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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
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Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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 Posted: Tue 6/8/21 9:43 pm Post subject: "Spin Doctors" |
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Oh, the talk about spin rates and which team benefits most!
According to Sports Illustrated, it's the Dodgers, with Trevor being the most suspected of "doctoring" baseballs.
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sunnyblue
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 3503
Location: San Diego County, CA
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| Posted: Wed 6/9/21 7:22 am Post subject: |
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| Gerrit was on the hot seat, too. |
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
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Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Tue 6/15/21 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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I trust you ladies saw the article in the Union-Tribune, right?
Today Major League Baseball handed down new guidelines on foreign substance use - article linked here
I have heard many pitchers are upset that this happened in the middle of the season.
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
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Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Wed 6/16/21 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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This is so much the talk of baseball anymore! I think some pitchers are upset that they're cracking down more on this than they did with the Astros' sign-stealing scandal, which resulted in no suspensions.
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 19812
Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Thu 6/17/21 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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Per Houston Mitchell's (L.A. Times) Dodgers newsletter:
| Quote: | So, many of you have emailed me to explain the whole spin rate/foreign substances controversy. While a book could be written about the subject (and probably will) and while our own Jorge Castillo wrote about it recently here, let's delve into it a bit.
MLB actually defines spin rate for us: A pitcher's spin rate represents the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute. The amount of spin on a pitch changes its trajectory. The same pitch thrown at the same velocity will end up in a different place depending on how much it spins.
So, the more spin the better. Fastballs with a high spin rate won't sink as much, which is why batters are swinging under fastballs so much. And a great way to get more spin on the ball is to use something sticky to help you grip the ball better (remember Jay Howell using pine tar to better grip the ball during the NLCS against the Mets in 1988?).
A substance that appears to be popular with pitchers is called Spider Tack. Trevor Bauer once estimated that 70% of major league pitchers use an illegal substance. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was asked recently if he uses Spider Tack. His answer: "I don't, I don't know, I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest. There are customs and practices that have been passed down from older players to younger players, from the last generation of players to this generation of players, and I think there are some things that are certainly out of bounds in that regard. This is important to a lot of people who love the game, including the players in this room, including fans, including teams, so if MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation that we can have. Because ultimately we should all be pulling in the same direction on this."
Spider Tack is available on Amazon and is used mainly be weightlifters. If you ever watch "World's Strongest Man" competitions, it was specifically designed for help with the Atlas Stones competition. It is so sticky it usually takes baby oil or WD-40 to get it off your fingers. And, it's easy to hide. The Athletic had a former major league pitcher throw a ball with and without using Spider Tack. With it, the spin rate increased by 500 rpm. And baseball has noticed and is cracking down, telling teams that it plans to begin enforcing the rules against pitchers using illegal substances to doctor baseballs for increased spin rates.
And since that announcement, guess what has happened. Batting averages are up, spin rates are down. It would probably be unfair of me to point out that since the crackdown was announced, Bauer has given up seven earned runs in 12.1 innings (5.11 ERA), 15 hits and six walks, while striking out 15. And if I did point it out, it would be important to note that it is an extremely small sample size, but it is worth keeping an eye on.
So there's what you need to know about illegal substances, in a nutshell.
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
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Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Sat 6/19/21 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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I am not sure if you saw Joe Musgrove's comments on it in the U-T.
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
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Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Mon 6/21/21 11:23 am Post subject: |
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Yes, I did. I'll update this more later.
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Tue 6/22/21 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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Enforcement by umpires started yesterday and began with Jacob deGrom, the Mets ace who was pitching against the Braves. Nothing was found. So far as I now he was never one mentioned as being suspected though.
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"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg |
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sunnyblue
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 3503
Location: San Diego County, CA
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| Posted: Fri 6/25/21 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Then the brouhaha with Max Scherzer when the Phillies played the Nationals. Phillies manager Joe Girardi asked for an inspection and was called a "con man" by the Nats. |
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
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Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Tue 6/29/21 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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It's crazy how out of hand they can get.
Meanwhile, Mariners LHP Hector Santiago has become the first pitcher to be ejected over such use, in a 3-2 win over the White Sox.
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
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Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Wed 6/30/21 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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Putting this one here because it has specific reference to the issue.
It looks like there was a little taunting last night when Lucas Giolito (White Sox) and Josh Donaldson (Twins) faced each other and Donaldson homered.
The article says,
| Quote: | | Donaldson crossed home plate, he rubbed his hands together and said, “Hey, it’s not sticky anymore! It’s not sticky anymore!” as picked up by the television microphone on the Twins' broadcast and in reference to Major League Baseball’s crackdown on pitchers no longer using sticky substances. |
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sunnyblue
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
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Location: San Diego County, CA
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| Posted: Wed 6/30/21 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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| That's like a Little League thing to do! lol |
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sunnyblue
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 3503
Location: San Diego County, CA
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| Posted: Wed 6/30/21 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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| After I posted my last response here I saw there is more to this saga, lol. Josh Donaldson answered back. |
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sunnyblue
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 3503
Location: San Diego County, CA
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| Posted: Sat 7/24/21 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Checking back a month later to see if anything has changed. |
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sunnyblue
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 3503
Location: San Diego County, CA
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| Posted: Tue 8/24/21 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Diamondbacks LHP Caleb Smith has been suspended for 10 games for a foreign substance found last Wednesday before their game against the Phillies. Here's the report. |
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 19812
Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Mon 3/28/22 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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Updates for enforcement in 2022, per MLB.com, can be read about here.
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 7346
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| Posted: Thu 3/31/22 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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Here we go again with this! 
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"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg |
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 19812
Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Thu 4/20/23 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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As I mentioned earlier, Max was tossed from yesterday's Mets-Dodgers game in the fourth inning. DV was talking about it on the pre-game show earlier today and suggested that with him repeatedly getting checked in the first couple of innings, the umpires must have found something, even though Max insisted there was nothing but "sweat and rosin" when the ejection took place.
From the Athletic:
| Quote: | "It's Just Rosin"
The baseball world was in a tizzy yesterday after umpires/sticky-stuff police ejected Max Scherzer for having a foreign substance on his hand, which Scherzer vehemently refuted. The pitcher swore on the life of his child that it was "just sweat and rosin," although the umpiring crew said it was the stickiest hand they'd seen in three seasons of inspections. There was a downright silliness to the whole affair, with Scherzer undergoing three checks in four innings. He could face a 10-game suspension, although it appears he'll be protesting. The Mets, meanwhile, continue to win games while hemorrhaging pitchers via injury and allegations of stickiness.
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Update: A ten-game suspension has been confirmed.
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"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 7346
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Fri 4/21/23 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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I thought it was worth commenting on, that he did not appeal the suspension.
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"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg |
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 7346
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Tue 5/16/23 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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Ooops, Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán was caught tonight while he was pitching against the Blue Jays. Article from mlb.com
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sunnyblue
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 3503
Location: San Diego County, CA
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| Posted: Thu 5/18/23 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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| He was suspended since then. |
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 7346
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Sat 5/20/23 10:26 am Post subject: |
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Yes and it did not go as poorly for their other pitcher Clarke Schmidt yesterday in the Yankees/Reds game. He just had to wash his hands, Lol. Article from mlb.com
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"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg |
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 19812
Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Sat 6/3/23 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán has said that he will probably use less rosin from this point forward--and he gets the Dodgers tomorrow night.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."
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