So LaRussa has issues with the bullpen mound and the game baseballs. Maybe he’ll express irritation over the 60’ 6” next.

Huh. I interpreted that a little more generously to Smoltz. To me, it sounded like Smoltz was giving Arroyo some credit for doing a better job than him in dealing with the (perhaps imaginary?) problem.

I guess tone of voice matters for that, trokenmatt, but for me “the but I mean” part of the quote seals it for me as more of a whine than it was credit to Arroyo.

To top that off, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted Dave Duncan accusing Arroyo of using pine tar from his hat:

“Duncan, who said the umpires told him the baseballs indeed were rubbed up, said Arroyo was able to deal with the issue because “I’m sure he had pine tar on his cap. He didn’t have any problem getting a grip. Balls like that can generate a lot more movement than a slick ball that hasn’t been rubbed up.”

Asked if he had seen Arroyo go to his cap, Duncan said, ‘Just every pitch.’”

“Typically, baseballs are rubbed with mud before a game. By rule they must be rubbed down “so that the gloss is removed.”“

Why don’t the balls come pre-rubbed?  Or can’t they be made without a gloss?  If the rules say they can’t be glossy, can’t MLB, when they place their order for balls for the year, ask for non-glossy ones?

List of potential excuses to be used in the future.

1.  Lack of Halogen lightbulbs gave the field an unnatural look.

2.  Chemical composition of the dirt was altered making it stick more to the cleats.

3.  Flight patterns were re-routed by the FAA causing both audio and visual distractions.

4.  Gatorade mixture was off resulting in a slight decrease in effectiveness.

5.  The dryer shrunk his shorts causing a very irritating chafe.

For those interested, here’s a pretty good post about how baseballs are rubbed up before the game. It does seem to require some good attention from the guy doing it.

http://snaggingbaseballs.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/08/lena_blackburne_rubbing_mud.html

It seems to me that there’d have to be some sort of conspiracy going on between a) the guy who rubs the balls down and b) the umpires who choose the balls if what Smoltz was saying - that all of the balls were improperly rubbed down - was true.

Please retire!!  You are terrible!! JS had a great career and should be a first ballot HOF, but crying like this is unbecoming and pathetic. Let’s put it in simple language.  YOU ARE OLD!! BECOME AN ANNOUNCER FOR ESPN BASEBALL TONIGHT!!!

“Who got in without knowing the secret handshake?”
I don’t know, Len, but the Sergeant-of-Arms is not performing his duties.  A similar post mysteriously appeared in yesterday’s thread.