FRIDAY EMAIL CHECK
Bryan,
It seems like you're sympathetic to Bonds. Sure he's great but who knows how much of it is because of his talent and how much of it is because of illegal substances? Bonds obviously took something because you don't just add that much muscle at his age in a year or two.

Kevin
Simi Valley, CA

Thanks for the email. I guess I should clarify my position on this topic. We don't know that Bonds did anything illegal. Certainly there is an awful lot of circumstantial evidence and I don't think that can be ignored, but at the same time he hasn't been proven guilty of anything. There is no way for us to know (at least right now) that Bonds took steroids or anything else that is illegal. My point in my last post was that no matter what you take, no drug allows a player have such a perfect swing and to have such incredible plate discipline. Bonds is now, in my opinion, the greatest offensive weapon in baseball history.

Bryan,
This might be a stupid question, but why do power-hitters strikeout so much? Is it is simple as they swing harder so they miss more pitches?

Jose Gonzalez, Miami

Thanks for writing, Jose. The simple answer would be that, yes they swing harder. The more in-depth answer would be that to be a power-hitter you have to be able to wait for a pitch to drive, which is why (in general) power-hitters have more walks and more strikeouts. They take more pitches that are boarder-line because they are looking for that pitch up in the zone that they can take out of the park. Another contributing factor could be that they do not make any two-strike adjustments (meaning they don't choke up and just try to put the ball in play).

Bryan,
We think Johnny Damon's hair and beard is awesome and doesn't look bad at all.

Sincerely,
The homeless

I'm not really sure how the homeless could send me an email, but thanks anyway. I wonder why "the homeless" would have internet access but not have a place to live.

Bryan,
Do you think the Bucks have a chance against Detroit?

Jim, Green Bay

My mind says 'no' but my heart says 'yes'. They played great (despite the almost monumental collapse) in Game 2 and if they can find a way to out rebound Detroit again they have a good chance. I still think that Detroit has too much for the Bucks to be able to hang with them in the best-of-seven. It will be huge for the Bucks to win Game 3, and at the very least get a split at home.

Thanks to everybody for their emails. It sure makes this a lot easier when I can just respond to them instead of coming up with my own subject matter every day. Keep the emails flowing, it's great to hear what everybody has to say.