I Was Wrong

After the Detroit Tigers won Game 2 of the World Series behind the pitching of Kenny Rogers, I commented at The Moderate Voice:

Kenny Rogers is my hero. He's about ten years younger than I am. But by performing so well against men much younger than himself, he shows us what we all can do, irrespective of the encroachments of age!

Several commenters challenged me for characterizing Rogers as a hero. Ignorantly, I defended myself. But it now appears clear that Rogers used pine tar, a substance that helps pitchers get more of a grip on baseballs, particularly in cold weather. But it's a substance rightly banned from the game. Rogers should have been tossed from the game for that rules violation.

I presented my heartfelt mea culpa at TMV:

I want to retract my earlier comments about Kenny Rogers. He clearly did cheat.

I didn't catch the earlier innings of the game and when I did tune in, Fox glossed over the incident, seeming to intimate that it was a misunderstanding and not actually pinetar.

The use of such a substance gave Rogers an unfair advantage. Its use is as serious as using steroids and the prohibitions against it longer standing.

Sorry that I spoke out of ignorance earlier. Cheaters shouldn't be rewarded.

In a phrase: I was wrong.