VALVERDE'S SPITTER & OTHER ANTICS

I believe in passion on the field and while I don’t necessarily feel like Jose Valerde doesn’t do anything wrong but embarrass himself with his stupid dance at the end of Tiger wins, I do think there’s a double standard when broadcasters give this guy a pass for being a clown, yet some hammer guys like Nick Swisher when he pounded on his chest back when the Yankees beat the Red Sox…a game full of emotion.

Yup, that was John Kruk that did that and I tweeted him to ask him what he thought about Valverde compared to Swisher recently. I’m not sure why, but it was on my mind. I know…I don’t hold a grudge or anything, but I was curious. Needless to say, Kruk's way to big for me, he didn't write me back, whatever.

Baseball is a great game. I was thinking about the passion recently when the world got wind of Jose Valverde's obvious spit into his glove, onto the baseball...the spit seen around the world.  Read HERE. Now clearly he spit, if you watch the video HERE, it's obvious, but I have a theory that you probably won't believe.  I have more of a problem with Valverde dancing like a moron after a Tigers win than I do about a spit ball.  Or, let me rephrase, a spitball that you obviously know is coming.  You know what I mean?  If Valverde snuck that spitter and no one saw him, I wouldn't care.  But spitting out in the opened into a mitt with a ball in it, much like coating your glove with pine tar like Rays pitcher Joel Peralta did the other night, it stupid.

My take on this is simple, many pitchers use "substances" to doctor baseballs, and it's been happening forever.  I say, if you're going to do it, don't be obvious.  If you're obvious, you're stupid.  Valverde was stupid. Peralta was stupid.

(In Photo: Gaylord Perry)

Antics in baseball has always been there and the spitball was big with guys like Gaylord Perry and no one did it better. Bottom line, I love the spitball, I’m not going to lie. Sure, you’re not supposed to throw it, but any time you can get alittle dirt on the ball or pine tar or, dare I say spit, well, I call it baseball, as long as it’s not overdone.

Remember Joe Niekro and the nail file he tossed when the umpires wanted to look a  his hands?  That was when there was no Internet and a lot less cameras than there are now, yet, he got caught.  If Valverde was doing something “under the radar”, 2012 was the wrong place to do it…where’s Doc Brown when you need him?

So what’s my point to all this? I have no problem with these types of antics, I do however think back to that Nick Swisher chest pounding though. Why? Because when a sports broadcaster, and I use that term loosely,  makes an example of our New York Yankees for being passionate in an emotion baseball game between 2 rivals, yet, Jose Valverde gets a pass for his “clown jig”, you really have to question the Yankee hate.  You also have to lump them all together and Valverde would no doubt also be in that “Swisher chest pound” category.  But he won’t be lumped in…because Valverde’s a Detroit Tiger, not a Yankee. And same with the spitting incident for Valverde.  Look at the video again HERE. He's spitting on the ball. Yet, he gets a pass.  Meanwhile, Joel Peralta is suspended for 8 games, read HERE.  What the hell is this about here?

At least stop suggesting it’s “Valverde being Valverde” and start calling it what it is…ridiculous.

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