LFR Sports

BUSH-SYTLE TRICKS WORK IN BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

Who says government officials aren't role models, anymore. A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Everett meet President Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove.

The controversy over the Chicago White Sox catcher, A.J. Pierzynski and his Oscar-worthy trot to first base in the American League Championship Series has been played out ad nauseum the past two weeks. The Houston Astros shortstop, Adam Everett and his own thespian phantom tag during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series was less talked about around the water cooler, but the essence of both are rooted in a society where trickery with words and actions are more believable than the truth.

Has there ever been two plays that have relied solely on the reaction and acting skills of the participants rather than whether the umpires saw the ball hit the ground or if the infielder actually tagged the runner? What happened to the days when umpires blew calls on their own without theatrics from the players?

Umpire Don Denkinger didn't need the Royals Jorge Orta to cajole him to make one of the worst calls in World Series history in 1985.

Pierzynski was so believable in running to first base on a swinging third strike during Game2 of the ALCS that he duped umpire Doug Eddings despite the fact that the entire Angels defense was trotting off the field. Pierzynski's lie was so skillful that he overridded in Eddings mind the truth that the Angels catcher, Josh Paul, caught the ball even tossing it back to the mound and running into the dugout.

Everett's play was less diabolical than Pierzynski's, but nonetheless, became a positive for the Astros because of his instant celebration and straight-faced coolness that he tagged the Cardinals Yadier Molina. Everett pumped his fist in celebration and began walking towards the umpire to convince the umpire that Molina was forced out.

This sort of chicanery should be familiar to anyone who follows the affairs of our leadership in Washington. If the ballplayers like Pierzynski and Everett are our elected officials in Washington, then the umpires are the American people.

As arbiters of our nation's activities, we've been duped and railroaded into believing various untruthful storieslike, infamously, weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq and, therefore, required military intervention. The American people were skeptical of this reason for war, but like Pierzynski's false run to first, the language of nuclear clouds blooming over American cities clouded our senses and we relented.

To make matters worse, there has been no justice in each of these situations. The lies of the Bush adminstration had no repercussions on their goal of gaining a second term just as the fakery of Pierzynski and Everett was a primary reason why both the White Sox and Astros are tangling in this year's World Series.

The role of our national leaders was once grounded in being a role model for the Americans people. When the soul of our leaders go dark, it begins to trickle down to everywhere in our daily life; the workplace, every household and even the ballpark.