Carl rips the Mitchell Report and bloggers

For anybody who reads this site regularly, it shouldn't come as any surprise to you that I'm a fan of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. How "Frat Aliens" didn't get an Emmy nomination, I'll never know. Anyway, here's Carl going off about the small number of Red Sox players that turned up in the Mitchell Report, and he also takes a shot at bloggers.

Why? I'll let Carl explain, but it involves a blog suggesting Derek Jeter did something inappropriate with Whitey Ford. Which of course is true, because blogs never lie.

-WCK

Roger Clemens got off easy

Even as a life-long San Francisco Giants fan, it certainly seemed to me that one of the best arguments out there that Bonds had definitely used steroids was that he was actually more productive in his late 30s and early 40s than he had been in his mid-20s. Naturally, when the BALCO case exploded, this clinched it for most of the public. Bonds had used steroids, period.

As a result, the cacophony of boos, chants, taunts, signs, etc., etc., that Bonds faced during every road game as he chased Aaron's record was almost unreal. I'm still impressed that he managed to break the record under such difficult circumstances.

But what always bothered me during Bonds' home run chase was how hard people went after him, especially when he had never tested positive for steroids and wasn't yet on his way to a federal perjury trial. He was killed in the court of public opinion before technically being guilty, just like McGwire and Sosa. Meanwhile, Clemens, who also fit the steroids M.O. to a T, basically got off scot-free.

Of course, people will say the rage directed at Bonds was primarily due to the fact that he was connected to BALCO, while Clemens was not. There's certainly some truth to that. It also helped that Bonds was chasing baseball's defining record, while Clemens was not.

But for Clemens, the same signs were there for the court of public opinion to judge. It wasn't quite at the BALCO level, but it sure was close.

Clemens was incredibly productive late in his career. He beefed up substantially after Dan Duquette said Clemens was "past his prime." He went nuts and threw a bat at Mike Piazza. Baseball writers openly speculated if Clemens had used steroids. And perhaps most damning of all, former pitcher Jason Grimsley in late 2006 named Clemens as a player who used performance enhancing drugs.

When you line up both Bonds and Clemens, according to the strict letter of the law, neither had ever tested positive for anything at the time these separate instances broke - BALCO and Grimsley's admission.

Yet everyone began bashing Bonds incessantly after BALCO, while no one really jumped on Clemens after multiple signs that he too was a user.

The reasons why Bonds got the raw end of the deal are of course limitless. It has to do with the home run record, it has to do with race, it has to do with the mistaken belief that steroids wouldn't really be beneficial for picthers to use, it has to do with the media, it has to do with the fact that Bonds is a bigger jerk than Clemens (barely), etc.

Now, the public has essentially the same proof on Clemens that they used to bash Bonds with. Again, for neither man is there proof of a positive test, but documents that say Clemens got steroid shots in the butt should be viewed on the same level as BALCO.

But for Clemens, he isn't going to have to deal with people coming after him, because he's probably never going to play again.

He should have gotten killed in the court of public opinion just as hard as Bonds did. But for whatever reasons, he didn't.

He got off easy.

-WCK

The Role of a Lifetime

As a Giants fan, and an illegal substances fan, I was naturally excited to learn that HBO is planning on making a Barry Bonds movie. Here's the recent press release:

HBO Films is developing a movie about embattled baseball player Barry Bonds and has tapped director Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup, White Men Can't Jump) to helm and pen the script with his Tin Cup writing partner John Norville, once the writers' strike is over.

The movie will be based on Game of Shadows, but will be focused specifically on Bonds - or at least it better be. Of course, now the question is who will play the role of the most infamous steroid user in history? That's a question I will attempt to answer here by looking at the pros and cons of a number of actors.

1. Denzel Washington
Pro: Great actor.
Con: Must gain about 125 lbs.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Pro: Has great experience with steroid use.
Con: Not black.


3. Forest Whitaker
Pro: Has a history of playing psychotic prima donnas.
Con: Fat.


4. The dude from the Bronx is Burning
Pro: Has played a controversial, introverted baseball superstar.
Con: I have no clue who he is.


5. Vin Diesel
Pro: Is bald and ripped.
Con: May be indicted for steroid use during filming.


6. Mike Tyson
Pro: Has same voice as Bonds.
Con: Not an actor, also might eat children.


7. Barry Bonds
Pro: Remarkable physical similarities.
Cons: Major jackass, would probaby want multi-year contract.

If they can somehow get Morgan Freeman to play Dusty Baker and William H. Macy to play Selig, I'll definitely watch it.

UPDATE: Bugs and Cranks did a great post on a potential Bonds movie cast back in August.

-WCK

I'd like a parking pass and a masking agent please

It's always great when the NYT makes an appearance here on the blog. Provides a nice break from photos of a dog humping another dog wearing a Mike Vick jersey.

Anyway, the paper of record has a story that I don't really think will surprise anyone, but it speaks to the problems still facing baseball. Apparently MLB has continued to employ a drug-testing procedure that may allow players time to mask their use of performance-enhancing drugs. May allow? Oh, it allows, no question.

Drug testers contracted by the league routinely alert team officials a day or more before their arrival at ballparks for what is supposed to be random, unannounced testing of players. By eliminating the surprise factor, antidoping experts say the practice undermines the integrity of the testing program.

Something tells me those antidoping experts might be on to something.

Advance notice of only a few hours can provide the opportunity for a player to dilute their urine, use a masking agent or employ a device that allows them to fill their bladders with drug-free urine. Or if they're really pressed for time, they can use the Wizzinator.

The way this alert system works is that the night before testers arrive at major league stadiums to take urine samples from players, officials for the home team receive a call from the testing company requesting stadium and parking passes for the drug testers. This procedure is not outlined in the league’s 48-page testing policy, which baseball promotes as one of the toughest in sports.

That doesn't exactly sound real tough to me. In fact, in sounds like the testing companies and MLB teams are in cahoots.

According to Robert Manfred, baseball’s vice president for labor relations and the official who oversees the sport’s drug-testing programs, team officials are not supposed to tell players that tests will be conducted. But naturally that rarely happens. Multiple anonymous sources from MLB teams told the NYT they receive notice often as early as two days before a test and pass on the info.

Frankly, I don't care if guys are on performance-enhancing drugs or not, because sports are merely entertainment for the masses. But since I'm in the minority on that opinion, I guess I should advise MLB to get a little tougher and close this massive, glaring loophole. I think giving testers year round parking passes so they, you know, don't have to "wink, wink" call in advance for them would be a decent start.

-WCK

Bulls on parade, and steroids, lots and lots of steroids

I guess we all should have seen this coming. It was really only a matter of time before animals started juicing.

The sport of bull riding may start drug testing some of their competition bulls because some bull owners allegedly are injecting the animals with anabolic steroids.

Apparently it's pretty rampant in the sport.

"Oh, I think damn near everybody's doing it," said Jerry Nelson, one of the sport's top bull owners. "It ain't going to slow down. It's just like baseball, football, whatever. It's not going to slow down until you legislate (against) it."

Now I know what you're thinking. Does that mean that we have to put an asterisk by the number of cowboys Ol' Leatherneck bucked off his back in competitions? Well, maybe you weren't thinking that, but either way the answer is I don't know and I don't care.

But you'll like this comment. One owner was asked if the roided up bulls would be a danger to the cowboys riding them. His answer:

"I think they need to give the riders some steroids to help them hang on."

Excellent idea my friend. If you're not part of the solution, become part of the problem.

And for fun, here's a YouTube clip from an old post of ours of what a bull on steroids can do.

-WCK

Lie detectors to be used to stop the use of performance enhancing drugs

I always, repeat ALWAYS, go to The Scotsman for all my news. That aside, they had one really interesting article from late last week.

In an effort to put a dent into the performance enhancing drugs that dominate the sport of pro bodybuilding, a team of lie detecting specialists are being flown out to Edinburgh later this month to quiz 75 bodybuilders.

Former FBI expert Al Lombardo will lead a group testing competitors in the British Natural Bodybuilding Championships to ensure they are drug-free.

The New York-based polygraph consultant, who runs a professional lie detecting company, was invited by officials to screen entrants on computerized lie-detecting kits.

Vicky McCann, who is the current Natural Miss Universe titleholder and the federation's co-founder, said "Some bodybuilders try to use growth hormones that don't even show up on normal drugs tests, so the polygraph machines will help find out if anyone has been trying to gain an unfair advantage."

All entrants will be quizzed prior to the competition.

I find this absolutely fascinating. The idea of quizzing NFL and MLB players, along with guys like Lance Armstrong, about whether they've ever used performance enhancing drugs is incredibly intriguing. Even though lie-detectors are far from perfect, they're pretty tough to beat. And my cynical nature tells me that a lot of guys would fail the test.

I don't think we're ever going to see this happen for any of the major sports leagues here in the states, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.

-WCK

The Straw apologizes for himself and Jason Giambi

From the Anything For a Buck file, we're proud to bring you the story of a totally first-rate Long Island memorabilia company that is selling baseballs autographed by scandal-tainted superstars Jason Giambi and Darryl Strawberry that come with this inscription: "Everybody deserves a 2nd chance." I should make it clear that each ball is signed by both men, although the inscription comes just from Straw.

You could probably make the case that Straw should have written "Everybody deserves a 79th chance."

The balls are being offered for $199.99 by Authentic Memorabilia of Great Neck, Long Island. The company's Web site says it has 10 balls still in stock.

Interestingly, the balls were originally signed just by Giambi with no inscription, but weren't selling at all. The company said since there wasn't much interest in the Giambi-autographed balls, they asked Strawberry to sign his name and add the inscription. The memorabilia company said Giambi's representatives were aware of the balls, but Giambi's agent, Arn Tellem, declined to comment.

This wouldn't be the first time a player has used a baseball to comment on his life. Pete Rose signed dozens of "confession balls" that included the inscription "I'm sorry I bet on baseball." The balls went for as much as $10,000.

I just think the most telling thing is more people want Straw's autograph than Giambi's.

Anyway, this "confession" of sorts got us thinking about what other things athletes might confess to on some sort of memorabilia. So here you go:

"You might need this."
-Derek Jeter, signed on a box of Valtrex

"I should have used more of these."
-Shawn Kemp, signed on a condom. Can add Tom Brady and Matt Leinart's signatures for an extra $200.

"This record is not tainted."
-Barry Bonds, signed on a syringe

"Yeah, I raped her."
-Kobe Bryant, signed on a basketball

"I'd take the Spurs tonight."
-Tim Donaghy, signed on a basketball

"Stop snitching."
-Michael Vick, signed on a court order.

-WCK

MMA handles steroids a little differently than Selig

While a lot of focus this summer has been on Bonds and steroid use in baseball, there are also questions regarding fighters in MMA. Most recently UFC lightweight champion Sean Shrek, and his challenger at UFC 73, Hermes Franca, both tested positive for steroids. UFC president Dana White has said he will be "putting the bitch slap on guys who get caught using steroids from here on out." Baseball would sure be a lot more fun if Selig said stuff like that.

One fighter in particular, former UFC Champion welterweight B.J. Penn, has also decided to stand up against steroids in his sport.

Here are Penn's direct words from a recent interview:

"I've suspected for a long time that a lot of these guys are on steroids when I'm busting my butt every day. I can barely walk and my body hurts and people want me to run and here you guys are cheating and doing steroids. Any of you people out there doing steroids, f*ck you guys!"

Classy. Although his words are somewhat crude, I admire Penn's stance on steroids. His direct approach to addressing the situation is a bit of an upgrade in comparison to Bud Selig putting his hands in his pockets. But if I were Penn, I'd still be a bit worried. Angry MMA fighters on a roid rage are I'm sure about the last people in the world you want to have to fight in an enclosed ring, even if you once beat the crap out of a cop.

-WCK

Looks like we have our first dirty golfer

I know a lot of people thought Gary Player was nuts when he said that that there was at least one pro golfer on performance enhancing drugs. It turns out Player may be more right than anyone gave him credit for.

But I seriously doubt Player thought it would be Italian golfer Alessandro Pissilli.

Pissilli, who plays on the Italian pro tour, tested positive for finasteride during the Omnium National Championship on June 29 after a test was requested by the Italian Golf Federation. Finasteride is used to treat hair loss but can also mask steroid use, and has been at the center of several recent doping cases. Pissilli is also a club pro at Poggio de Medici in Florence.

I've been unable to find a picture of him, so who knows if he actually needs help with the old dome. But he's only 29, so me thinks he's probably still got plenty of hair.

If things go bad, he could be suspended for up to 2 years.

-WCK

The Dodgers are not very subtle

Tell me this isn't a direct shot at Barry Bonds.

On Aug. 2, the Los Angeles Dodgers are having a two-hour steroids awareness clinic - right before they play their final game of a series against the San Francisco Giants.

About 100 kids from area Little League teams are expected for a two-hour steroid awareness clinic to be held on the field during the afternoon.

Dodger outfielder Juan Pierre, hitting coach Bill Mueller and former Dodger Lou Johnson are to participate in the clinic.

I'm glad Pierre will be the player that talks to the kids, considering he still is one.

And if this is an underhanded dig at Bonds by the Dodgers, which I totally think it is, they better be aware that there's at least one player on their team who many people have suspicions about as well.

-WCK

Curt Schilling is being a jackass again

Apparently Curt Schilling has gotten bored with his blog or something. Because he's back making crazy statements about Bonds and McGwire again.

Schilling said on HBO's "Costas Now" that Bonds and McGwire's refusals to address accusations of steroids use are tantamount to admissions.

"If someone wrote that stuff about me and I didn't sue their (butt) off, am I not admitting that there's some legitimacy to it?" he said on HBO's "Costas Now."

"If I wrote a book about Bob Costas and in that book I wrote about Bob Costas' girlfriend being on the road, and Bob Costas giving that girlfriend card show money and I outlined your daily steroid regimen, I've got to believe your first line of defense is to sue my (butt) off," Schilling said.

"It goes to the Mark McGwire thing in Congress. I mean, I'm a huge Mark McGwire fan. But I just always thought it was very simple: If you did something and someone asks you if you did it and you didn't do it, you say no. Any other answer than no is some form of yes, isn't it?"

So wait a second Curt, why were you so reticent when you were testifying on Capitol Hill?

"When you're sitting in front of Congress and you're under oath, you'd better be damn sure if you're going to mention a name that you are 100 percent guaranteed sure somebody did something," he said during the HBO interview.

Yeah, that makes sense, you want to be sure you're 100% correct when you're testifying to Congress, but when you're on a TV show you might as well just swing for the fences.

Perhaps Curt is forgetting that he could be sued for making statements that suggest things he can't prove.

Look, I'm no fan of steriods, but let's let the higher-ups in baseball handle this, rather than jackass pitchers who are f*cking press whores.

-WCK

NBA Ref Scandal vs. Michael Vick/NFL Scandals vs. Roids in the MLB...

After a couple weeks of everyone bitching about how there's been no good sports stories to write about, good lord! I mean this NBA Ref Scandal, and Michael Vick dogfighting indictment, not to mention Bonds getting to the point where he's about to break the most sacred record in American sports in the next week or so (bringing the Steroid controversy to the forfront), is just an unprecedented amount of sports-related news. This is like the 1919 Black Sox scandal, Mike Tyson rape indictment (back when boxing mattered - and hell no I didn't pay $50 bucks to watch Winky Wright and Bernard Hopkins fight), and Roger Maris's home run record asterisk in 1961... but this is all happening in the course of 10 days! Unreal...

Interestingly enough and contrary to a number of polls I've read, the NBA scandal is by far the least important of the three scandals. Here's why. The reason that Major League Baseball and the NFL have reached unprecedented levels of popularity over the past decade is largely based on the issues addressed by these scandals. The Sosa/McGwire home run chase and Bonds's and Clemens's performances over the past 10 years at advanced ages have been a major reason behind the resurgence of baseball after the destructive strike in the mid-90's. And guess what? All of that is potentially, if not almost definitely, directly related to illegal and unprecedented steroid use. Look at the statistics on players in the late 80's and early 90's. Players would be near the top of the league with 30-35 home runs! Can you even imagine that today?

And for football I don't think that people realize that this Michael Vick scandal and Pacman Jones suspension represents a lot more for the sport than people realize. What is unprecedented about the players in the NFL today is the amount of immoral and illegal behavior that is tolerated and even encouraged in middle school, high school, college, and into the pros than ever before. Yes, the NFL has always been a haven for the toughest and craziest of American athletes, but shoot-outs in strip-clubs and electrocuting innocent animals??? I mean this shit is insane and if you think that this isn't only the tip of the iceberg, you're crazy. I've said this before, but I can't wait until the Jose Canseco-esque autobiographies about this era in MLB and the NFL start coming out in about 10 years. If you think the stories about the '86 Mets doing blow in NYC and a roided up A's team in the late 80's is interesting, I can't wait to hear what comes out about what's happened in the last 5 years in sports.

The main problem is that these athletes today have been protected from the minute they showed the potential to throw a football 60 yards and run a 4.4 40. And even worse a lot of them have been encouraged to act this way. The crazier you are, the tougher you are and the farther you are willing to push things the better. I've had friends who played State Championship level football in high school in Texas in the 90's talk about doing roids and coaches essentially encouraging it (to the point they ended up dropping out of high school because of drug abuse); I went to a strong sports high school and saw a star running back who went on to play D-1 football slap the shit out of a girl in front of about 20 students and everyone laughed and no one said a thing. I had friends who played Division 1 football in college who were suspended for steroid abuse and buddies who were walk-ons being asked in detail about fights they'd been in as if it were their entry-pass to making the team. This is really, really sick and while there's little question that football is almost incomparable today to what is was 15-20 years ago in terms of the skill level, size, and speed of the players. But what's the cost?

While we are dealing with these deep-seeded societal issues in baseball and football, this NBA scandal appears at the outset, at least, to be a rogue referee who carefully and intentionally carried out a deliberate scheme on his own (meaning without other NBA players, refs, or administrators) and I suspect will be severely punished for it. This behavior has been common-place in sports for years. Boxing obviously is one example with a history of corruption and blatant violations of players shaving points in college football and even premiere soccer leagues in Europe have occurred quite recently as well. When sports and money are involved these are the risks that are run. This current NBA scandal doesn't reflect anything but a single person's weaknesses and greed. Not a huge deal. The second Lebron starts throwing dunks down next year and Wade comes back at full health this will all be forgotten. I mean people joke about the Ewing draft envelope being frozen or creased or god knows what else so that the Knicks amazingly ended up with THE NYC center for the decade. If that were true, that would be a WAY bigger scandal than one ref shaving a few points over the course of a few years without anyone noticing. Not to mention the fact that the baseball and football scandals truly involve deeper societal issues about the acceptance of cheating in our modern society, winning at all costs, and coddling high-performing individuals to unprecedented levels.

--dwyermaker

Baseball and integrity don't really mix

With Bonds creeping closer and closer to the home run record, and Sammy having just hit his 600th home run, and Giambi unlikely to drop names when he speaks to George Mitchell, there seems to be a widespread belief that baseball needs to regain its integrity. But probably the real question we should be asking is: Did baseball ever have any integrity to lose in the first place? And the answer is probably not.

Whether people want to admit it or not, baseball is by far the most scandal-plagued sport in American history. The scandals have included everything from performance enhancing drugs to gambling to actual drugs. So we're going to go back in time and take a look at the worst scandals in MLB history, which include names such as Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Willie Mays and Willie Stargell.

1887 - Four players of the Louisville Greys were found to have thrown games in exchange for bribes from gamblers. All four were suspended by the Greys, and later by the National League. The team folded after the 1887 season.

1908 - There was an attempt to bribe the head umpire before a one-game playoff to decide the National League Championship between the Cubs and Giants. The bribe was to help the Giants win the championship and was reportedly done by the team's physician. The umpire didn't bite and the physician was banned for life from baseball (the Giants lost the game by the way). More recent research suggests that the bribe was orchestrated by Hall of Fame Giants manager and player John McGraw.

1914 - The powerful Philadelphia Athletics get swept in four games by the less than impressive Boston Braves. Rumors persist that the A's threw the series since team owner Connie Mack was notoriously stingy.

1917 - New York Giants lose to the White Sox in the World Series. Strong suspicions the Giants threw the series.

1918 - Cubs lose to the Red Sox in the World Series. Strong suspicions the Cubs threw the series.

1919 - Black Sox scandal where the White Sox lose to the Cincinnati Reds. Eight White Sox players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, are banned for life from the game for taking bribes to throw the series.

1921 - Hal Chase, considered one of the best first basemen of the early 20th century game, is banned for life from baseball. Chase won $40,000 in 1919 - he was playing for the Giants at the time - by betting on the Reds to beat the White Sox in the World Series. Winning $40,000 in 1919 would be the equivalent of winning over $510,000 today.

1926 - After retiring, pitcher Dutch Leonard produces letters that implicate Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker in throwing a game back in 1917. Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis meets secretly with the men and clears them of any wrongdoing. However, both men, who were player/managers at the time, left their teams and never managed again.

1947 - Dodgers manager Leo Durocher suspended for the entire 1947 season for having fraternized with known gamblers.

1985 - Pirates players Dave Parker, Dale Berra, Rod Scurry, Lee Mazzilli and John Milner are summoned before a Pittsburgh grand jury for their links to cocaine. Keith Hernandez, Tim Raines and Lonnie Smith were also summoned. This led to the 1985 Pittsburgh drug trials. During the trials Milner said he had received amphetamines from both Willie Mays and Willie Stargell during his playing days. Milner also said he bought two grams of coke in the bathroom stalls of Three Rivers Stadium for $200 during a game against the Astros in 1980. Raines admitted he kept cocaine in his back pocket during games and frequently snorted during games as well. Even Kevin Koch who was Pirate Parot, the team's mascot, was implicated for buying cocaine for players and introducing players to drug dealers. 11 active players ultimately faced harsh penalties for cocaine abuse.

1991 - Pete Rose banned from entrance to the Hall of Fame for betting on baseball. According to the Dowd Report, Rose bet on 52 Reds games in 1987 at a minimum of $10,000 a day.

2005-2007 - Steroid investigations find multiple players either used or are likely to have used steroids. Prominent names include Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi.


So in other words, if you look back on baseball as a whole, integrity has never really been a part of the game. And probably even more interesting is that the steroid uproar is probably one of the more minor scandals that has faced baseball during its long history.

-WCK

Let's juice and hit home runs!

I'm not even sure this picture of this guy is real. I sure hope it isn't. Anyway, the guys at Deuce of Davenport, who excel at finding all sorts of interesting things, keyed us in to a new blog that's been recently put up by a guy called Dr. Asterisk who is taking a pretty detailed look at the steroids era of baseball. It's worth it to take a look.

I have one issue though, and since you can't comment on the blog, i'll have to do it here. Dr. Asterisk thinks Bonds has had an easy time thanks to AT&T Park's short right field (309 ft). He says during Bonds's record 73 home run season, 12 home runs would not have happened had the Giants still been playing in Candlestick. This is because Candlestick was 330 ft down the right field line and during the 73 home run season Bonds hit 12 home runs between 309 and 330 ft. Although that's not an unreasonable theory, I don't think it's 100% right.

The reason why is that while right field is short, it has a 24-foot high wall. As an SF native, I have seen Bonds hit laser beams onto the right field walkway at AT&T. They don't use physics to determine how much further the ball would have gone had it not hit me in the head as i'm walking on the walkway. Therefore, just because a homerun is listed as having gone 315 ft at AT&T Park by Bonds doesn't necessarily mean it wouldn't have gone out at Candlestick. When you factor in that the ball is at least 25 ft off the ground and still traveling before it hits my noggin' at 315 ft, there's a good possibility it could have gone 330+ feet and made it over an 8 ft wall.

Plus, AT&T Park really only helps you out right down the right field line. Deep right center field is where home runs go to die (421 ft). The law of statistical averages would say that for every down the line cheap home run Bonds gets, he loses at least one in that deathtrap of deep right-center field. In addition, AT&T Park has always been known as a pitcher's park. How do I know? Because Scott Spiezio's back breaking home run in Game 6 of the 2002 World series in Anahiem would have been a flyout in San Francisco. God that hurt like hell, and it was all because of that stupid ass "win the All-Star Game get home field advantage" bullshit. F_ck you Selig.

But back to normal. My point is that some of those 12 home runs still would have cleared the fence at Candlestick. And some of the balls he hit into deep right field at AT&T Park that didn't go out, would have gone out at Candlestick. So in other words, who knows. You can't really say with any certainty that he would be better off at AT&T Park versus Candlestick unless we get some MIT guys to figure this out by using physics and ball flight paths.

This is all sort of a moot point anyway, since Bonds did steroids and is wiped off Dr. Asterisk's home run list. I just had to stick up for my thick-skulled home town steroid abuser.

-WCK