Why steriods would help a baseball player

I hate the argument that steroids don't help you hit a baseball. Yes, it takes skill to hit the ball in the first place.

But, look, if anyone seriously believed they didn't help, (a) no one would use them, and, (b) they wouldn't be banned.

If you are stronger, you can swing a heavier bat faster. Bat speed is determined, in fact, by strength. Here is why.

The distance a ball travels when hit is determined by Force. Force is the combination of Mass (weight) of the bat and Acceleration (speed) of the bat. This is Newton's second law of motion.

Think of it this way, you may be able to swing a whiffle ball bat amazingly fast, but it doesn't have enough Mass to propel a baseball far if at all. Conversely, if you bat with a sledgehammer, but can barely get around on it, you won't have success either. Batting is about find the optimum combination of Speed and weight (Mass), to generate the most Force.

The strength of a drug-assisted player gives him (or her) an advantage in that they can use a heavier bat, or swing the same bat faster, generating more Force. Strength is the thing that limits you from swinging a sledgehammer as if it were a whiffle ball bat.

Say it ain't so...

Rafael Palmeiro was suspended yesterday for breaking the new steroid policy. It shocking, disappointing, and sickening, really. In his telephone press conference, Raffy denied knowingly having ever taken steroids. I'm not sure what knowingly means exactly. When pressed about what he did take, or how he took it, or what he tested positive for specifically, Palmeiro's agent wouldn't let him answer. Sadly, Raffy looks worse than Bonds, Giambi, Sheffield, some even say he looks worse than Pete Rose.

So, he is sitting out a ten day suspension. Here's my question: after ten days, the steriods are gone from his system? Most experts say probably not. Probably more like a few months. So, assuming that's true, that whatever he already took will be in his system for a few months, what's stopping him from hitting even more juice till the season's over?

The other thing about this is that this shines a light on what seems impossible really is impossible. Raffy Palmeiro, over a twenty-year career, playing in 2,800 games has never spent a single day on the disabled list. Not a single day! In almost every season since he's been a regular player (since 1988), he's played in 150+ games, and has never had to sit out an injury. And, now that he's 40 years old, he's still playing at that pace, without injury. That sure sounds impossible. Turns out, maybe it was.

So, the next thing that we need to start asking is what about other "phenoms" out there? How is it that Roger Clemens at age 41 has an ERA under two bucks? How is it that Jason Giambi, mired in a slump for a year and a half is all of a sudden the Yankees biggest threat (and he appears to be gaining weight again)?

This certainly taints Palmeiro in my mind. His accomplishments, they just don't mean as much considering he's cheated. Same way I felt after Sammy Sosa was caught with a corked bat. Frankly, everyone who has played since the 90's is tainted by this.

A lot of guys are at least suspicious by association.