Guest alkeiper Report post Posted June 4, 2003 While it is true that corking a bat makes for better batspeed, it's also fairly obvious that adding cork and removing wood decreases weight severely, thus hurting one's power. Not true actually. Power has little to do with bat weight. Ted Williams covered this in his book, The Science of Hitting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smell the ratings!!! Report post Posted June 5, 2003 By all accounts, Sammy is legit one of the nicest dudes in all the majors. clearly you don't live in Chicago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted June 5, 2003 While it is true that corking a bat makes for better batspeed, it's also fairly obvious that adding cork and removing wood decreases weight severely, thus hurting one's power. Not true actually. Power has little to do with bat weight. Ted Williams covered this in his book, The Science of Hitting. I've read that corked bats only make the ball travel 5 to 10 feet further. How much would that help Sosa, who was not barely making it over the fence with his hr's? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Deebo Report post Posted June 5, 2003 On sportscenter they supposedly took his 498th HR bat and cut it opened and found no cork. I didn't see it live but saw the highlight of it. Also they cut opened another of his bats too, i think his 500th HR bat and there was no cork. That's two game used bats that had no cork, not to mention the 77 other bats MLB just checked and found that had no cork. Of course the conspiracy theorists will never let him live this down and admit that it was just a mistake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alkeiper Report post Posted June 5, 2003 Anyone else see Rick Reilly and Rob Dibble on Sportscenter? If so, did you want to puncture your own eardrums as well? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted June 5, 2003 What was the point of that segment. Both guys for the most part said the same thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cabbageboy Report post Posted June 5, 2003 You can add this to the black cat deal as another fiasco that kills a promising Cubs season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alkeiper Report post Posted June 5, 2003 The point of the segment was to piss me off. "They want to make the strike zone this small." No Rob, that's just the size of your penis. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted June 5, 2003 I did like when Weiner asked Reilly if he's taking this personal because of last years interview in SI with Sosa. It was interesting that the test showed, 77 of Sosa's bats where found to be cork free wasn't mentioned. Is it possible that the segment was done before George Will broke the news? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 Speaking of Wilton Guerrero, didn't he go after the broken piece of the bat before the ump confiscated it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest phoenixrising Report post Posted June 5, 2003 ESPN is trying to make a bigger deal out of this than it is. Whoopee, the guy corked a bat. Had it been all 78 bats (77 plus the broken one), then you have a case. As it is right now, it is just one, so no all of his numbers are not tainted. If anything, Sosa going from speed guy to 30-30 guy to free swinging 60 homer player has more to do with his increasing muscle size and less to do with his bats. Unfortunately for Sammy, the news came on a slow newsday and he is one of the best players in the game...thus making him raw meat for the sharks in the water who are thrashing about trying to take a piece. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted June 5, 2003 Cork the fuck out of it, Sammy, it's been 95 years since the Cubs won a series. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted June 5, 2003 And as far as your bullshit claim, I'd say you're the one who's full of it. Jack, I don't doubt that he grabbed a BP bat. However, thinking about it over the past day or so, I tend to doubt he did it accidentally. It's incredibly rare for players to mix their BP bats and game bats, since the wood quality is different, and since BP ends a good bit before the game begins. Maybe it was an honest mistake on his part, but I don't think I have enough faith in humanity to really buy into that one. While it is true that corking a bat makes for better batspeed, it's also fairly obvious that adding cork and removing wood decreases weight severely, thus hurting one's power. Not true. If this were the case, aluminum bats wouldn't produce longer homers because they weigh 5-6 ounces less at the same length and barrel diameter. Power comes from bat speed thru the hitting zone. That's why guys shave a well into the tob of the bat's barrel and make the handles as thin as they can: bat speed. That's why Mark McGwire and others kept a finger or two off the knob of the bat as their natural grip: bat speed. It's what enables smallish guys to hit homers like the big boys do. A similar principle applies in golf: Tiger Woods isn't a big guy by any stretch, but how many people smash the ball down the fairway like he does? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smell the ratings!!! Report post Posted June 5, 2003 in that 16 inning game, Sammy struck out 4 times with a white bat, then knocked in the game winning run with a black bat. just sayin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted June 5, 2003 in that 16 inning game, Sammy struck out 4 times with a white bat, then knocked in the game winning run with a black bat. just sayin Sosa had about 7 at bats in that game. You're gonna hit something eventually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Some Guy Report post Posted June 5, 2003 On SportsCenter they showed that the corked bat had a "C" written on the end of the barrel in white writing. Presumably it stood for "Corked" and you'd have to be a retard to go to bat with a bat labeled as being illegal on purpose. Seeing as though tons of his bats have been checked and they are all clean I'll give him teh benifit of the doubt but give him 20 games and $500,000 fine to make sure he doesn't fuck up again. ANd I'd make that the established punishment for 1st time offenders regardless of salary. I think that would slow down the amount of cheating. For 2nd time guys double it, three strikes and you can say hello to Pete Rose and Joe Jackson. I have very little tolerance for a multi-millionaire with no other disernable talent cheating (purposely or not) to gain more of an advantage. He shouldn't even be using the thing for BP or HR Derby. WOuldn't swinging a lighter bat at slower pitches throw his timing off? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ripper Report post Posted June 6, 2003 I am wondering why everyone is calling for Sammy to get a massive suspension and fine when the precendent has already been set in many other bat corking incidents for being 8-10 game suspensions. Plus you are trying to "crack down" on a guy that arguably made a mistake, not on one of the guys that undenyably did it on purpose as in the past. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Redhawk Report post Posted June 6, 2003 So he got 8 games. They just showed a list of how long previous corked-bat suspensions were, and they were all from 7-10. Except for Craig Nettles in 1974, who got ZERO games. Remember what Jose Canseco said? Chris Sabo was White and he got 7 games, but Sabo was just an average guy. Nettles was a White superstar and got nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted June 6, 2003 I am wondering why everyone is calling for Sammy to get a massive suspension and fine... To discourage other people from doing this. Fining a multimillionaire $25,000 doesn't accomplish a whole lot. That's why I think you need to make the fine ten times that amount, and suspend someone for a dozen games. Two weeks off and a quarter-million dollar hit to the purse should discourage people from cheating in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alkeiper Report post Posted June 6, 2003 Remember what Jose Canseco said? Chris Sabo was White and he got 7 games, but Sabo was just an average guy. Nettles was a White superstar and got nothing. Can you really compare incidents twelve years apart? Besides, your example has nothing to do with race, as Canseco surmised. To discourage other people from doing this. Fining a multimillionaire $25,000 doesn't accomplish a whole lot. That's why I think you need to make the fine ten times that amount, and suspend someone for a dozen games. Two weeks off and a quarter-million dollar hit to the purse should discourage people from cheating in the future. I think Sosa's punishment is just. Remember that the Cubs lose their superstar for eight games, in the midst of a fierce pennant race. This incident could conceivably cost them the playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MarvinisaLunatic Report post Posted June 6, 2003 I have tickets to the O's Cubs Series that starts on tuesday at Camden Yards, and now Im pissed that Sosa probably won't be playing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alkeiper Report post Posted June 7, 2003 Just be glad that an underground train didn't crash under the city and cancel the games outright. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest hardyz1 Report post Posted June 7, 2003 Supposedly he'll appeal it so he can play against the Yankees this weekend. At least I hope that's the reason he's appealing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted June 7, 2003 I think Sosa's punishment is just. It's consistent with recent penalties for the same thing, so I don't have a problem with the length of the suspension. If the fine amount was released, I must have skimmed past it. Still, I think that, if you want to discourage cheating, then you throw the book at those who cheat. Remember that the Cubs lose their superstar for eight games, in the midst of a fierce pennant race. That's entirely the fault of their superstar. This incident could conceivably cost them the playoffs. Again, the fault of their superstar. I won't pity them if that turns out to be the case. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Bruiser Chong Report post Posted June 7, 2003 I know that you can't blow off any part of the season, as it can turn out to be the deciding factor in something, I think that it won't cost them their chance in the pennant race seeing as it's only June and the Cubs weren't doing that bad without Sosa while he was on the DL (although not doing bad isn't going to win jack shit). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted June 7, 2003 It's kind of discouraging to hear Cubs fans already using Sosa's corked bat suspension has as an excuse why they won't make the playoffs. It's early June, Sosa will miss 8 games. Like Bruiser said they didn't play bad when he was on the DL. Even if they go 2-6, it's unlikely they'd be anymore than 4 games out of first. With plenty of season left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mr. Slim Citrus Report post Posted June 7, 2003 As a non-baseball fan, I was wondering if someone can explain to me the rationale behind Sosa appealing his suspension. I mean, he's as much as admitted that he's done wrong; what the hell is he appealing? Is there some sort of requirement by the Player's Union that all players who are fined/suspended must appeal? Because, it occurs to me that if Sosa has even an ounce of integrity left, he'd accept the suspension without argument and/or appeal, serve his time, and then get on with the rest of the season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MaxPower27 Report post Posted June 7, 2003 By appealing, it delays when he actually has to sit out and miss games. The Cubs have a rather big series this weekend. They are home to the Yankees. Sosa obviously wanted to play for them this weekend, so he appealed the suspension because the delay in the MLB office will allow him to play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Some Guy Report post Posted June 7, 2003 Just about every player appeals their suspensions and occasionally they get reduced. I'm with Slim on this one, Sosa admitted it and he should just serve the suspension and get this behind him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smell the ratings!!! Report post Posted June 7, 2003 But baseball just spent the last week licking Sammy's crack in press conferences, they'll reduce it by at least a game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
