Online illusion illustrates the curveball

The break of the curveball:

I have a little more pity for Delmon Young after seeing this, but not much.

Hat tip to Minnpost.

Vote early and often (and it's legal)!

No, it's not about electing political candidates or anything so interesting. Instead, it's the amusement of seeing a major league baseball pitcher with a fascinating sidearm/submarine delivery pump his candidacy for the All-Star game on his blog. If you've never watched Pat Neshek of the Minnesota Twins pitch (or read his blog), you should check it out (video below - you'll want to mute your audio):



And vote.

Think Bonds cheated? You're a racist

At least that's what this guy has to say. Amidst some thoughtful reflection on the state of segregation and discrimination in sports, he clearly feels that whites who dislike Bonds - and feels he does not deserve the home run record - are racists. Recent polls show that whites are three times as likely as blacks to want Bonds to fail to get the record - a damning indictment of someone, but is it quite so simple?

Bonds has complicated his approach to the record by his likely use of steroids in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and then probably lying about it to a grand jury, which could result in a perjury indictment sometime this year.

Of course, you could also look at the part of the survey that asks if fans believe that Bonds should be recognized as the career home run leader if he breaks the record. In that case, 53% of whites and 78% of blacks agree that's okay. Still a racial gap, but not quite so drastic.

Here's another tidbit. 85% of blacks feel Bonds deserves to get into the Hall of Fame, along with 53% of whites. That means that half the blacks who think Bonds doped think he deserves the Hall, same as for whites. (15% of blacks think he doesn't deserve the hall, whereas 37% think he doped. Thus, at least 22% of blacks think Bonds doped and deserves the hall. For whites, 76% think Bonds doped but only 53% say he deserved the hall, meaning at least 29% of whites think a doper deserves entry.)

In other words, a sad quarter of whites and blacks thinks a doper deserves the honor the Hall of Fame.

But why look at those numbers. I, a white dude, sit on my couch and feel that Bonds is probably guilty. I therefore feel that he doesn't deserve the recognition of various baseball records accrued with the assistance of performance-enhancing drugs. I, therefore, am a racist.

Kerry Wood rides the pine - the travails of being a "hard thrower" in the majors

I've always been fascinated with Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood, after his brilliant rookie year and astounding early career. But his hard throwing style (and according to the story, poor management decisions during his minor and major league days) have left him nearly washed up. Sitting on the disabled list for the 11th time in his 10-year career, Wood is clinging to the hope that he might just return as pitcher, period, much less the All-Star starter he once was.

The above story also got me interested in throwing mechanics, and this blog talks about some other pitchers whose careers have been saved or sunk by throwing beyond their arm's capacity.