Contact: "Lynette in H.R." info@joesportsfan.com 

-- President Joe Mustache Deems Imig Purveyor of Online Poop --

This past weekend, JoeSportsFan.com co-editor and senior writer Patrick Imig successfully fulfilled his blogging obligations at the New York-based blog The Big Lead.  It was an impactful weekend, and one that could have severe consequences for one of Major League Baseball's best pitchers.

Sunday morning, Imig received photographs from a TBL reader of Padres starting pitcher Jake Peavy.  The photographs showed what appeared to be brownish stains and substances on his throwing hand.  After un-careful observation, Imig posted the photographs under the heading, "Jake Peavy: Filthy Cheater or Just Bad at Wiping?".

"Poop jokes have long been a favorite of mine," said Imig.  "I realize it's juvenile, but let's face the facts: when a starting pitcher has brown something smeared all over his hand, the flood gates for fecal humor clog the brain.  And yes, that was a play on words." 

While most denounce the notion that Jake Peavy does not properly wipe his buttocks, there is a serious thought that Peavy could be cheating through the use of pine tar or other banned substances.  Within a few hours after online publication, the story circulated throughout the sports blogosphere and before long, was front page news on ESPN.com, Foxsports and many other major online sports outlets. 





The story also made an appearance on SportsCenter, something Imig is quite proud of,

"I consider it a badge of honor to have contributed to a story of such magnitude - and I will wear that badge proudly from this day forward.  Quite honestly, if you had told me that a blog post involving poop jokes and Scooby Doo references would become national news, I would have called you a liar.  But, such is the modern sports landscape we currently live in.  This is 100 percent proof the sports world is absurd and god damn, we celebrate such absurdity at JoeSportsFan.com.  I've never been more proud to be a part of team JSF.  It was my JSF upbringing that made the Peavy post on The Big Lead so memorable."

At the end of the post in discussion, Imig wrote the words "AND I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT, IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU KIDS AND YOUR PESKY BLOGS!", seemingly a reference to the hit 60s and 70s cartoon from Hanna Barbara Productions.  At the end of many Scooby Doo episodes, the villain would say something similar when his identity was revealed and the mystery had been solved.  There was also a reference to the Scooby Doo dog itself, with the written phrase, "I rove rou Raggy", a presumed joke at the dog's lack of verbal skills. 

In response to the photographs and written theory that Peavy cheated his way through a Saturday night, 2-hit gem, Padres manager Bud Black denied any possible wrong-doing: "When you play baseball, your hands get dirty.  He had dirty hands. Trying to keep his palms and fingers dry, you apply rosin and dirt. Rosin is a sticky substance, and as often as he goes to the rosin bag, as often as he goes to the dirt to sop up moisture, your hands get dirty... I don't think there is anything to it. Modern cameras can pick up a dirty hand."

For his part, Peavy was clear and concise with his response: "There's nothing on my hands that's not supposed to be.  I thought it was funny that it was such a big deal. I've got no problems with anytime anybody needs to check me."

Regardless of the outcome, Imig says he's ready to put the incident behind him, but he is grateful to The Big Lead: "Yesterday was yesterday.  I'm just going go out there and continue to write one column at a time, one post at a time.  Truthfully, I had nothing to do with it.  If someone else had been writing that morning at The Big Lead, they would have received the pictures and posted accordingly.  But I am thankful to be a part of such a fine organization."

As for fear of any repercussions from Peavy, Black or the Padres organization?  "If they want to talk about it, we certainly can - but I won't be shaking anyone's hand, I can promise you that."

--30--

"We measure success, one mustache at a time." - President Joe Mustache