don't know what everybody else is worried about. Don't make a big deal about this."
No big deal: Tigers first baseman Sean Casey believes this is simply a matter of the Cardinals trying to get into Rogers' head, hoping to break his concentration.
"It's making a mountain out of a mole hill," Casey said. "He said it was some dirt on his hand. For seven innings after that, they didn't touch him. It's not a conversation here at all.
"I think it's being made into a bigger deal than it is. The guy has dominated in the postseason and people are looking for things."
Not accusing: Cardinals catcher Vance Wilson refused to directly accuse Rogers of cheating, but says that Rogers shouldn't have benefited that greatly by using a foreign substance.
"I don't care if the ball had stick-em or pine tar, or whatever you want to call it," Wilson said, "it's not going to make the ball do crazy things, only once in a while. You still have to make pitches and make guys swing and miss."
Meanwhile, Cardinals second baseman Ronnie Belliard, when asked if it's still cheating if not caught: "If a guy uses a corked bat, or a substance, he's cheating. It's that simple."
Lack of offense: The Tigers are even in the World Series, but it doesn't have a lot to do with their offense. They were beaten 7-2 in Game.1, and Kenny Rogers' pitching was the reason were able to win Game 2.
The Tigers have a .219 average in the first two games. Second baseman Placido Polanco, the MVP of the American League Championship Series, is 0-for-7 and catcher Ivan Rodriguez is 0-for-8. The Tigers had chances to blow Game 2 open, but couldn't. They even loaded the bases with no ones and couldn't score.
Rodriguez is in a 0-for-20 post season slump. Tigers manager Jim Leyland thinks that Rodriguez's bat is going to be a factor.
"I think by nature Pudge is such a fierce competitor," Leyland said. "I think he's put himself into a trap where he's trying to do too much. He wants it so bad. It's hard to criticize a player for that."
Leyland said that in Rogers' case, extra adrenaline has helped, but in Rodriguez's case, "over adrenaline has hurt him so far. Some guys that stuff is good for. Other guys get too tense up trying to do too much and it backfires."
Rodriguez says Leyland's assessment is correct. He says that he's been struggling and swinging at bad pitches.
"I'm going to wait for my pitch and not be too anxious," Rodriguez said. "I'm happy and I feel good."
Layoff: The Tigers' dominance in the postseason has a down side: Tuesday's Game 3 starter, Nate Robertson, hasn't pitched for two weeks, when he beat the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the ALCS.
"I don't know what we are going to get," Leyland said. "We could get a fastball with a little bit more velocity than normal, but maybe not as good of control. Or, we could run into a situation like we did with (Justin) Verlander," referring to his Game 1 pitcher who lost his fastball because of the layoff.
"I think I'm going to get a good performance, but you really never know for sure," Leyland said. "We've had some extra bullpen sessions with these guys, to try to keep them as sharp as possible. But in all fairness, there's nothing like game conditions."
Shuffle: Sean Casey, who was the Tigers' DH in the first two games to protect his injured left calf, will return to first base for Game 3, meaning that shortstop Carlos Guillen will shift back to shortstop.
Guillen took over when Casey went out with the injury in the ALCS. He doesn't mind first base, but he prefers shortstop. And, to make sure he hasn't lost his sharpness, he's been taking grounders at shortstop and first base each day.
"You have to think about the angles, throwing the ball and the foot-work," Guillen says.
Workout: The Tigers worked out at Busch Stadium for the first time Monday and Leyland says the team isn't going to gain much about the ballpark in one session.
"We'll get a feel of the outfield," Leyland said. "It's kind of a cram course."
The Cardinals say their new ballpark plays fair.
"It's not a hitter's park, and it's not a pitcher's park," says Cardinals closer Adam Wainwright. "A lot depends on which direction the wind is blowing. If you hit it well, it will go out. It not, it won't."
Cardinals outfielder Preston Wilson said the ballpark plays similar to the old Busch Stadium.
"It's fair, but it is a little bit bigger in the gaps."
From the port side: The Cardinals don't have to be reminded that their 23-34 record against left-handers was the NL's worst during the regular season, but they hear about it all the time anyway.
That's been especially true after Rogers held them to two hits in eight innings Sunday, and with Robertson, another lefty, scheduled to take the mound Tuesday for the Tigers in Game 3.
Cardinals outfielder Preston Wilson, however, says their styles are quite different.
"He's a lefty who has decent stuff, he has a good slider, good fastball, likes to pitch in. He's aggressive that way," Wilson said of Robertson. "But he's not like the (Tom) Glavine, Kenny Rogers, Greg Maddux type, who rely on a whole lot of deception and changing speeds."
Dinger equals dinner: If Tigers left fielder Craig Monroe continues his recent run of power hitting, the nation's fast-food aficionados will be the beneficiaries.
Taco Bell announced Monday that if a home run is hit to left field in Tuesday's Game.3, "everyone in the U.S. will have the opportunity to enjoy a free seasoned Beef Crunchy Taco."
Monroe smoked a pair of home runs to left field in Games 1 and 2.
A similar shot tonight likely won't put the Irvine, Calif.-based fast-food giant out of business. Approximate retail value of one beef crunchy taco: 77 cents.