ST. LOUIS - When Detroit pitcher Kenny Rogers was caught in game two of the World Series with a smudge of indeterminate origin on his left hand, the home plate umpire, Hans Blix, did not accuse him of doctoring the ball and refused to look for evidence of a foreign substance. Blix merely asked Rogers to wipe the smudge from his hand, which Rogers did, and Rogers proceeded to pitch as if nothing had happened. Many fans are openly questioning why Blix failed to scrutinize the situation more closely.This is not the first time Blix has found himself mired in controversy. Blix is the former chief UN arms inspector in Iraq who claimed he found no evidence that Saddam Hussein harbored weapons of mass destruction. Blix retired from service with the UN in 2003 and went to school to become a major league umpire. This is his first World Series.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow bristled at Blix's handling of the smudge incident: "[Blix's] insistence on turning a blind eye toward [Kenny Rogers'] infraction is a rehash of his malfeasance in Iraq. His negligence back then threatened the security of the free world, and his negligence last Sunday threatens to do worse; namely, compromise the outcome of the World Series."
