Dec. 14--Baseball has put Pete Rose back in the corner. And you know what, the view ain't so bad.
Extending Rose's ban might seem like cruel and unusual punishment, but it's the best decision for all involved. Including Rose.
We still don't know the extent of Rose's betting -- as a manager, as a player-manager and as a player-player. We're not going to find out from Rose unless he's paid by the word.
And what about the concessions Rose would have to make to rejoin the game he loves? Would Major League Baseball assign him a babysitter? Attach an ankle bracelet that sounds when he steps into a sports book?
Pete Rose is a rebel. Born that way, will die that way.
At 74, he remains the guy firing spitballs from the back of the classroom when the teacher turns around.
He's witty and had a great presence on the Fox Sports set during the baseball postseason, wearing a bow tie when the rest of the analysts were in traditional garb.
At a recent event at Gibson's for Chicago-area executives, he began a story by telling the handful of women in the room: "Sorry if this offends you, but you shouldn't (bleepin') be here anyway."
Rose is great for 20 minutes, better for two hours. Beyond that, you're going to have to take a shower and scrub hard.
There's just something about certain guys. Would you want Floyd Mayweather pitching your products? How about Lawrence Taylor?
As MLB commissioner Rob Manfred put it: "Mr. Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life."
At Gibson's, Rose reeled off his exact number of singles, doubles, triples, home runs, two-hit games, three-hit games, four-hit games, five-hit games ... and wins.
Yes, Pete Rose loves to win. And I suppose what Manfred ruled constitutes a loss.
But guess what: Nobody knows Peter Edward Rose better than Peter Edward Rose.
And in his heart of hearts, I think he realizes it's more fun to be an outsider.
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
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