(No subject)
vaseline
works better
Sandpaper is even better than
Sandpaper is even better than that...
A bent in half beer bottle
A bent in half beer bottle cap wedged in your glove. Boom. Call Super Mario because you just got 1 up'd.
or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
Except for when they found
Except for when they found out about Brian Moehler's. Dude's career went totally downhill (back where it should've been in the first place, really) when they busted him for it.
"We've beaten Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?"
- Mark Dantonio
Blogging the Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com/<
It could have been worse...
...he could have thrown the notorious Booger Ball, made famous back in 1888 by pitcher Cinders O'Brien who played for the Cleveland Infants. "I ain't keepin' 'em in my nose or puttin' 'em in my mustache... the ball's the next best place."
(ed: This was an "Onionized" post. No offense meant to Cinders or his progeny.)
chewing tobacco
I hope it was just him hiding his chewing tobacco from the umpires (they're not allowed to chew in sight of fans, right?)
(No subject)
Disclaimer: I know nothing
Disclaimer: I know nothing about baseball.
Does this matter? Is it a sign of disrespect or does it actually offer some kind of competitive advantage?
Greetings from Bolivia.
"It's special how the real true people hang together. And if you don't support the program you're not a true Michigan guy. It's that simple." - Gary Moeller
competitive advantage
competitive advantage
Harvard: The MICHIGAN of the East
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
Not really
Only if you're chewing, which he wasn't. Saliva doesn't have the consistency to put extra spin on the ball. The advantage is in darkening the ball with tobacco juice, making it harder to see. If you're not chewing, the saliva is clearr and it does jack diddly.
It is against the rules, though.
Actually, the spit on a
Actually, the spit on a spitball alters the aerodynamics and causes it to break atypically.
USING GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF CAPS LOCK SINCE APRIL 2011
i will try to find the study
When I get home I'll try to find the study I read that said saliva on a ball has less of an effect than a 10% increase in humidity. Other ball doctoring methods like pine tar or suntan lotion affect how the ball comes out of the hand, effecting spin and break, but saliva doesn't have the consistency to really effect that.
It appears he also stuck dirt
It appears he also stuck dirt to the ball with the spit. If so, it gives the ball greater bite on the breaking pitches and cut fastballs
Humidity affects the entire
Humidity affects the entire ball so has no effect on the consistency of spin. It's having the liquid, however thin, on only one part of the ball that causes the irregular aerodynamics. It's like having a mudball in golf.
If he didn't think it worked he wouldn't take the risk.
If he
thought he was taking a risk he would not have made it so incredibly obvious. Papa has a lot of almost ticks and purposeless movements while on the mound, an almost endless stream of nervous energy. What he did is clear, what also appears to be clear is that his actions lacked any malice aforethought. I really don't think what he did was intentional and I don't think he will be disciplined for it.
yhgtbkm
yhgtbkm
Reynolds number
It's been a long time since I've been in an aerodynamics classroom, but Reynolds number is a factor here. As humidity increases, rho increases, and the Reynolds number goes up. A higher Reynolds number will yield (I think) sharper bite on a breaking ball (or cutter or splitter or whatever).
So yes, changes in humidity have an effect.
OK
The spitter is a lot like a fast knuckler. It decreases the spin. allowing any surface anomalies, including excess moisture on part of the ball, to have a greater effect on the ball. Usually, this results in a "wicked curve" or a ball that "drops off the table" if done right. Valverde's pitch didn't really move a lot, so I doubt that he threw a real spitter.
The best I ever saw was around 1983 during an ESPN game between Dennis Lamp and Mike Boddicker. It started pouring and they kept playing to try and get five innings in. Both pitchers were making the ball fall off of the table.
Anyway, umps, players, and coaches know when a guy starts making his pitches move more than they normally do. It's pretty obvious when it happens, at least if it's done right.
In this day and age, it isn't
In this day and age, it isn't a big deal. They rotate the balls so frequently, that pitchers just aren't able to rough the balls up as much as they used to. Plus, pitchers have learned to put tons of movement on pitches without scuffing up spitting on the ball.
To me, the part that makes me feel uneasy about this is that immediately after spitting on the ball, he reaches down to the dirt, then goes to the ball with his hand. The mixture of dirt and spit could give him a better grip on the ball. He threw a fastball though, so it doesn't seem like he was doing it to try to get a better grip on his splitter or a breaking ball. I don't know if the spit/dirt mixture would give his fastball better movement, but it doesn't seem like it would.
Anyway, I'll be really surprised if anything comes of this. Also, if you want an interesting read, check out the Wikipedia article on the spitball.
he didnt really even touch the dirt.
he went down to the dirt as he does almost every pitch to "show" that he went to the dirt.
the same thing they down then they "wipe thier hand off" after licking it
Wherever you go, Go Blue!
Good observation, Moleskyn:
this is almost certainly about grip. The spitter moves like a knuckleball because of its lack of spin and both are notoriously difficult to control. If Valverde's been secretly mastering the spitter, that would be a monumental waste of time.
BTW, a reporter once asked Gaylord Perry's 5 year old daughter if he threw a grease ball. She replied on cue, "it's a hard slider."
I'm in flavor country.
When asked...
...if he applied foreign substances to the baseball, Perry once replied "Nope, Vaseline is made in the USA". The MLB was none too pleased
"The straightest line from A to B is straight: From A to B"
"When you have Denard Robinson, you can have everything"
~George Walden
Got to be less of a
Got to be less of a competitive disadvantage than having to stare down that dye job.
Since When Are Ohio Residents
Concerned about the rules?
Gamesmanship at its finest,
Gamesmanship at its finest, Kenny Rogers approves.
Blank.....Blank......You're not looking at the big picture here.
According to the Detroit News
Is it any worse than when
Is it any worse than when Papa Grande licks his fingers and grabs dirt before every pitch?
Blank.....Blank......You're not looking at the big picture here.
The video was posted by the
The video was posted by the wife of Reds pitcher Mat Latos. Can't trust anything from a woman who would marry someone named Mat with one t.
The swag is back.
Wrong
Dallas Latos retweeted someone elses post on it.
You can never trust a lady
You can never trust a lady named Dallas.
Or one who does Dallas.
Or one who does Dallas.
Hail.
Wrong. You can totally
Wrong. You can totally trust her.
As far as I'm concerned,
As far as I'm concerned, trust is irrelevant in regards to what I want to do with her
My apologies if that's true,
My apologies if that's true, the USA Today article sure makes it seem like she was the source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2012/06/jose-valverde-spitball-tigers/1
The swag is back.
It can be a psychological
It can be a psychological advantage as well. Anything to fuck with the Cubbies the next couple of days.
Speaking as a Cub fan,
Speaking as a Cub fan, playing the Cubbies should be all the advantage the Tigers need.
Your friendly neighborhood contrarian.
Speaking as a Tigers fan,
Speaking as a Tigers fan, this is exactly the kind of series we like to get swept in.
"We've beaten Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?"
- Mark Dantonio
Blogging the Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com/<
Hey Now
#1 We Suck.
#2 Does anyone wanna pay Soriano to be a DH? He's awful hot right now
#3 - See #2
#4 We just won the latest Cuban sweepstakes for Soler. 2015 is our year baby!
#5 You know we're absolutely awful when we're not even saying wait-till-next-year. We know it'll be a few years
#6 There are few better places to watch a game than Wrigley. It's going to be 75 and sunny. Enjoy it
"Over? Did you say, over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"
I'm with Professor X. I think
I'm with Professor X. I think Tigers and Cubs square off in the World Series just like 1907 1908 1935 1945. Cubs won the first two matchups the Tigers the next two. Time for the rubber match
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_World_Series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935_World_Series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_World_Series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1907_World_Series
I'm for it
I actually just bought a hand sketched version of this picture at the Old Town Art Fair
Go Cubs Go
"Over? Did you say, over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"
That is pretty sweet. Your
That is pretty sweet. Your pic is from 1935 and the one I posted is from 1945
I'd be totally down for a
I'd be totally down for a Tigs-Cubs World Series.
Yeah baby! Go Cubbies!!
Yeah baby! Go Cubbies!!
Hey, whatever helps him get
Hey, whatever helps him get through a 1-2-3 inning. Baseball has acceptable cheating and unacceptable cheating and spitballs are squarely on the acceptable side. I'm OK with it.
"We've beaten Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?"
- Mark Dantonio
Blogging the Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com/<
Only if he doesn't get
Only if he doesn't get caught...and it seems as if he has been caught so the question is, will the MLB do anything? What should it do?
Semper Fidelis
With as Crazy as MLB is about the internet
They'll see this video. Hell, I'm surprised it hasn't been removed already. MLB has embraced the digital age by making any MLB content ridiculously hard to see online. You can't get any video through youtube or other normal sites. Why? Because MLB is crazy dumb.
"Over? Did you say, over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"
What's that shit on your chest?
"Crisco. Bardol. Vagisil. Any one of them will give an extra two or three inches drop on your curve ball. Of course if the umps are watching me real close, I'll put a little jalapeno up my nose and if I need to load the ball up, I just wipe my nose."
Can they prove it?
Can they prove it?
"And if that doesn't wet your appetite, you're watching the wrong channel."
You can usually find me bumping some Reggae, hammered on Higgins Lake with the goon squad. #HALOL
Go Blue!
Good point!
Video clearly shows Valverde spitting into his glove, but is that enough? Hell, ball players constantly spit in their gloves, so he could probably get away with that explanation and a slap on the wrist.
