Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers is not a cheater. I just need to make that perfectly clear from the start. Whatever substance – pine tar, dirt, tobacco or finger-paint – was on his hand during game two of the World Series doesn’t matter.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa wasn’t bothered by it. He could have made a huge scene when he heard Rogers had a spot on his hand, but he didn’t. So why, then, does every sports analyst waste his time on this?

Yes, there was evidence of this ‘brown’ spot on his hand in his previous two starts during the postseason, but La Russa and the Cardinals knew about that coming into the game. It still didn’t bother them.

To be certain, for the duration of the World Series, ink will be spilled and bandwidth will be used to dissect the issue of what was on Rogers’ hand. Was he cheating? Was he not?

Does it really matter? No. If it was, in fact, pine tar, then any baseball player or hardcore fan would know something sticky wouldn’t exactly help you when you are pitching.

Baseball is a summer sport, a warm weather affair. Most baseball players, especially pitchers, hate the cold. During game two in Detroit, it was reported to be about 40 degrees. Realistically, it looked colder than the turkey the night before Thanksgiving.

The only reason Rogers would use pine tar is to get a grip on the ball because he couldn’t feel the tips of his fingers, and with feel is how he pitches effectively. Rogers isn’t the first pitcher to do this, and he won’t be the last. I can guarantee that.

He is just the idiot who decided he didn’t need to hide this during the biggest game of his career with everyone watching everything – especially the ‘dirty’ spot on his left hand.