Joe Maddon Doesn’t Believe Joe Blanton

Yesterday I told you about Joe Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays wondering what the dark patch on the brim of Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton's hat was on Sunday night in Philadelphia. Maddon and the Rays thought that Blanton had an illegal substance on his hat, and Blanton explained after the game that the mark on his hat was just "dirt from the ball" that had accumulated there over time.

Well, that explanation didn't quite cut it for Maddon, who was still talking about it before the debacle that was Game 5 last night.

"Umm, I don't think so," Maddon said Monday. "That's very unusual. How many guys have that mark on their hat?"

Uh, Joe? A lot of players have that mark on their hat. Hell, I have that mark on my White Sox hat, and I've never played a Major League game with that hat on. You see, Joe, while wearing a hat a person often adjusts the cap while wearing it. He takes it off to scratch his head, or just to let his head breathe, and when he does that he usually touches the hat in the center of the brim.

Are you wearing a hat right now, Joe? Take it off. Okay, where did you grab it with your hand? Ever notice how you always grab it in the same place? Well, when you're playing baseball on a mound of dirt it tends to get on your hands from time to time. Then when you use your hands to adjust or remove your hat, guess where the dirt rubs off?