my thanks and appreciation to you both, J-Bay and Zac. as both of you know, we lost my dad who was 88 back a month ago. he had 4 strokes and to my family it was pretty tough but he really wasn't really living. more like simply existing. we all know he is in a better place now. as for my sis, she was only 53 years old and the tobacco demon is what took her away from us. my mother,brother and myself think that they are together somewhere.

I know how hard it is to quit smoking guys. I smoked 2-1/2 packs a day for 24 years. I quit before I turned 40 and that's why I'm still here today. you know what they say about reformed smokers.........well, I'm here to tell everybody and anybody that still smokes, I can not think of a more horriffic or agonizing way to die than from lung cancer due to smoking.

off the soap box now.

In Response to Re: The secret to Colon's success?:

point taken, but bad example slomag


I doubt barry was the only one that used whatever peds  he did


I'm one of those birthers     people who believe that the  now banned

sling / elbow protecter was his biggest edge

IMO it made it very easy to repeat the perfect swing over & over

In Response to Re: The secret to Colon's success?:


there have been plenty of users that never made it in MLB

here's what I'm talking about bond's biggest edge



For years, sportswriters remarked that his massive "protective" gear – unequaled in all of baseball -- permits Bonds to lean over the plate without fear of being hit by a pitch. Thus situated, Bonds can handle the outside pitch (where most pitchers live) unusually well. This is unfair advantage enough, but no longer controversial. However, it is only one of at least seven (largely unexplored) advantages conferred by the apparatus.

The other six:

1) The apparatus is hinged at the elbow. It is a literal "hitting machine" that allows Bonds to release his front arm on the same plane during every swing. It largely accounts for the seemingly magical consistency of every Bonds stroke.

2) The apparatus locks at the elbow when the lead arm is fully elongated because of a small flap at the top of the bottom section that fits into a groove in the bottom of the top section. The locked arm forms a rigid front arm fulcrum that allows extraordinary, maximally efficient explosion of the levers of Bonds' wrists. Bonds hands are quicker than those of average hitters because of his mechanical "assistant."

3) When Bonds swings, the weight of the apparatus helps to seal his inner upper arm to his torso at impact. Thus "connected," he automatically hits the ball with the weight of his entire body - not just his arms - as average hitters ("extending") tend to do.

4) Bonds has performed less well in Home Run Derbies than one might expect because he has no excuse to wear a "protector" facing a batting practice pitcher. As he tires, his front arm elbow tends to lift and he swings under the ball, producing towering pop flies or topspin liners that stay in the park. When the apparatus is worn, its weight keeps his elbow down and he drives the ball with backspin.

5) Bonds enjoys quicker access to the inside pitch than average hitters because his "assistant" - counter-intuitively - allows him to turn more rapidly. Everyone understands that skaters accelerate their spins by pulling their arms into their torsos, closer to their axes of rotation. When Bonds is confronted with an inside pitch, he spins like a skater because his upper front arm is "assistant"-sealed tightly against the side of his chest.

6) At impact, Bonds has additional mass (the weight of his "assistant") not available to the average hitter. The combined weight of "assistant" and bat is probably equal to the weight of the lumber wielded by Babe Ruth but with more manageable weight distribution.

At the moment, Bonds' apparatus enjoys "grandfathered" status. Similar devices are presently denied to average
major leaguers, who must present evidence of injury before receiving an exemption.

Bonds has worn some sort of front arm protection since 1992. In '94, a one-piece forearm guard was replaced by a jointed, two piece elbow model. In ‘95 it got bigger and a small "cap" on the elbow was replaced by a "flap" that overlapped the upper piece and locked the two pieces together when the arm was elongated. In '96, the "apparatus" grew even larger and so did the "flap."

It seems to have remained relatively the same until -- interestingly— 2001, the year of his record 73 home runs, when an advanced model appeared made (apparently) of a new material. It had softer edges and a groove for the flap to slip into automatically at full arm elongation. More important, the upper half of the machine was sculpted to conform more comfortably to the contours of Bonds' upper arm. Since 2001, the apparatus seems to have remained relatively unchanged.

Several years back, baseball was rightfully scandalized by the revelation that Sammy Sosa had "corked" his bat. The advantages conferred by the Bonds "hitting machine," however, far exceed anything supplied by cork. Ultimately, it appears the Bonds "achievement” must be regarded as partly the product of “double duplicity" -- steroidal and mechanical

full story

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Departments/Top%20Stories/barry-bonds-hr-record-tainted-by-elbow-armor-35507-.aspx

Since ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery is known as Tommy John surgery, will this new procedure be known as the Colon Injection?

In Response to Re: The secret to Colon's success?:

good one babe.