I don't see how him only having one corked bat proves anything (unless he said he only had one corked bat). Why would you need more than one corked bat?
exactly right..i don't understand that either. in fact...it seems to me that if you were going to use a corked bat, you'd make sure you only had one at a time in your possession. if he had 5 of them, this would be a much longer suspension. of course you wouldn't make more than one...
Well I think the suspension was fair. 8 games isn't too bad. And he shouldn't appeal. He's most likely appealing so he can play against NYY. Then I'd guess he'll drop his appeal when they hit a softer part of the schedule. Players do that all the time - unfortunately, it's one of the quirks of the MLB CBA.
Pedro Martinez sucks. http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2003/0606/1564134.html Friday, June 6 Martinez brushes back ESPN on Sosa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services PITTSBURGH -- Pedro Martinez swore up a pro-Sammy Sosa, anti-ESPN storm Thursday in the clubhouse. Upset at two days of "Outside the Lines" coverage that he said portrayed the Chicago Cubs slugger as a cheater, Martinez wants the network to dedicate equal time to exonerating his Dominican countryman after X-rays revealed that no other Sosa bats contained cork. "I want to see two nights in a row on 'Outside the Lines' say close to 100 bats were checked and nothing was found," the Boston Red Sox ace told the Hartford Courant. "I want to see something positive go on now." Martinez said if Mark McGwire got caught using a corked bat, "it would still be a big deal but not like this." "We may be Latin, a minority, but we're not dumb," Martinez told the Courant.
I'm not much of an expert either, but I did see one being made on ESPN. IIRC, what they do is cut out a small portion of the bat on the end and add a pieces, cut up, of cork in the hole. I think they add other things as well like sawdust and something else to make it sound natural or something. In the end, I think the bat is lighter and easier to swing than a normal bat. I want to say the density is different as well, but I don't know if it is all that important. BTW, from what I've heard, corked bats aren't THAT much better than normal bats, but I'm not sure. (Its supposed to drive the ball a lot farther than a regular wooden bat w/o cork, but I've heard things like a 400 ft HR would only go 404 ft with cork.)
It doesn't seem like that big of a difference, but for hitters that four feet could be the difference between a warning track out and a home run. If Bagwell had all the warning track outs turned into dingers during his slump, he wouldn't exactly be in a slump.
Well, no he has to do the time. Serves him right for using a corked bat. Like stated above, ofcourse he wouldnt have more than one corked bat. why would he? If his corked bat broke there is no reason for him to go to the dugout and get another corked bat since he would be caught and suspended.
Man, what a steaming pile of crap. McGwire got reamed for using Andro, and that was not even illegal. I think it's just a strategy to take heat off Sosa.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/st...AL?SITE=TXHOU&SECTION=SPORTS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Sosa's Suspension Reduced to Seven Games NEW YORK (AP) -- Sammy Sosa's suspension for using a corked bat was reduced Wednesday to seven games by major league baseball, which accepted his explanation that he simply made a mistake. The appeal of the eight-game suspension by the Chicago Cubs' slugger was heard Tuesday in Baltimore. The suspension begins with the Cubs' game Wednesday night against the Orioles. "I am convinced of the sincerity of Sosa's explanation and his contrition," said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer. "In my opinion, his candor and the promptness of his apology on the night of June 3 were exemplary. "However, at the end of the day, each player must be accountable for his own equipment complying with the rules, whether the violation is deliberate or inadvertent." Sosa, one of the game's great home run hitters, had been suspended for using a corked bat during a game against Tampa Bay on June 3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. "The suspensions over the past 20 years for the use of an illegal bat have ranged from seven to 10 games," DuPuy said. "Given the circumstances of this case, I felt that the lower end of the range was the most appropriate." Sosa was suspended by Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline. His appeal had allowed him to play until a ruling was made. He was ejected from the game with the Devil Rays when his bat shattered after hitting a ground ball and umpires discovered cork halfway up the handle of the bat. Tests on 76 bats taken from Sosa's locker found no foreign substances, and five of his bats at the Hall of Fame were also determined to be clean. Sosa said he mistakenly grabbed a bat he uses for batting practice and used it in the game. Chicago went 10-7 without Sosa last month while he was on the disabled list after surgery on his big toe. Now he will be out of the lineup next week when the Cubs follow a three-game interleague series against Toronto with a four-game road trip against Cincinnati.
I think it is time to lay off Sammy. He got suspended and he'll do his time. Enough is enough, just let it be. Has he ever cheated before? He may have cheated before and he may not have but it's just like asking how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, it is something we may never know. Don't beat this dead horse anymore.
On a corked bat and its effectiveness... I don't know where this extra 4 feet is coming from, from all the books that I have on baseball that talk about this, they all say that it can add UP to 50 feet of distance. Also, a corked bat, like someone said is lighter, and can give a 36 inch bat the feel and quickness of a 34 inch or 33 inch bat.
Think about how hard it is to hit a 98 MPH fastball with a heavy bat. Then try the lighter bat. Now, assume both bats have equal distance. Which bat are you going to choose. The corked bat gives you a better chance at solid contact, and it gives you more speed through the hitting zone, both of which generate more power. The corked bat takes a few feet away, but in general gives you the same distance as a heavy bat, It's the speed and contact you hit the ball with that generates a large quantity of yardage. For a baseball player it means everything. The baseball gurus are forgetting the latter half of the equation on purpose to fool you. They can't measure your increased likelihood of solid contact. So they leave it out of the physics equation.
