Milestones

[Benjamin Grimm]

I heard that they started with Barry with number 750.

I don't really know that his 754th home run ball would be that much more valuable than, say, his 733rd, but using specially marked baseballs actually ensures that it will be more valuable.

I'm so sick of memorabilia. If I was the dictator of baseball, I'd put big screens up so that no fan could get the ball, and I'd have it retrieved by special agents who would immediately destroy the ball.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I agree that it ensures that it will be more valuable. It improves the market for the genuine article, but it also decreases the market for the frauds. So more good than bad, right?

[Benjamin Grimm]

True. But I'd rather destroy the ball and be done with it.

[metirish]

I had no idea they were giving A-rod special balls.I didn't think he had any,I thought only Bonds had those balls.

The balls should be sponsored and the money given to charity.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The only thing special about Barry's balls is that they're tiny and shriveled.

Giving the money to charity is nice, but unfortunately the ball will belong to whatever thug in the stands is able to push everyone else out of the way.

[metirish]

I was thinking a charity ball like they have for the home run derby,probably wouldn't work though....

[Frayed Knot]

A partial explanation about using marked balls for ARod's recent games ... although I
don't know if this was actually the reason for it.

Sir Alex of Arodia his #499 last night in KC and will get a shot at #500 today (against the
same pitcher against whom he hit #400 btw).
BUT ... here's the kicker; the Yanx have to finish up a late-June suspended game against
the O's this weekend (Saturday I think).
And the poobahs at Elias have ruled that since this is a conclusion of a June game then anything
that occurs in the remaining innings (Yanx lead by 2 in the 8th) will count as if it happened
on its original date and be counted in the order in which they would have occured.

So ... if he does NOT HR before then, but then HRs during the conclusion of that game
(and he's def sked to bat in that game) then last night's HR will count as #500 and the
"500th one" as #480-sumpthin (depending on how many he's slugged since).
And even if he does HR between now & then, a HR in that conclusion will change the order of
every HR between the original starting date and now.

Now THAT would be an interesting conundrum for the collectors crowd.
Last night's shot to RCF landed in that grassy area near the fountain and, as far as I could tell,
was left alone there and not collected.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That's pretty funny. He could end up hitting his 500th home run before he hits his 482nd?

I hope Barry Bonds' 756th bounces off the scoreboard and lands on the field. Or lands in a bullpen or something. I'd hate to see some burly fan get rewarded for elbowing a few sixth-graders out of his way.

[metirish]

Are KC fans that beaten that they can't be bothered getting "historic" baseballs?

I would like to hear John Sterlings call on the Rodriguez milestone homer,should be entertaining.

[Frayed Knot]

metirish wrote: Are KC fans that beaten that they can't be bothered getting "historic" baseballs?

1) I don't think fans can get to that area. It's would probably be like Pratt's HR which was
just picked up by some stadium worker out near the base of the scoreboard.

2) They didn't think it WAS an historic HR (and it still may not be).

[Frayed Knot]

Milestones taking an oh-fer tonight.

- ARod now oh for his last 17. I think he was the only Yank NOT to hit a HR tonight.

- Bonds is still playing but hasn't gone deep yet

- and Glavine we kinda know about

[Frayed Knot]

5 0 0

Got it out of the way early, hitting the first pitch he saw today into the LF seats.
I came home and turned on the TV exactly as the ball was landing.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Where were those boo-birds during that curtain call?

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: Where were those boo-birds during that curtain call?

Maiking sure their coats were turned to the right side, then cheering for his curtain call.
Later

[metirish]

Bonds hits # 755 in his first AB tonight against the Padres.

[MFS62]

When the camera settled on Selig, he was standing but not applauding.

It was tough to figure out exactly how he would react from his last few interviews.

Good for him. A nice middle ground.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Don't all those people with the flash cameras realize that their flashes are useless at the kind of distances from which they're using them?

[metsmarathon]

listening to the fan today?

apparently there's a big deal being made on richard neer's program that "arod is selling a commemorative 500th homer bat" for $129.99 + $20.00 S&H

the big deal is that he's pimping his name for this overpriced product, apparently, sullying his good name.

what no-one has picked up yet, is that craig biggio is also pimping his good, and heretofore presumably more genuine, good name on a commemorative 3,000th hit bat.

but never let that get in the way of a good story, i guess...

[stevejrogers]

metsmarathon wrote: listening to the fan today? apparently there's a big deal being made on richard neer's program that "arod is selling a commemorative 500th homer bat" for $129.99 + $20.00 S&H the big deal is that he's pimping his name for this overpriced product, apparently, sullying his good name. what no-one has picked up yet, is that craig biggio is also pimping his good, and heretofore presumably more genuine, good name on a commemorative 3,000th hit bat. but never let that get in the way of a good story, i guess...

Yeah but Neer is doing a show in NYC, ARod plays in NYC, ARod is a lightning rod for any sort of polorizing issues. Neer just saw the ad on the YES network and clearing has no clue or inclination to do any research on any other athlete hawking memoriablilla based on recent accomplishments

[Frayed Knot]

]apparently there's a big deal being made on richard neer's program that "arod is selling a commemorative 500th homer bat" for $129.99 + $20.00 S&H the big deal is that he's pimping his name for this overpriced product, apparently, sullying his good name.

He did that once before, in the early days in his NYY career following a 3-HR game against Bartolo Colon and the Angels.
When a furor arose over that Alex came out the next day saying that it was done without his authorization and that he was immediately cutting ties with the promotion agency that handled it.

Now we have this situation here which certainly sounds like much the same thing.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Frayed Knot wrote: Don't all those people with the flash cameras realize that their flashes are useless at the kind of distances from which they're using them?

My guess is that the go off automatically as part of the digital camera, unless you change the settings.

Anybody remember actual flash bulbs? The little square bulbs clicked onto the top of the cameras.

[Farmer Ted]

A friend forwarded this to me today (needless to say, a Bonds hater). This is crazy shit.

EXCLUSIVE: Barry Bonds' Home Run Record Tainted by Mechanical Device?

By Michael Witte

Published: August 06, 2007 10:45 AM

NEW YORK (Commentary) Beyond his alleged steroid use, Barry Bonds is guilty of the use of something that confers extraordinarily unfair mechanical advantage: the �armor� that he wears on his right elbow. Amid the press frenzy over Bonds� unnatural bulk, the true role of the object on his right arm has simply gone unnoticed.

This is unfortunate, because by my estimate, Bonds� front arm �armor� may have contributed no fewer than 75 to 100 home runs to his already steroid-questionable total.

Bonds tied Henry Aaron�s home run record of 755 on Saturday night and will go for the new standard this week back at home in San Francisco. As a student of baseball � and currently a mechanics consultant to a major league baseball team -- I believe I have insight into the Bonds "achievement." I have studied his swing countless times on video and examined the mechanical gear closely through photographs.

For years, sportswriters remarked that his massive "protective" gear � unequaled in all of baseball -- permits Bonds to lean over the plate without fear of being hit by a pitch. Thus situated, Bonds can handle the outside pitch (where most pitchers live) unusually well. This is unfair advantage enough, but no longer controversial. However, it is only one of at least seven (largely unexplored) advantages conferred by the apparatus.

The other six:

1) The apparatus is hinged at the elbow. It is a literal "hitting machine" that allows Bonds to release his front arm on the same plane during every swing. It largely accounts for the seemingly magical consistency of every Bonds stroke.

2) The apparatus locks at the elbow when the lead arm is fully elongated because of a small flap at the top of the bottom section that fits into a groove in the bottom of the top section. The locked arm forms a rigid front arm fulcrum that allows extraordinary, maximally efficient explosion of the levers of Bonds' wrists. Bonds hands are quicker than those of average hitters because of his mechanical "assistant."

3) When Bonds swings, the weight of the apparatus helps to seal his inner upper arm to his torso at impact. Thus "connected," he automatically hits the ball with the weight of his entire body - not just his arms - as average hitters ("extending") tend to do.

4) Bonds has performed less well in Home Run Derbies than one might expect because he has no excuse to wear a "protector" facing a batting practice pitcher. As he tires, his front arm elbow tends to lift and he swings under the ball, producing towering pop flies or topspin liners that stay in the park. When the apparatus is worn, its weight keeps his elbow down and he drives the ball with backspin.

5) Bonds enjoys quicker access to the inside pitch than average hitters because his "assistant" - counter-intuitively - allows him to turn more rapidly. Everyone understands that skaters accelerate their spins by pulling their arms into their torsos, closer to their axes of rotation. When Bonds is confronted with an inside pitch, he spins like a skater because his upper front arm is "assistant"-sealed tightly against the side of his chest.

6) At impact, Bonds has additional mass (the weight of his "assistant") not available to the average hitter. The combined weight of "assistant" and bat is probably equal to the weight of the lumber wielded by Babe Ruth but with more manageable weight distribution.

At the moment, Bonds' apparatus enjoys "grandfathered" status. Similar devices are presently denied to average
major leaguers, who must present evidence of injury before receiving an exemption.

Bonds has worn some sort of front arm protection since 1992. In '94, a one-piece forearm guard was replaced by a jointed, two piece elbow model. In �95 it got bigger and a small "cap" on the elbow was replaced by a "flap" that overlapped the upper piece and locked the two pieces together when the arm was elongated. In '96, the "apparatus" grew even larger and so did the "flap."

It seems to have remained relatively the same until -- interestingly� 2001, the year of his record 73 home runs, when an advanced model appeared made (apparently) of a new material. It had softer edges and a groove for the flap to slip into automatically at full arm elongation. More important, the upper half of the machine was sculpted to conform more comfortably to the contours of Bonds' upper arm. Since 2001, the apparatus seems to have remained relatively unchanged.

Several years back, baseball was rightfully scandalized by the revelation that Sammy Sosa had "corked" his bat. The advantages conferred by the Bonds "hitting machine," however, far exceed anything supplied by cork. Ultimately, it appears the Bonds "achievement� must be regarded as partly the product of �double duplicity" -- steroidal and mechanical.

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Michael Witte (gmitchell@editorandpublisher.com) is a well-known illustrator whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Time, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal and dozens of other publications. The New Yorker recently wrote a piece about him and his study of mechanics. He appeared on network TV coverage of the 2003 World Series, providing cartoon sketches of some of the action.