Pitcher problems?

[JustRalph]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...rial&hpt=hp_t2

Oops........a little pine tar on the hand?

[Stillriledup]

There's nothing on his hand, if there was, Boston would have said something about it during the game.

[Marshall Bennett]

Reminds me of Gaylord Perry, who was probably the biggest offender of juicing the ball in baseball history. I was watching him pitch in a game when he was with the Giants. The umpire called timeout after several pitches during the first few innings and would stand in front of the plate coughing. Before long the catcher joined him coughing. Finally after repeating this a few times he pointed towards Perry and tossed him. Perry had been doctoring the ball with Vicks Vapor Rub and apparently having quite an effect around the plate. He'd also been tossed from games for using soap. He'd rub the soap on the inside of his uniform and eventually his sweat would lather it up. I believe he wrote a book after retiring in which he wrote about his various forms of cheating.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by Stillriledup

There's nothing on his hand, if there was, Boston would have said something about it during the game.

Boston guys said they didn't care after finding out. But in the 5th inning after it became obvious from the TV cams he suddenly had a clean hand.

If Gaylord Perry could have that much pine tar on his hand, he would have never lost a game. He and his brother were masters of making a pitch move with something on it.

The spitball lives on

[PaceAdvantage]

Boston probably didn't complain because, apparently, a few of their pitchers had been suspected of the same thing this year? I thought that's what I read somewhere...

[cj's dad]

Jim Bunning was known to have doctored baseballs by cutting gashes in them on his belt buckle. He did so one game vs. the O's many years ago. There were pictures in the local papers the next day of balls with cuts in them. His nickname of "Buckles" Bunning followed him into his career as a congressman from Kentucky.

[JustRalph]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/stor...substance-neck

Can't believe he was dumb enough to do it again

Tossed!!

[Marshall Bennett]

Dumb enough to not even hide it. There was a clump of it on his neck the size of a golfball.

[Robert Fischer]

Pine tar - allows better grip for curves, more off-center grip, or one-finger dominant action.

Grease/lubricant - allows placing finger tip(s) on the white of the baseball rather than the seams for a sinking fastball.

[JustRalph]

I heard Barry Larkin explain the pine tar grip thing on ESPN.

He says players don't care. As long as it's cold.

But this was so flagrant? They had to toss him

[Robert Fischer]

Everything is in HD now.

(except racing feeds )


Larkin is right.
If the pine tar is strictly for a little better grip, it's generally cool.

Everyone remembers George Brett and the little bit of leniency hitters usually get towards using a little bit of pine tar beyond the rule threshold.

At this point it's a mental thing.

It's in the hitter's heads, and denying Peneda it's use could upset his comfort zone.

[FantasticDan]

MLB.com does a great job compiling all the various play-by-play feeds into one clip.. very interesting to hear the various reactions. The NESN guys were all over it . I'm a Yankee fan, but the radio reaction of Sterling and Waldman was embarrassing. It was clear to everyone but them how ridiculous this was..

MLB.com clip

[MutuelClerk]

As long as the ball isn't doctored who cares? I think the batters would prefer the pitchers have a good grip on the ball then no control and getting drilled. Seems like a little bit of a double standard.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by FantasticDan

... but the radio reaction of Sterling ...

"...yeah, his pitchers put oil in their hair... and then go back and touch their long stringy hair... to put something on the ball..."



The guy is just too good.

[Marshall Bennett]

Oil and saliva isn't a favorite for pitchers. Too hard to control with any consistency. What pitchers love is cutting or somehow disrupting a ball's rotation without sacrificing speed. Anything that can cause an imperfection in the ball's cover or seams. Pitcher's have been caught with thumb nails stuck through their gloves from the inside out. Sand paper and fingernail files are a favorite. Scuffing the ball with their cleats was good before instant replay.
When I pitched in high school I loved getting a ball back from my catcher that had been pounded into the dirt, whether from a previous pitch or a ground ball. It would be scuffed and often have dirt sticking to it. A fastball would really move for you then.
Pine tar's biggest aid it seems to me would be for making a much more tighter curve. Dwight Gooden probably threw the tightest curve I've ever seen. I think he kept pine tar just under the bill of his cap. He took his fingers there between almost every pitch it seemed. That along with his really long fingers mad for a badass breaking pitch.