If you weren't already sick of "The Smudge"...

The New York Times' "Bats" blog would like to bring you... "The Cap."

Rob Mackey's post cites Paul Luka's "Uni Watch" column at ESPN.com, which points out that Kenny Rogers' cap is worthy of some scrutiny, as well. Why's that?

Rogers prefers the batting practice cap, rather than the standard issue "5950" New Era version that everyone else wears. Normally, you'd be able to tell because of the bill of the cap has a white brim, which wouldn't be allowed in regular game-play. But Rogers apparently colors that in with magic marker. Why would this be any sort of issue?

The BP cap has a black underbill, instead of the Tigers' usual light gray. Now ask yourself, if you wanted to take a foreign substance out to the mound with you, wouldn't it be easier to hide it against a black background than a gray one? Far be it from Uni Watch to accuse the Gambler of taking cards from the bottom of the deck, but you have to admit it's an interesting coincidence at the very least. Uni Watch's suggestion: Make Rogers wear a 5950 like everyone else, and then let's see who holds 'em and who folds 'em.

(Besides the stuff about Rogers' cap, the rest of the column has an interesting analysis of the slight differences between the Olde English D on that cap and the one on the Tigers' jerseys. Did you know they were different? I sure as hell didn't. Of course, I haven't had a jersey in my hands to examine, either.)

If there's a Game 6, Rogers might want to plan on getting to Comerica Park early. I have a feeling he'll be inspected like a bag of luggage at the airport. Oh, and probably steam cleaned.

So are you ready for Game 3 to start already? I'm not sure I can take another day of this stuff. By tomorrow, we'll probably find out if Rogers has any allergies or a cold that might result in a runny nose while on the mound. And why were his eyes so moist following the game when he was interviewed by Chris Myers? What is he putting in his eyes that makes them tear up like that? Emotion? Bah! What happens if you put those tears on the ball?!