Discussion
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Posted 8:05 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#1) -
David Gee
I remember Greg Maddux's first full season, and it seemed that every time I went to a Cubs game that Maddux was the starter, and I thought, "Uggh. Maddux again!"
Posted 8:06 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#2) -
Neil
It's really a waste of time to lament Bellhorn's absence any more. Dusty doesn't care what I think.
At least he's starting Martinez rather than the Veteran Presence.
Posted 8:07 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#3) -
Jason
Anyone else happy with the Cubs' draft?
Posted 8:08 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#4) -
Teddy Salad
So, for the first time this year, Dusty deviates from the strict 5 man rotation. For 56 starts, the Cubs have gone Wood, Clement, Prior, Estes, and Zambrano. Now we skip Clement.
Makes sense though. Prior last started last Wed, and there have been two off days since.
Posted 8:11 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#5) -
Neil
The last Cubs game I went to was a Maddux rookie appearance (I moved back to the UK).
Maddux was great that day. 7 innings for 2 runs in a no-decision against the Phils. He had a no-hitter through 4, struck out 10, the last being Mike Schmidt with at least 2 men on base.
If my memory serves, big brother pitched relief for the Phils that day.
Posted 8:15 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#6) -
PDaddy
I always liked Jeremi, I expected big things of him before he got hurt. 18K's in 18IP is good, but 11BB is not. Best of luck to him after tonight (we need a sweep).
Posted 8:16 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#7) -
Jason
I really hate having to root against Jermi Gonzalez. He was one of my favorites
Posted 8:18 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#8) -
David Gee
Anyone else happy with the Cubs' draft?
What's there to like, really? Harvey is awfully toolsy - who knows how he'll end up.
Posted 8:19 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#9) -
Tom N
Aubrey Huff looked really slow chasing that ball in right.
Posted 8:20 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#10) -
Ted B.
It's really a waste of time to lament Bellhorn's absence any more. Dusty doesn't care what I think.
At least he's starting Martinez rather than the Veteran Presence.
I think Martinez is now officially Dusty's thirdbaseman. If he hits, great. Otherwise, maybe it'll cycle back through to Bellhorn in another month.
Posted 8:23 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#11) -
Jason
"What's there to like, really? Harvey is awfully toolsy - who knows how he'll end up"
True enough, but any time a player rated as high as 3 falls to 6, I am pretty happy. Toolsy, maybe, but really good tools and attitude from what I've heard. The thing I really was confused by was taking three catchers.
Posted 8:24 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#12) -
Rivers
Corked bat?
Posted 8:24 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#13) -
PDaddy
Knowing full well the line up construction isn't that important, how does everyone else feel about Patterson before Sosa? Maybe he'll see more fastballs, but I feel like Sosa is just going to lead off the 2nd a whole lot more (although batting with 2 out in the first isn't exactly better). Has Dusty said anything about playing Bako more?
Posted 8:24 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#14) -
David Gee
You've gotta be kidding me.
Posted 8:25 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#15) -
Tom N
Oh god, please no.
Posted 8:25 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#16) -
PDaddy
What going on? Out of town and not if front of TV...
Posted 8:26 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#17) -
Rivers
Sosa's bat shattered, and the umpires have taken it for safe keeping.
Posted 8:26 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#18) -
Billy Hatcher
Sammy's a cheater!
Posted 8:27 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#19) -
Cubs Dude
Was some one cheating?
Interesting stuff
Posted 8:27 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#20) -
PDaddy
No ****. He must really feel out of it and desperate. Did he get tossed?
Posted 8:28 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#21) -
Tom N
I think Choi should bat third and PAtterson should bat fifth.
What a stupid bunch of crap, taking away a run.
Posted 8:28 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#22) -
true blue
On the radio, they are saying that the bat has been declared illegal, Sosa is out (still), and the runners return to 2nd and 3rd.
Will this mean a suspension for Sosa? Is he out of the game?
Posted 8:28 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#23) -
David Gee
The run doesn't score.
Posted 8:28 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#24) -
Rivers
He's apparently being called out, and the runners are being sent back after what was originally an RBI ground out.
Posted 8:29 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#25) -
TM
Did anyone hear Harvey's interview before the game on WGN. He told listeners he had a lot of power and a MUCH higher than average arm. "Basically I'm an all-around player."
Posted 8:30 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#26) -
Cubs Dude
So who do we nominate to crawl through the vents and drop into the umps room and steal the evidence?
Posted 8:30 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#27) -
Herbert Kornfeld
Steve Stone seems to think it's fungus/rotten wood in the middle of the bat.
Posted 8:31 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#28) -
Tom N
The Cubs have enough trouble scoring runs without umpires taking them away.
Posted 8:31 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#29) -
David Gee
That bat had BETTER have cork in it. McClelland is the same ump who called George Brett's pine tar bat, Stone said.
Posted 8:31 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#30) -
Neil
Goodwin. If he gets caught it's no loss.
Posted 8:32 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#31) -
Rivers
Sosa's gone, the ump is confirming to the press box that it was cork.
Posted 8:32 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#32) -
PDaddy
I'm confused. Can someone detail what happened? Did the bat shatter?
Posted 8:32 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#33) -
David Gee
Sosa was ejected.
Posted 8:33 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#34) -
True Blue
Sosa has been ejected. According to the radio, McClelland says the bat was corked.
Posted 8:33 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#35) -
Tom N
Stone said Billy Hatcher got a ten game suspension. This is gonna hurt. I'm gonna go out on a limb: if Sammy is suspended, the Cubs will not sweep the Yankees series.
Posted 8:34 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#36) -
True Blue
OK, I'll ask: Why does a guy with 500+ HRs have to cork his bat???
Posted 8:34 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#37) -
Tom N
Not that they would have anyway.
Posted 8:35 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#38) -
David Gee
Yes, the bat shattered.
Posted 8:36 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#39) -
David Gee
hy does a guy with 500+ HRs have to cork his bat???
Good question.
Posted 8:37 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#40) -
Chris Dial
Wow. First time I've witnessed that.
Posted 8:39 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#41) -
Tom N
According to Adair, author of The Physics of Baseball, claims that cork decreases the elasticity of the bat, making it in fact less lively. Although there might be a placebo effect. Albert Belle, when he was with the Indians, corked his bat.
Posted 8:40 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#42) -
Christian Ruzich
(homepage)
So who do we nominate to crawl through the vents and drop into the
umps room and steal the evidence?
The umpire's room is behind the Cubs dugout -- they're going to have to station someone at the door to prevent someone from just walking in there and taking it.
Posted 8:40 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#43) -
Rivers
I had the privilege of being at the Albert Belle game at Comiskey in July '94. Of course, that bat didn't shatter. Gene Lamont just requested it be taken out of play.
Posted 8:40 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#44) -
Joe Schulz, Cubs fan
Shitfuck!
Posted 8:42 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#45) -
Neil
Well, this game is shaping up to be a major sickener.
Posted 8:45 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#46) -
David Gee
I'll be royally pissed at McClelland if it turns out not to be cork, but I'll be REALLY royally pissed at Sosa if it turns out to be. How ridiculously stupid for so many reasons, not the least of which is THAT IT DOESN'T WORK!!!
Posted 8:46 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#47) -
Teddy Salad
Nice, an 8 pitch first, followed by a 30 pitch 2nd.
Is it too early to say "Wait till next year?"
Posted 8:46 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#48) -
Tom N
Neil--
Although I wouldn't have put it as in such idiosycratically elegant terms, the gist of your post is dead on. This game is kinda crummy.
Posted 8:48 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#49) -
Neil
Tom N
Idiosyncratic elegance? Just a humble Scottisism.
Posted 8:49 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#50) -
Herbert Kornfeld
As of fan of neither the Cubs nor the Rays, I'm pleased about the game so far. Interesting to say the least. I chose this game to see Prior and to see how Jeremi was pitching so well. I got a little more than I expected.
That said, you have my sympathy, Cubs fans.
Posted 8:52 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#51) -
True Blue
Ever the optimist, I'll observe that an extra 7-10 days off should help Sosa's toe heal a bit better. Too bad he can spend that time rehabbing in the minors.
Posted 8:52 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#52) -
David Gee
Apparently the bat WAS corked, otherwise there would have been an argument. The Cubs should accept Sosa's suspension now, while he is still healing from his toe injury.
Man, I would love to slap that idiot upside his head right now.
Posted 8:52 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#53) -
Tom N
David--
Can the Cubs protest this game?It's a matter of judgment, what if it's just rot or fungus? Given the wording of the rule, the fact that cork doesn't work, might be relevant.
Posted 8:56 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#54) -
Tom N
Actually, Neil, I suspected that might be the case since you've made two references to the UK in the last few days. Incidentally, the first time I read UK, I thought it was the University of Kentucky.
"Sickener" sounds like something you'd put in a cup of coffee in hell.
Posted 8:56 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#55) -
Chris Dial
Oddly, McClelland was the ump that called George Brett out 20 years ago.
Sweet.
Posted 8:57 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#56) -
David Gee
Sure, the Cubs can protest the game. I don't think it's going to do any good because it all boils down to an umpire's judgment.
Interesting factoid: The AL President who reinstated Brett's pine tar home run:
Lee MacPhail.
It will be easy to prove if it was discolored or decorticated wood due to a rot fungus. I am assuming it was so obvious that the Cubs made no argument.
Posted 9:00 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#57) -
Jefferson
(e-mail)
(homepage)
Cork? You have to be kidding.
The questions this raises may never be answered to anyone's satisfaction. Cork may not actually help people, but it IS illegal. And many people won't believe it doesn't work--obviously Sosa thought it worked.
As far as Sosa's reputation is concerned, this is a disaster.
Posted 9:00 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#58) -
True Blue
It's too late to protest now -- the incident already took place a few innings ago. Also, Pat & Ron said that Baker did *not* protest.
Posted 9:01 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#59) -
David Gee
It will be interesting how they rule on the cork, now that it's known that it doesn't work. Certainly, someone who tries to rob a bank using an egg beater instead of a gun should get less of a sentence, right?
Belle got a 7 day suspension, compared to Hatcher's 10. I say Sosa gets 5.
Posted 9:02 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#60) -
David Gee
It's too late to protest now
I think they can protest any time during the game.
Posted 9:02 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#61) -
Tom N
Yeah, after I heard Stone say something to the effect that if it was in the least bit questionable Dusty would argue, it seemed to make sense. Corking the bat is jost SO stupid... I suppose ballplayers aren't able physicisst.
Posted 9:03 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#62) -
Neil
Tom N -
UK is quicker to type, and I won't use England - Mel Gibson might have me killed.
Posted 9:03 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#63) -
Herbert Kornfeld
Jeremi Gonzalez sure doesn't have a fear of throwing inside, does he?
Posted 9:04 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#64) -
idiot
Toe fungus, brain rot and now bat corked? Merry Christmas, indeed.
"Cut the bull, they need me" - Sammy Sosa
Posted 9:06 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#65) -
Jefferson
(e-mail)
(homepage)
Where's Randal? This situation is tailor made for his signature line.
Must be playing hockey on the roof again....
Posted 9:09 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#66) -
true blue
John Stockstill, the Cubs scouting director, is on the radio now, saying that this is a pretty weak draft, and that the RHPs that are going in the 4th round are really not much better than those in the 8th, which is why he picked as many position players. He didn't pick a RHP until #463 (16th round).
He also said he picked 3Bmen (two so far) thinking they may convert to C (and vice versa, he picked three C, including his 3rd and 4th round picks).
Posted 9:10 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#67) -
Randal
Are you the biggest idiot ever?
Posted 9:11 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#68) -
Tom N
Why is there morality and disappointment involved? Good man, Sammy! Empirical rules, such as the rules of baseball, have no moral significance. Sure it's cheating, but I want the Cubs to look for any edge they can get, especially on offense. The disappointing aspect, besides his getting caught, is that it's not a pearticularly effective way of cheating
Posted 9:13 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#69) -
U.L. Wannirunna
"Why does a guy with 500+ HRs have to cork his bat???"
To be fair.. he only had about 200 whenever I suspect he could have started corking his wood (1998)
but, who knows what the deal is.
Amos Otis used a corked bat. Norm Cash too.
Posted 9:14 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#70) -
Jim Rome
If you're not cheating, you're not trying.
Posted 9:15 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#71) -
Larry Mahnken
(e-mail)
(homepage)
So did Babe Ruth.
Posted 9:16 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#72) -
Neil
Lowell has 2 3-run blasts tonight.
Posted 9:18 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#73) -
scotto
No Randal, that would be Jay Mariotti. Speaking of whom, I smell a really, really bad Mariotti column coming on...
Posted 9:18 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#74) -
TOm N
For those who watch both the Cubs and the Sox: it seems that ever since the the corked bat and Tampa Bay runs, Chip and Steve sound as depressed as Harrelson and Jackson. And this year, Hawk and DJ have sounded like the two saddest broadcasters ever. Even their "Yeesss!" call betrays a certain knowledge that the opponent will score in their next ups.
Posted 9:19 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#75) -
Juan Marichal
If you hit a guy over the head with a corked bat, would it hurt more or less?
Posted 9:19 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#76) -
Michael Moore
Bush knew!
Posted 9:20 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#77) -
Tom N
Choi! Along with Craford, Mr. infield hit.
Posted 9:22 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#78) -
Neil
Tom N -
I was about to post along similar lines.
Pat and Ron are trying not to clutch at straws but they're struggling.
Posted 9:23 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#79) -
Chicago Cubs
"Why is there morality and disappointment involved? Good man, Sammy! Empirical rules, such as the rules of baseball, have no moral significance. Sure it's cheating, but I want the Cubs to look for any edge they can get, especially on offense. The disappointing aspect, besides his getting caught, is that it's not a pearticularly effective way of cheating"
Cheaters never win! Take it from us.
Posted 9:24 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#80) -
Pat Gillick's Hemorrhoids
When was the last time one of Sammy's bats broke? (meaning, the umps would have known.)
Posted 9:29 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#81) -
Greg Walker
For whatever it's worth, I was watching the game and it really did look like a rotted bat. The cork/rot/fungus was far enough down on the bat and seemed to be surrounded by solid wood so I don't see how they could have got it in there.
Posted 9:30 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#82) -
June Swoon
isn't the fact that the Cubs are playing the D-Rays advatage enough?
Chicago, meet your starting right fielder (for the next week or so), Tom Goodwin.
Posted 9:32 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#83) -
Christian Ruzich
(e-mail)
(homepage)
Sammy's bats never seem to break -- he's using a maple bat and they seem to break a whole lot less. Maybe that's why he figured he could get away with it.
BTW, anybody have a link to a study that shows that cork doesn't help a player's bat speed? Is this something Robert Adair wrote about in 'Physics of Baseball'?
Posted 9:34 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#84) -
Tom N
This lineup sucks:
J. Lugo SS
M. Anderson 2B
R. Baldelli CF
A. Huff RF
T. Hall C
T. Lee 1B
D. Easley 3B
C. Crawford LF
J. Gonzalez P
How can the Cubs lose to this?
Posted 9:35 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#85) -
Tom N
Yes, Christian, it's in Physics of Baseball, I don't have my copy handy, though.
Posted 9:36 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#86) -
Mike C.
According to Adair, author of The Physics of Baseball, claims that cork decreases the elasticity of the bat, making it in fact less lively.
Well, cork is lighter than wood, so corking a bat should let a hitter increase his bat speed without going to a smaller bat. Does Professor Adair comment on that?
Posted 9:36 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#87) -
Alex Lewis
I thought so as well, Greg. But in retrospect, I think it was the angle of the shot that was misleading. And I think, at this point, it's hard to deny what Sammy has done.
Poor Sammy. Things are going to get tough for him in the next few weeks, in the ballpark and in the newspapers.
Posted 9:37 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#88) -
Adair Reader
How it's written is sort of confusing to me, the corked bat would subtract either 1.5 or 1 oz from the bat's weight. The energy from the collision wouldn't be transferred as well, and he estimates that about 3 feet would be taken off of a 400-foot drive. The same results could be gotten legally by choking up 1", using a lighter wood, sawing 3/4" off the end of the bat, or turning the barrel down from 2.5" to 2.4"
Posted 9:37 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#89) -
Tom N
This game is a bad omen for that newly engaged couple.
Posted 9:38 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#90) -
June Swoon
What's the over/under on number of Sosa hatchet jobs in the newspapers for the next week.
Posted 9:40 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#91) -
Snowboy
Spin doctors are out already.
If Bonds had corked his bat, it would front cover of Time.
If Sosa corked his bat, it won't even be an article in SI. Or if it is, it will be buried in some contextual article which will note (a) the useless physics of corking and (b) note how many others have previously done it.
I'll say this: if Sosa did cork his bat, it puts a large asterisk on his career.
Posted 9:42 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#92) -
Scott
Interview with Adair about corked bats:
http://www.ajprint.net/archive_authors/canfield/interview.html
Posted 9:42 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#93) -
Soft Johnny
I can't wait for the Rick Reilly article on this one.
Posted 9:43 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#94) -
Rivers
Twice in this game, Dip has exclaimed about Baldelli's incredible speed or his incredible jump on a ball in anticipation of him making a catch, only to see the ball get by him.
Posted 9:43 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#95) -
Fog City Blues
SI is no fan of Sosa's either.
Question - does Sosa have three lockers and a recliner? If he does, look out.
Posted 9:43 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#96) -
Mike C.
The cork/rot/fungus was far enough down on the bat and seemed to be surrounded by solid wood so I don't see how they could have got it in there.
Buck Showalter did a feature on BBTN last year where he showed the enitre process of corking a bat. Basically he drilled out what looked like about a half-inch diameter, 18-inch deep hole in the barrell of the bat. So I ain't buying the fungus theory.
BTW, how did Sammy react?
Posted 9:43 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#97) -
Jay Mariotti
SAMMY SOSA IS A FRAUD WHO POOPS HIS PANTS
by Jay Mariotti
Thau shalt not cheat. That's the first thing they taught you in little league. Hustle, play hard, worry about winning if it makes you play better, just have fun if it doesn't. Have fun, play within the rules, shake the other team's hand after the game, and we'll go for a tasty freeze afterward.
But don't cheat.
I don't know if they have little league down in the Dominican Republic, but Sammy Sosa must have missed that day of class.
Sammy was a hero to so many.
He was a hero to Edna Terwilliger, who has faithfully attended every home game since 1923 in spite of her blindness and the Cubs' listlessness.
He was a hero to Roberto Sanchez, a native of San Pedro de Macoris, who works the overtime shift at the meat packing plant just so he'll have the extra cash to come to come see his countryman in a game or two over the weekend.
He was a hero to my son, Jay Jr.
He'll be a hero no more. Sammy Sosa is a fraud and all of his accomplishments are forever tainted. The 500 home runs, the smile on his Hall of Fame plaque, the race against McGwire during that magical summer of 1998.
Tainted. Forever.
Just when it looked like everything was coming together for one glorious season, with Dusty in the dugout and Prior on the mound and the Yankees coming to town for the first time in seventy years. Just when it looked like it was safe, for the first time in a long time, to believe in this franchise. Just as the calender had turned to June - Cubs fans dug in, waited for their pitch -
And took a collective beanball to their head.
Sammy Sosa is a fraud who poops his pants.
There is no joy in Wrigleyville today.
-JM
Posted 9:46 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#98) -
Fog City Blues
Primey for #97.
Hilarious parody. That was a parody, right? ;)
Posted 9:46 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#99) -
Tom N
This is from Thinkquest:
Lets assume that the average time a ball travels from the pitcher's hand to the plate in about .46 seconds (assuming an average fastball travels 90mph and the distance between the plate and the pitcher's mound is 60'6''). If a bat's weight is reduced from 38 ounces to 32 ounces, the average time gained would be about 0.0133 seconds. By drilling a hole into the 32-ounce bat, thus reducing the weight by 1.5 ounces, the time gain would be 0.005 seconds. Does this time gain justify using a lighter bat?
It's possible.
Posted 9:47 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#100) -
tb
Primey for #97
Posted 9:47 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#101) -
Soft Johnny
Primey for the faux Mariotti article. The title alone deserves a nod.
Posted 9:49 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#102) -
Jefferson
I think I will forever imagine Sosa pooping his pants each time I see him, from this day forward. For that, I thank you!
Posted 9:50 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#103) -
MNP
What's the over/under on number of Sosa hatchet jobs in the newspapers for the next week.
Well, if this is true, he did cheat, violating a rule that everybody knows carries severe consequences. Somebody's gonna have to do quite a bit more than point that out and criticize Sosa for it to count as a "hatchet job."
Posted 9:52 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#104) -
Mike C.
Thanks for the link, Scott. Interesting that he doesn't say anything about the collision being less elastic. Just basically that the only meaningful difference you achieve is to reduce the weight, and it's easier to do that legally.
Posted 9:53 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#105) -
Rivers
Mark Prior: Master of Escape
Posted 9:55 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#106) -
BJ Birdy
I think it's the paragraphing in #97 that really knocks it out of the park, so to speak. That was perfect.
Posted 9:57 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#107) -
Brian C
(homepage)
To be fair, Mariotti has always defended Sosa. Of course, whether that favors Sammy or not in this case is open to debate.
It's Phil Rogers that he really has to look out for.
Posted 9:58 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#108) -
Dave Sund
(e-mail)
that's primeyworthy right there...
priceless!
Posted 9:59 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#109) -
True Blue
Over in Clutch Hits, someone quoted Harold Reynolds as having interviewed Sosa, who allegedly admitted using a corked bat for exhibitions and mistakenly grabbing to for today's game.
Why anyone would do that is a mystery to me -- even if he believed a corked bat would have an effect, why risk something like this happening for the sake of looking good in an exhibition?!?
Posted 10:00 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#110) -
David Gee
How can the Cubs lose to this?
By scoring one run?
I'll say this: if Sosa did cork his bat, it puts a large asterisk on his career.
Why, unless the footnote says "idiot"? You yourself said it doesn't work.
Hilarious parody. That was a parody, right?
I'm not guessing one way or the other until I read tomorrow morning's papers.
Posted 10:01 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#111) -
Tom N
If Lou is stalling for time, why wouldn't he wait for the umpire to break up the meeting at the mound?
I read The Physics of Baseball when I was sixteen and still taking high school physics. In retrospect I'm probably wrong, since an elastic bat would transfer less energy to the ball than an inelastic bat.
Posted 10:05 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#112) -
Rivers
It's pretty sad that I can't take issue with letting Prior hit for himself in this situation. Get a bench, for crying out loud.
Posted 10:09 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#113) -
True Blue
Sammy's fessing up.
Posted 10:11 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#114) -
Beating a Dead Horse
I'm sick and tired of players like Sammy Sosa and Albert Belle corking their bats.
Posted 10:14 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#115) -
David Gee
Stone told Santo he had big shoes to fill doing the seventh inning stretch.
Posted 10:17 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#116) -
Snowboy
You yourself said it doesn't work.
Maybe corking works, maybe it doesn't. I was saying that apologists will find a way to explain it away.
Corking your bat is illegal. If Sosa corked, the mere perception of impropriety is damning.
Posted 10:17 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#117) -
David Gee
Sammy's fessing up.
Well, sort of. Every 14 year-old caught smoking tells their parents it was the first time they tried it.
Posted 10:19 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#118) -
VVerhei
What's the record for comments for one game? This is #116, which has gotta be up there...
Posted 10:20 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#119) -
VVerhei
Ah, the curse of forgetting to refresh my browser...
Posted 10:20 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#120) -
True Blue
I said it in Post #109, but I just can't believe that Sosa would even use it in an exhibition? Even assuming that Adair is wrong, is looking good in an exhibition really worth the risk of something like this happening?
I've defended Sammy before, but he's a complete idiot.
Posted 10:21 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#121) -
Snowboy
Sosa will probably say it was a batting practice bat, taken on the field by mistake. (Hard to claim it was a pitcher's bat or something, with that distinctive lump of tape at the knob.) Problem is, of course, how can we believe it was the first and only time? And why risk a mistake like that by corking at all?
Posted 10:24 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#122) -
Tom N
Harrelson said he used to use corked bats in batting practice and occassionally they'd make their way into the game. In the Cubs' booth, the mood has lightened a lot thanks to Ronny.
Posted 10:29 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#123) -
Christian Ruzich
(homepage)
I've quoted the relevant section of 'Physics of Baseball' at the homepage link, if anyone's interested.
Posted 10:32 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#124) -
soft johnny
What's the record for comments for one game? This is #116, which has gotta be up there...
The Clemens 300 attempts were around 180-190. The Tigers game should have an asterisk because that was almost a doubleheader.
Posted 10:36 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#125) -
true blue
Thanks, Christian.
TFG? Ugh.
Posted 10:37 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#126) -
Tom Goodwin's Mama
My boy is intimidating
Posted 10:38 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#127) -
Curtis Goodwin's Mama
Shut yo mouth!
Posted 10:38 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#128) -
David Gee
At least TFG will take a walk every so often.
Posted 10:39 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#129) -
Again
LFH for Prior? I'd be tempted to pinch-hit Prior for LFH!
Posted 10:40 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#130) -
Rivers
Lenny Harris would rather be lucky than good.
Posted 10:42 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#131) -
Neil
Lenny Harris would rather be lucky than good.
Like he's got a choice in the matter.
Posted 10:42 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#132) -
David Gee
Extra innings would not be so good, although the Cubs could actually go to Clement in the bullpen over the next few days.
Come on, Lou, throw something!
Posted 10:46 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#133) -
Tom N
Gotta love bringing in a pinch hitter to bunt. This team's bench really sucks. And as reasonable as Troy O'Leary seemed as a fourth outfielder coming into this season, his SLG had seen a precipitous decline last year and he's old. Pecota projected him to be below replacement level.
Baker's attitude towards Bellhorn is a waste of a roster spot. It costs the Cubs a back-up infielder and limits their pinch-hitting options. It's not so much that Bellhorn's valuable, since he's not very valuable and he's not particularly well suited to pinch hitting. The roster spot is potentially valuable. Better to carry Midre Cummings or Treni Hubbard than waste the spot on Bellhorn. Cut bait.
Posted 10:49 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#134) -
Brian C
(homepage)
Pecota projected him to be below replacement level.
Frankly, so did common sense, for the reasons you described. O'Leary looked semi-valuable last year because of a freakishly high (for him) OBP.
Posted 10:51 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#135) -
Mike O.
He'll be a hero no more. Sammy Sosa is a fraud and all of his accomplishments are forever tainted. The 500 home runs, the smile on his Hall of Fame plaque, the race against McGwire during that magical summer of 1998.
Tainted. Forever.
Good god,that could be an almost verbatim text of part of Mariotti's next article.Freaking hilarious.
Posted 10:52 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#136) -
David Gee
Good god,that could be an almost verbatim text of part of Mariotti's next article.Freaking hilarious.
I'm seriously wondering if the Score Bard hasn't come up with a random Jay Mariotti generator.
Posted 10:53 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#137) -
true blue
Sammy's having a press conference after the game, presumably to explain why it's so important for him to have special bats for exhibition games. Pathetic.
Posted 10:55 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#138) -
David Gee
Pathetic and ridiculous. They may as well have suspended Julio Zuleta for fruitifying the bats.
Posted 10:56 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#139) -
Rivers
With Prior not in line for a decision, this just turned into a game between the Cubs and Devil Rays.
Woof.
Posted 11:01 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#140) -
Brian C
(homepage)
They may as well have suspended Julio Zuleta for fruitifying the bats.
True, but we do, after all, live in a world in which marijuana is considered a perfromance-enhancing drug. Once people get an idea in their head, you can't beat it out of them.
Posted 11:02 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#141) -
Tom N
Good call, Rivers. As much as I like Choi and Huff, and as notionally exciting as Baldelli and Patterson are, the rest of the players involved are so stultifyingly dull as to turn this edition of the great joy of my life into a penance.
Posted 11:05 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#142) -
Curtis
As Joe Buck said tonight:
"But officer, I never speed, I swear this is the first time!"
Riiiiiiiiiiiight.
Posted 11:10 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#143) -
Brian C
(homepage)
I kinda hope it really was an innocent mistake by Sosa. No one will ever believe it anyway, so he'll have to live in anguish knowing that he's telling the truth and no one believes it. Maybe it'll teach him never to do something so moronic again.
Posted 11:12 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#144) -
Rivers
C'mon, Choi. Let's get this over with.
Posted 11:13 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#145) -
Brian C
(homepage)
Hey, hey, there might be some fight left in this team after all. Go Hee Seop!
Posted 11:13 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#146) -
Dave Sund
(e-mail)
What exactly is Dusty thinking there?
Posted 11:14 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#147) -
Rivers
Now that they've had him bunt, I almost hope they don't score out of spite.
Posted 11:15 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#148) -
Dave Sund
(e-mail)
With Ramon Martinez up, you might be lucky. ;-)
Posted 11:15 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#149) -
Brian C
(homepage)
Sac bunt. Shoulda known.
But actually, this is one of those rare occasions when a sac bunt makes perfect sense to me. I'm actually impressed Choi got it down.
Posted 11:15 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#150) -
Rivers
I say "almost" because I really wouldn't wish the continuation of this game on my worst enemy.
Posted 11:16 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#151) -
Dave Sund
(e-mail)
Nevermind. ;-)
Posted 11:16 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#152) -
David Gee
Baker is a bonehead.
Took the bat out of his best hitter's hands. Yes, Choi make it close, but now it's up to Martinez and Miller.
Posted 11:16 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#153) -
Chris J.
"I smell a really, really bad Mariotti column coming on..."
Well, that would be the case regardless of cork-gate or not. . . .
Posted 11:17 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#154) -
Brian C
(homepage)
Woohoo! And the good part is, even if Martinez's bat is corked, that run still counts!
Posted 11:17 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#155) -
Neil
Cubs win - Sosa loses.
Posted 11:25 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#156) -
True Blue
Quoting Sammy:
"I just took the wrong bat and went up there. . . . It happened. . . . It's a bat I use in batting practice and I used it in the game. It's something I take the blame for. . . . I apologize."
"I'm here right now to explain that it was a mistake. . . . It's a mistake and I take the blame for it."
Posted 11:28 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#157) -
More from Sammy
"[The bats are for] batting practice, to put on a show for the fans. I like to make people happy and I do it in batting practice. [When it came time for the game,] I just picked the wrong bat."
"[The commissioner's office] took all my bats. All of them."
Posted 11:47 p.m.,
June 3, 2003
(#158) -
Christian Ruzich
(homepage)
"[The commissioner's office] took all my bats. All of them."
So we will find out if Sammy 's telling the truth, and he only has one corked bat. Of course, we'll never know if he's telling the truth about never having used it in a game before...
Posted 12:03 a.m.,
June 4, 2003
(#159) -
Tony Craig
Of course, we'll never know if he's telling the truth about never having used it in a game before...
We won't know if he's never used it, but we can assume he has very rarely used it. Sammy has broken a lot of bats during his career, and this is the first time one of them seems to have been tampered with.
Posted 5:08 a.m.,
June 4, 2003
(#160) -
Alex Lewis
So, who wants to bet that the perfectly executed bunt by Choi gets him 25-50 more ABs on the season? The play, in and of itself, was stupid. But it's the sort of thing that Dusty Baker loves to see and will benefit the Cubs in the fullness of time.
Posted 11:57 a.m.,
June 4, 2003
(#161) -
Chris Dial
Alex,
no, Choi's bunt there was the *right thing to do*. You only need one run to win, so it sets up winning on a WP - like that ever happens. He bounces into a DP, and you don't win right here. In the 5th inning, it's not a good move, but in the 9th, it is.
Posted 8:39 p.m.,
June 4, 2003
(#162) -
Alex Lewis
You make a good point, Chris. My gut reaction to the bunt is to get a little sick and I think that clouded my judgement. Personally, I wanted to see Choi swing the bat and get a chance to be a hero or draw a big walk.
Wrong though I was about wisdome of Baker's call, my other point still stands.
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