If you ain't cheatin' ...

I think my least favorite phrase (for the next few minutes at least) is "teachable moment."

Apparently Derek Jeter provided parents "a teachable moment."

That's for those parents not creative enough to come up with their own lesson plans.

Really? Jeter faking an umpire, getting first, and putting his team in a position to win (it didn't) is a lesson for children? How so? I remember when what Jeter did was called "gamesmanship" and it was largely applauded as the extra effort winner give to lift their teams to victory.

Jeter took the Jeffrey Mayer home run. No one criticized him.

Armando Galarraga lost a perfect game on a blown call. The base runner didn't say "No no, sir. I'm out." He took his base.

AJ Pierzynski stole first base in the 2005 ALCS and a swinging third strike the umpire said the catcher didn't catch. He did. AJ took first, was pinch run for. That guy stole second and eventually scored the winning run of the series. Was that a "teachable moment"? Or wasn't it, because Pierzynski is widely considered an a-hole.

Cheating in baseball is a funny thing. There's a stat called "stolen base." Players steal signs. Fielders try to decoy runners. What's the difference with a player decoying an umpire? He even said the ball didn't hit him. The ump said take your base. He took his base. That's baseball.

The answer is none. But it's a story. And it's a story that won't go away because it's Jeter. And it's New York. And the economy isn't tanking and the Palestinians and Israelis aren't seconds from abandoning peace talks again ...

Nah. Let's pay attention to this.