Uechi-Ryu.com

Professional baseball continues to reveal itself as the pathetic example of how one cheats and lies to succeed and is supported and rewarded for it in the end. The players union supports the doping(as well as management, its good for business) and this most recent episode with lyin'ass Sosa just continues. A corked bat for batting practice? This will turn into some sort of profitable spin for him and MLB in the end. And the crowds will still adore them. Americas pastime, shamefull.

Corruption is everywhere.

Murderers and rapists get "life" for their crimes and are released for "good behavior" only to hit the streets to rape and murder again.

Corporate cheaters rob individuals of their retirement accounts, and no jail time is served.

Illegal aliens infest our country and for their crimes they are given amnesty and benefits not afforded life-long American citizens.

Put a corked bat into that context and it doesn't amount to a hill-o-beans.

He'll be suspended for a game or three, pay a fine which would be like you or me losing a quarter in the street, and all will be forgiven.

He'll go down in the record books against the greats of yesteryear with no footnote about the steroidal enhancement or possible long-time cheating at the plate.

It's time to cut Pete Rose some slack, he as far as anyone knows, never cheated.

I have a question for you baseball mavens. It is my understanding that the principal benefit of corking a bat is to make it lighter so the batter can get it through the strike zone faster. If this is so, why not just use a lighter bat?

Curious fan,

Norm Abrahamson

Norm, a corked bat is lighter but the main difference between it and a simply lighter bat is its center of mass, which with the cork located closer to the players hands, the mass is pushed towards the business end of the bat.

Because the bat is lighter, the speed of the swing is increased, putting more momentum into the "sweet spot" where contact is made.

The energy input into the bat is directly proportional to its mass, but increases as a square of the velocity. So, a momentum lost by the reduced weight gives an increase in swing speed which amplifies imparted momentum by a factor of velocity squared. So, there is a net gain in momentum. Ergo, bye bye ball.

The reason Sammy claims he even has a corked bat is to show off at batting practice for the fans. Fair enough; he is after all in the entertainment business. Why then not easily mark the bat with a "P" or something that will not distract from his swing, or say red paint on he nub??

Perhaps he is honest about it. Or perhaps he has always had but one corked bat on hand to use and claim "mistake" when caught.

And the fans gave cheatin' sammy a standing ovation when he came to bat last night. Who cares about integrity as long as we win?!

Many of those same folks have no problem patting OJ on the back and asking for autographs when they run into him on his quest for the real killer. Many others still think that our former philanderer-in-chief walks on water and applaud him wildly at his speaking engagements, nevermind that they've ponied up a collective $100K to have him appear.

There's no doubt about it, Thaws, a large portion of our population has hit rock bottom.

$100K ? That's pocket change. Pres. Reagon got a cool million on a speaking tour in Japan after he left office. And let's not forget how much Colin Powell got and what Rudy Guliani now gets at speaking engagements!

Gene

Seisan bunkai jump will take care of that corked bat for sure.

Kevin,

Thanks for the explanation. I understand the explanation if not all the math. There isn't going to be a quiz is there?

Norm Abrahamson

Why not a level playing field, let them all use what ever bat, pine tar, spit ball etc. If everyone dines on the same forbidden fruit then no one is cheating.

Laird

So then MLB can align itself with professional wrestling, which it already mirrors.

are you suggesting they might be using roids

are you suggesting they might be using roids

Haven't watched a game since the ball rolled between buckners legs.
When I was younger I was a huge fan of the game but buckner cured it.

My understanding from the news is that the cork reducing the weight allows a batter one second longer to judge the pitch or 3 foot advantage.
I wonder about a lighter bat also but perhaps that reduced the mass and the ball doesn't go as far.
Don't they have magic golf balls that go farther?
Wonder if they ever check those guys or their equipment.
Fred

A 90 MPH fastball is moving at 132 feet/second. It takes under a half second to reach the plate. Give me a second to think about hitting and I might just then have a chance at hitting the ball.