M's Rhodes might want to ditch the diamonds for good

GREG JOHNS

Originally published August 27

SEATTLE -- Just what we needed. More jewelry tomfoolery.

As if a potential Mariners-Indians playoff series needed an emotional goosing, things continued to get more interesting between the two American League squads yesterday in a 4-3 Cleveland win at Safeco.

If this weekend was a post-season preview, be sure to block off time in October to watch when Seattle and Cleveland get together for games that really mean something.

For now, the two sides are just playing head games. Starting at the ears of Arthur Rhodes.

The Mariner reliever again was asked to remove his diamond earrings yesterday upon entering the game in the ninth inning.

This time Kenny Lofton was at the plate, bases loaded, Mariners up by one.

And this time Rhodes hadn't even reached the infield when he was intercepted by umpire Tim McLelland and asked to take off what suddenly have become the biggest studs in the Mariner clubhouse.

As you might guess, these shenanigans aren't sitting well with the Mariners.

"The rule," said an exasperated Lou Piniella, "is if the batter complains, they can make the pitcher take (any jewelry) off. But nobody complained. He wanted to stop the problems.

"We'll call the league office tomorrow and find out what's going on," Piniella said. "I don't know what else to do."

The Mariners could give the Indians a taste of their own medicine by asking every Cleveland pitcher to remove their necklaces when the two teams next meet. There's the potential of passing out 45,000 fake diamond earrings to the Safeco Field fans for Game 1 of the upcoming playoffs.

Surely there is ample ammunition in this little jewel of a controversy to stir things up from here to October.

"If I've got to take off my earrings, everybody else should take their earrings off. Or take their necklaces off, so you have no jewelry on the field," Rhodes said. "Nobody would be happy about that. You spend all that money on your jewelry, you should be able to wear it anytime you want."

Unfortunately, Rhodes' reasoning seems as flawed as the fake diamonds he was given by fans prior to yesterday's game. There are uniform rules in every sport. If Rhodes spent $1 million on a beautiful leopard-skin baseball cap, that wouldn't mean he should be allowed to wear it on the field in a big-league game.

Given the fussiness of big-league batters concerning hitting backgrounds behind the pitchers, it's surprising that flashy jewelry hasn't become a topic of concern before now.

Two weeks ago, Detroit pitcher Jeff Weaver got in a brawl with Kansas City All-Star Mike Sweeney after taking offense to Sweeney's request that he move the rosin bag from his line of sight atop the mound.

Boston's Carl Everett got jiggy with Jamie Moyer after the Mariner pitcher asked that the Sox slugger move back off the plate.

Let's face it, there's not a lot of love lost between batters and hitters in the big leagues on any matters.

But when it comes October, my recommendation would be to concentrate on baseball.

The only jewelry the Mariners ought to be thinking about then is a World Series ring.

Nobody can take that away.

Greg Johns can be reached at gjohns@juno.com.

The combination of Safeco's glare and Rhodes' earwear proved to be the catalyst in the latest spitting match. But don't expect the Mariner reliever to win this battle in the long run.

Baseball rules have always regulated against anything that might distract the batter's eye when faced with the 95 mph flying sphere.

So while most Mariners and their fans are up in arms over the injustice of Rhodes' jewelry heist, expect Major League Baseball to weigh in with renewed vigor on banning bright baubles during day games now that the issue has been raised.

But baseball can't just pick on Rhodes. If King Arthur is guilty, so are many of his mound mates around the league. Turk Wendall of the Phillies wears a big shell necklace. Half the pitchers in baseball have some sort of gold jewelry flying around their neck.

Rhodes did the right thing yesterday, simply surrendering the earrings to Lou Piniella on the mound and then going about his business. While Lofton beat him with a two-run single off a tough slider, Rhodes should be commended for his control in dealing with that challenge and then striking out Omar Vizquel -- the previous day's antagonist -- in a delicious battle to end the inning.

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it," Rhodes said. "There was a game on the line. I didn't want to get thrown out again."

Rhodes then showed reporters a gift box containing the fake set of huge diamonds he wore around the clubhouse before the game. Asked where he got them, he mentioned "some fans in the Diamond Club."

Funny stuff. And certainly a welcome topical relief in the midst of a 162-game season largely void of controversy or drama other than the Mariners' daily race with history.

There is ammunition in this controversy to stir things up from here to October

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