Actually, I heard on the radio this morning that those results will not be made public. MLB is weird...
According to espn... a corked bat only gives you a 1% batspeed increace.... i dont think that many of his homeruns would have been affected by it.
Goodness. . . .the way folx been jumping on him looks like they had been WAITING for SOMETHING to bring him down . . . Rocket River . . . . by the way. . . . is it a special made bat or is corking something u can do yourself?
OK..from what I remember, weren't there allegations about Sosa corking his bat earlier in his career, and after he hit a dinger he pointed at his byceps and the announcers were laughing paraphrasing the action as " That's where the power is, not the bat." Am I imagining this?
I was thinking about jumping on him or not, but he really did cheat, and he was caught, so he deserves to be jumped on. Nobody knows how many games were effected by his bat. I was surprised at how many people came to his defense. I mean the evidence is on the table. There is no question he cheated. At least with Billy Hatcher it was obvious that it was Dave Smith's bat. His story made sense and the evidence leaned in his direction. But Sammy was using his own bat that he selected. Sammy's story is plausible, but there is nothing to substantiate it at this point. Sammy could verify it if MLB could review game tape of him using that bat for batting practice only, but never having used it in a game. That footage might be available to anyone investigating. It will be interesting to see what happens to his HR total after this.
I watched his interview on Sportscenter this morning. He said that he uses corked bats for the fans during batting practice. It was an "accident" and that he's very sorry for what happened. I don't really believe this though.
Phi Slamma Jamma - On Pete Rose...I was thinking the EXACT same thing this morning. This isn't an unwritten rule type violation...this isn't stealing signs...this is changing the very equipment you use..the very bat you swing...to produce a result different than the others on the same field with you. If Pete Rose's betting jacks with the integrity of the game (and I believe it does) then so does this. No question about it.
What about Nolie & his nail file? Mike Sciosia (sp?) was notorious for scuffing balls on his shinguards before tossing them back to the mound. This sort of thing goes on all the time, and always has, if they're caught, suspend 'em 10 games. This is nowhere near as serious as a manager or player betting on his team, whether for or against. For what it's worth, I've never like Skippin' Sammy and I think this whole incident is friggin hilarious. Sad, but hilarious. The whole reason this is such big news isn't what was done, but who did it.
I watched his interview on Sportscenter this morning. He said that he uses corked bats for the fans during batting practice. It was an "accident" and that he's very sorry for what happened. I don't really believe this though. The thing that no one in the media seems to be picking up on is that even if it WAS an honest mistake, how many times has he done it before? How many of his hits or HRs came when accidentally using a BP bat? You can't tell me that the *one* time he accidentally used a BP bat in a game is the one time it broke.
I definitely think it's just because Sammy is black. If he was white nobody would care. In fact I bet that most people think that all white players should be able to cork any bat they choose.
ARGHHH!!! what a loser. HORRRRRRRIBLE! worst excuse in the history of the mlb. here's my deal... with cork being in a bat, it would make that bat a little lighter... right? i saw the postgame conference last night and he muttered the word practice several times. why would you use a lighter bat during practice? i mean, before a batter steps up to the plate, don't you usually see him swinging two or three bats around so the real bat that he uses would feel lighter? instead, sosa was using a lighter bat to practice with before using a real bat which seems like it would affect his hitting negatively. i dunno.
So, were going to pigeon hole Sammy for this? What about all the other players who do the same thing who have yet to be caught? If you want to blame someone, then blame the league. Corked bats should be eliminated from every dugout and not used for anything...even batting practice. This is the same as what happened to Billy Hatcher. He grabbed the wrong bat. It could happen to any player at any time. I think this is being blown way out of proportion. Let's just discount everything Sammy has ever done over this. You have no proof one way or another whether this was the first time or the one hundredth time...just as you have no proof that other players are not doing the same thing. Hell...go check the Atlanta Braves' bats...their hitting an extraordinarily large amount of HRs this season. Fine Sammy or suspend Sammy...and let's move on. Let the league put controls in place to make corked bats illegal in the dugouts and find a way to enforce it. Otherwise, this will always happen.
I knew Joe Niekro was caught with a nail file while with the Twins, but I never heard of Ryan being caught with one.
Do you truly belive that Hatcher and Sosa "accidentally" grabbed the wrong bat? Corked bats are SUPPOSED to be eliminated from every dugout, Sosa seems to have convenientally forgotten to remove his. Hitters make their living with their bats. They constantly check them for evey little thing to ensure there is not a nick or crack. It is hard to imagine anyone grabbing the wrong bat unless he was hurriedly called to be a pinch hitter.
Yup. In the Dome I believe. The umps came out to check him & he nonchalantly tossed it behind the mound. Like nobody was going to see him do that. Funny stuff.
very true. i've been to several of the braves games here. i'd first check giles and furcal's bats. they've been playing like allstars this year. but, you can't go wrong with the lineup they have... furcal, giles, chipper, andrew, sheffield, ... sheesh. i don't think sosa's mishap has been blown out of proportion though. he should be more careful if indeed it was a mistake. especially with the "steroid thing" floating around.
I don't think you know any more than the rest of us. Your speculating...nothing more. So, Hatcher and Sosa use corked bats regularly and are liars. Now, your going to tell me you used to be a bat boy and know exactly what can and can't happen in a MLB dugout. Okay.
Please don't turn this into a race issue because it has nothing to do with race and everything to do with Sammy being a superstar slugger. If a white person who was known for hitting home runs and had superstar status, such as Mark McGwire, were ever found to have a corked bat it would be just as big a deal as it is with Sammy.
