Crisco. Bardal. Vagisil

It seems even the great Mariano Rivera feels the need for some trickeration from time to time. 



As far as I'm concerned, this is just another reason to love Mo. 

(Via Halos Heaven)

UPDATE: I can't believe people are actually taking this video seriously. It's gone so far that Major League Baseball had to open and quickly close an investigation into the matter. Via Joel Sherman's Hardball:

The Major League Baseball Commissioners Office reviewed available video and still photography from Mariano Rivera spitting toward a baseball in ALCS Game 3 and “found no evidence that Rivera spit on the ball,” a spokesman for the commissioner told the Post.

The initial reaction by the league had been that the video plus still pictures they have of the incident were inconclusive if Rivera actually spit on or near the ball. But after further review of what it had, the Commissioners Office determined that Rivera was not spitting directly on the ball.

On still pictures in MLB's possession, it apparently looks as if Rivera is spitting near, but not on, the ball. Also, as even the league office is aware, Rivera is a player who spits constantly while in action.

Come on. This is Mariano Rivera we're talking about here. The guy's been dominating the league for years. If he had been throwing a spitter for the past 15 years, I'm pretty sure someone would have spotted him spitting on the ball at least once in his 900 + career appearances.

Los Angeles Dodgers coach and former Yankees coach Larry Bowa sums it up best:

I have never ever, ever heard anyone say anything about Mo doing something like that. That is totally bogus. If that was true I would have heard about it from somebody and I have never heard anything like that.

Alibay Barkley, Revisited

Last month, I wrote about Alibay Barkley, an offensive force from Washington Height's George Washington High School. At the time, Barkley was reportedly going to St. Petersburg College, a junior college in Florida, to prepare for next year's MLB Draft. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, however, had a different idea. The team last week selected Barkley in the 50th--and final--round, making him the 1521st overall pick, literally the last player picked in this year's draft. Although Barkley has not yet officially decided about his immediate future, he told the Times' John Branch that he's leaning toward playing in the Angels' farm system. "We've got see what happens," he said, "but I do want to play pro ball."

I was kind of hoping the Yankees would have take a shot at Barkley, but I'm excited a local kid gets a shot at making it to the majors, even if it's with the Angels.