Hey, if you're in the park, watch Cliff Lee closely for an inning or two. He's rumored to doctor up the ball with Talcum powder (seriously).
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Why did Burnett have talcam powder all over his hat?
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Yes that is major powder usage
So is that not the rosen bag powder?
Why would talcum powder casue an advantage and rosen wouldnt?
just askin
Well if the powder is wet at all, it would stick to the ball, making it slightly heavier
and not quite round. The seams cause turbulence and now the little mounds of talcum powder are acting to create more turbulence, so the ball moves more, or unpredictably. Doesn’t surprise me. If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying. And it’s only cheating if you get caught.
It's basically the same thing... no advantage either way
He’d do better by getting pine tar all over his hat…
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
Let's hope
Banny, Hiram, & Hoch are watching carefully.
by hunter s. royal on Nov 2, 2009 10:24 PM EST reply actions
Not related exactly
but I was thinking of Trey and Zack watching Lee in the 8th inning today, manager leaves the pitcher in after a good outing at over 100+ pitches, then a ball at shortstop becomes a hit, a ball off the left fielder’s glove is also scored a hit, and somehow three “earned” runs score and turns a quality start decidedly unattractive in the box score.
by swing and a miss on Nov 3, 2009 2:46 AM EST reply actions
Doctoring?
What advantage does talcum powder (illegal…I guess) give a pitcher over the powder from the rosin bag (legal)? Both dry up excess moisture on the hand. Both leave a powdery residue which can give you a smooth release on either a legal pitch or something like a spitball. Seems like a non-issue to me.
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Also helps prevent diaper rash on the pitchers hand.
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by Matt Klaassen on Nov 3, 2009 10:48 AM EST up reply actions
in bowling
talc is used to make things slide easier while resin is used to bet a better grip. maybe changing the aerodynamics of the ball can create more/unexpected movement (or a placebo effect), sort of like AxDxMx said above.
Blank
it's all placebo baby.
Coffee. The NEW Performance Enhancing drug for Sport's Writers. Just ask Ken Rosenthal.
i dunno...
havent looked the rule up, but that definitely seems like it’d qualify as a foreign substance, making it illegal.
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Nov 3, 2009 2:32 PM EST up reply actions
Yes, I'm sure it is illegal
My point is that while it is technically against the rules, it is no more of a performance enhancer than the powder/dust from the rosen bag. So, while it is likely against the rules, it isn’t some tricky doctoring method which is the cause of his improved pitching.
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Nov 4, 2009 1:01 AM EST up reply actions
I doubt there is any discernable difference on a baseball
But Talc is a mighty fine lubricant, something we use as a primer in drilling through certain types of rock. Rosin has far more adhesive properties (though still not much) to it than Talc. Boxers use it on the shoes for example. That difference may have some negligible effect on a ball in flight.
if you get something that acts as a lubricant on a baseball
you can make a ball have less spin.. for example the old school spitter. If you got the ball wet enough or got something slippery on the ball, you could throw a fastball with front spin that was nearly unhittable. If you get something with grip, you hook harder/tighter…. really, it’s preference.
I knew a kid in college who tried it with eye black one time… put some on his hat and got some on the seems so the ball would slide out easier on a curve… didn’t help any.
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.
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sorry just made me think of that line from Major League
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