Clean Baseball

I never considered baseball uniform cleanliness relevant. The number of styles for the teams over the years is a little interesting, but the amount of dirt on the uniform is meaningless. However, last night I could not help but noticing Manny Ramirez's batting helmet. It was filthy. That is nothing new, but this was the second game of the season. I checked a Los Angeles Times picture from Opening Day and his helmet was a mess that day too:
The source of the dirt is nothing new; pine tar on the hands rubbed off on the helmet which picks up dirt when the helmet falls off. I could not believe that a team aiming for the playoffs, residing in image conscious LA, would allow someone to smear over the team's logo with muck and represent the team in such a way from the very onset of the season, with a manager who already made haircuts an issue... It's hard not to read into it as Manny posturing an image that communicates independence irrespective of the team or management's desires.

I have no illusions that a player's physical appearance has any impact on his performance nor his teammates. I just cannot help but wonder why this precedent is set so early, and I expect somehow this recipe will result in more off-field drama involving Manny Ramirez.