St. Louis Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter and manager Tony LaRussa have accused the Cincinnati Reds organization of not properly rubbing down baseballs before the game. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Carpenter said that the balls were as slick as “cue balls” and that he “just didn’t want anybody to get hurt.” Manager Tony LaRussa echoed Carpenter’s comments, but said that there was no reason to file a formal complaint.

“Rather than speculate (a reason), just fix it,” La Russa said. “Whether it’s done intentionally or somebody is being careless, whatever it is, just fix it.”

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay reports Reds manager Dusty Baker has denied the claims, and with good reason as the Reds pitchers use the same balls.“I don’t pay any attention to that,” Baker said. “He threw pretty good. I hate to see how he’d throw if he had balls that weren’t slippery.” Every baseball is supposed to be rubbed with Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud before the game and approved by the umpires. Tony LaRussa has suggested that the balls may have been switched after approval.