K-Rod cheats.

[Bleeding Green]

Or so it appears according to Derek Zumsteg.

This will be pretty cool to check out as the season progresses.

[stro4swift]

K-Rod rocks.

[FNQ]

That is pretty interesting... will have to take a look at that when he comes to Oakland. Good catch by the author.

In a response, an A's fan has a still of what COULD be a substance under his hat.

[studcrackers]

people at newberg report were wondering about this and maybe they mentioned it to someone but i hadnt seen any photos about it.

[Buck You]

So what does that stuff do to the ball exactly? Does it make it move weird? If so, how?

[studcrackers]

it just gives extra movement and makes stuff that much harder to hit, thats why the spitball among other things are barred from the game.

[FNQ]

So what does that stuff do to the ball exactly? Does it make it move weird? If so, how?

Say for the sake of argument, its vasoline.

The lubrication from the hand to the ball will be a lot quicker and smoother than a dry hand. Thus, the ball spins in the hand faster and rotates much quicker. Essentially, if you practice long enough, a fastball can be thrown 95+ MPH with as much break as a slider.

There are other various ways to throw a ball... I know that with some foreign substances / grips, you can throw a ball with almost zero spin on it, like a knuckler, but about 10-20 MPH faster. Of course, why would you want to, unless its an extremely windy day? But those are just a couple of the outcomes I've personally seen.

[studcrackers]

heres some video evidence read the description before you watch it to know where to find the stuff: http://mvn.com/mlb-rangers/2007/04/04/k-rod-cheating/

[TyCobb]

From Matt Hurst's blog:

UPDATE #2: I talked to Francisco Rodriguez about this white substance on the underside of his bill and he grabbed the hat from his locker, flipped it over and said "This?"
On the black underside of his cap was a sizable white smudge.
"It's rosin," Rodriguez said.
There is a rosin bag on the back of every mound in professional baseball filled with the white, chalky substance that pitcher's can use on their hands to eliminate sweat so they can better grip the ball. John Lackey, for instance, puts it on his left wrist, just above his glove, so he can wipe his right hand on the wrist instead of constantly going to the rosin bag.
So, why does Rodriguez continually tug on his cap, bringing suspicion about?
Because he stopped wearing his trademark goggles, he fidgets with his hat instead of his glasses.

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/baseba ... heory.html

*YAWN*

[SSUBluesman]

Am I the only one that noticed that after almost every time he touched the brim of his hat, he immediately then wiped his hand off? I'm not an expert on this sort of thing, but I'm guessing that anything he gets on his fingers from the hat would be removed when he rubs it off on his jersey.

[WEFFPIM]

Am I the only one that noticed that after almost every time he touched the brim of his hat, he immediately then wiped his hand off? I'm not an expert on this sort of thing, but I'm guessing that anything he gets on his fingers from the hat would be removed when he rubs it off on his jersey.

The excess would be removed, but he didn't spend much time wiping at all. Just enough to put a layer on the skin and nothing more.

[Bow2Yao11]

It's just Rosin.