Empty the Bench

The Dallas News has confirmed reports that Major League Baseball is investigating Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez under suspicion of murder. Or cheating, or something. A website known as The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball Blog had been accusing Rodriguez of concealing a substance under the bill of his cap and using it to doctor balls while closing out games against the Texas Rangers earlier this week.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said he was alerted to the site on Wednesday, but he said the team didn’t contact MLB about Rodriguez.

Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball, said the office found out about the allegation Thursday and Bob Watson, in charge of discipline, is checking on it. Watson will review video of the games and could talk to umpires and players. If evidence shows that Rodriguez did put a substance on the baseball, in violation of rule 8.02b, he could face up to a 10-game suspension.

If Francisco does face a suspension, it would be big news for the Angels and fantasy owners. Let’s face it though: this is baseball. It’s a game where cheating is OK as long as you can get away with it, so this isn’t a moral issue. While Rodriguez is one of the top two or three closers in baseball, the fact that he is a closer also means that the damage to fantasy squads wouldn’t be too bad. He would only lose out on a couple of save opportunities, likely four at the most. The only other consideration is if he were somehow dependent on the foreign substance to pitch effectively, but we’ve seen enough of F-Rod to know that isn’t the case. Does anybody else call him F-Rod? No? I guess it does sound a little graphic.