1. Hold the ball deep in your hand, with your index and middle fingers lying across the top. Your thumb should be wrapped around the side of the ball to give it as little spin as possible.
2. Do not use your fingertips when throwing; the grip should be loose.
3. The effect of the change-up depends on how much it looks like a fast ball, so the windup should be exactly like a fast ball. The trick is to throw the ball without power while looking as though you are throwing hard.
4. Try to lead with your elbow as you bring your arm around (as opposed to your wrist in a fast ball.) Instead of putting your entire arm into the throw, use only your forearm for force.
5. You'll get even less power if you avoid pushing off with your back foot as you bring your arm forward. As you release simply open your palm and let the ball go.
6. It may take practice to do this with control, but release is important. and don't ever make it look like you are holding back or throwing sluggishly; it will give the pitch away.

1. Hold the ball with your throwing hand. Wrap your index and middle finger around the ball so that the pads of your fingers lay across the seam of the ball. Bend your thumb underneath slightly so that the inside edge of your thumb is holding the ball. Grip the ball with the pressure on the middle finger and thumb.
2. To give the ball time to break, do not throw a curve-ball as hard as a fastball. As you bring your arm around in motion, try to bring your elbow above your shoulder to create an arc and downward momentum for the ball.
3. You want to release the ball up and over your index finger, from the side of your hand. To do this, you may want to fold your wrist forward so your fingers go in front of the ball before release. As you release, use your thumb to twist the ball clockwise and up (for a right-hander) and snap your wrist as the ball leaves your hand.
4. For best results, release the ball a split second later than usual so the ball stays low.

The curve-ball is difficult and potentially dangerous for the young pitcher to learn, so be cautious and practice your fastball until you develop the strength and control to begin practicing the curve-ball.

Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants)

Signed a 1 year $16 million dollar contract and produced excellent numbers when he was able to play. In 340 at bats, Bonds hit .276 with a .480 OBP and a .565 SLG. He hit 28 HR's, scored 75 runs and had 66 RBI's. Very few players were as productive at bat as Barry Bonds was in the majors this year. Despite the circus surrounding him and his steroid and performance enhancing drug use, you must say the Giants got their money's worth with him this season.

Roger Clemens (New York Yankees)

Signed a 1 year deal that actually paid him somewhere between $14 and $19 million. In 18 starts he was 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA. His ERA was 97% of the league ERA. Clemens was not terrible this year and the Yankees did start winning after he joined the team in June, but overall the Yankees badly overpaid him based upon the stats he actually did produce. Should Clemens come back in 2008? His wife has already said he should hang up his cleats, and this time I don't think her call got dropped like in the commercial, but he did pitch effectively at the highest level in 2007 at the age of 44.

Andy Pettitte (New York Yankees)

Signed for a $16 million salary and he produced a very good season. In 34 starts he went 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA. He was excellent the second half of the season and was a key reason the Yankees had the best record in the majors after the All Star break and made the playoffs as the wild card. The Yankees gave him a big money contract and he produced a big season for them.

Barry Zito (San Francisco Giants)

Signed a 7 year $126 million dollar contract that made him the highest paid pitcher in baseball. In 33 starts he went 11-13 with a 4.53 ERA. His ERA was 102% of the league ERA last season and that was the first time in Zito's career he pitched to above the league ERA. He wasn't a failure this season but he also was not notable. The Giants did not seem to get their money's worth, at least in the 1st year of this huge contract.

Aramis Ramirez (Chicago Cubs)

Resigned with the Cubs for 5 years and $75 million. He hit .310 with a .366 OBP and a .549 SLG. Hit 25 HR's and scored 72 runs and had 101 RBI's in 506 at bats. That's a good enough season to say the Cubbies got their money's worth with him this year. The fact that they also won their division and made the playoffs also means he has been worth the money so far.

Alfonso Soriano (Chicago Cubs)

Signed for $136 million over 8 years which made him the 5th highest paid player in baseball behind Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez and World Series bound for the first time in his career, Todd Helton. In 579 at bats, Soriano hit 33 HR's, scored 97 runs and had 70 RBI's. His batting average was .299, his OBP was .337 and his SLG was .560. Did the Cubs get their money's worth with him this year? They did make the playoffs but overall Soriano did not hit like the 5th best player in the majors. He was not a bust by any means but I'd say that the Cubs did not benefit that much in 2007 with Soriano.

Carlos Lee (Houston Astros)

Signed for $100 million over 6 years. In 627 at bats, he hit .303, had a .354 OBP and a .528 SLG. He hit 32 HR's, had 119 RBI's and scored 93 runs. That's a pretty good year considering he was playing for a lousy Astros team that lost 89 games.

J.D Drew (Boston Red Sox)

$70 million dollar contract over 5 years. Drew did not produce this season. In 466 at bats he hit .284 with a .373 OBP and a .423 SLG. He hit just 11 HR's, had 64 RBI's and scored 84 runs. He was a major bust this season and the Red Sox obviously did not get their money's worth with him in the first year of a big contract.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox)

Signed for $52 million over 6 years. He went 15-12 with a 4.05 ERA in 32 starts and K'd 201 batters in 205 innings. That's a pretty good year and certainly good enough to say the Red Sox got their money's worth out of Dice-K this season.

Gary Matthews Jr (Los Angeles Angels)

Singed a $50 million 5 year contract and produced like a bad SS. In 516 at bats he hit .252 with a .323 OBP and a .419 SLG. He hit 18 HR's, scored 79 runs and had 72 RBI's. Huge bust for the Angels this year.

Gil Meche (Kansas City Royals)

Signed for $55 million over 5 years. What is the deal with this guy? For years in Seattle he pitched to a much higher ERA than the league average, yet had a much higher winning percentage than the Mariners had over the same time frame. For the Royals, Meche pitched to a 3.67 ERA which was just 77% of the league ERA but he went just 9-13 (.409) while the Royals went 69-93 (.426). So Meche actually pitched .017 worse than his team this season. Did the Royals get their money's worth out of him? You make the call.

Jason Schmidt (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Signed for $47 million over 3 years. He went 1-4 with a whopping 6.31 ERA before he was shut down for the season with an injury. Clearly the Dodgers did not get their money's worth out of him this season.

So What Do We End Up With?

Players who were worth the big money free agent contracts they signed: Bonds, Pettitte, Ramirez, Lee and Dice K.

Players not worth the big money free agent contracts they signed: Clemens, Zito, Soriano, Drew, Matthews Jr and Schmidt.

Honestly I have no idea what to do about Meche. He pitched to a great ERA but had a worse winning percentage than the very bad team he pitched for. Reluctantly I will say the Royals got their money's worth because Meche did pitch to a very low ERA this season.

So the baseball owners went 6-6 (.500) this past off-season with their big money contracts. Now how will they do in 2008?

When Bud Selig brought a Major League team back to Milwaukee, the club was named the Brewers in honor of the city and region's ties to the industry.

Appropriately enough, the team created a mascot, Bernie Brewer, who celebrated homers by the local team by descending down a giant slide in the outfield into a giant mug of beer.

It was a perfect mix of the mascot representing the team, which represented the city in which it played. It sure beat what the Mets did around the same time. When mascots like the San Diego Chicken and the Phillie Phanatic became popular, the Mets decided to get a mascot, too. But the Mets didn't get a creative person in a costume they got a real animal to be their mascot. And not just any animal, but a mule. I wish I was, but I am not making this one up.

But I digress.

When the Brewers moved from County Stadium to Miller Park, Bernie Brewer's famous slide and mug of beer did not make the trip. Instead, they sold it to a local brewer, who now rents it out for weddings and other social gatherings.

Now, the Brewers still employ Bernie Brewer and he still celebrates home runs by going down a slide. But instead of landing into a mug of beer, Bernie Brewer now lands onto a non-descript yellow platform.

It is a sign of our politically correct times that in a city known for beer, playing for a team named the Brewers, in a stadium named after a major beer maker that team officials decided that a fellow sliding into a mug of beer was unacceptable behavior.

Maude Flanders can finally rest in peace. Somebody thought of the children.

Now, if you have ever been to a game where a mascot is present, you know that kids flock to these symbols of a team. The mascot often represents the team in the community. Among children, the mascot is more recognizable than any of the players on the team. On the Brewers' official Web site, they have a page devoted to Bernie Brewer which declares he is available for public functions. Additionally, they have Bernie's Clubhouse, which includes a special interactive playground for kids, a Kids Zone store and concessions stand.

From a corporate, protect our brand, CYA point of view, the Brewers have made a responsible decision not to promote the use of beer in marketing to kids by taking away Bernie Brewer's beer mug.

After all we all remember the “Joe Camel” ads. From 1987 to 1997, R.J. Reynolds ran a series of ads with a cartoon camel with a phallic face known as Joe Camel to promote its Camel brand of cigarettes. How effective were these ads? In a court case it was declared that teenage smokers accounted for $6 million of Camel sales in 1988. By 1992 it was $476 million.

The outcome of the “Joe Camel” litigation was an out-of-court settlement in which R.J. Reynolds agreed to stop making the ads and also paid $10 million to California cities and counties involved in the case.

Even though I know this is a smart decision on the part of the Brewers' marketing department, it still leaves me sad. I was eight-years old when Bernie Brewer debuted and I remember thinking it was great. Not because it was beer, but because it was liquid. It could have been root beer or even water as far as I was concerned. What made it so appealing was that it was something that no other team had and it was something you did not see every day.

You can go to any playground in America and see someone going down a slide. But how often do you see someone land in a mug of liquid?

It seems to me that the Brewers made the right decision in eliminating beer from Bernie Brewer's performance but went overboard in eliminating the elements that made his act noteworthy. And in doing so, they probably missed out on a terrific sponsorship opportunity.

How much would a root beer company pay to have its logo on the mug that Bernie Brewer landed in to celebrate Milwaukee Brewer home runs? The lost revenue could be substantial, especially now that young stars fill the team and Milwaukee figures to be a contender for the next decade.

It could have been a win-win situation. The Brewers could have made a stand (even if it was just a token one) against marketing beer to kids while opening up new sponsorship opportunities. And baseball fans of all ages could still enjoy a unique tradition found in no other major sporting event in the country.

But at least now parents won't have to explain to their kids why Bernie Brewer lands in a mug of beer as they walk past all of the people tailgating to watch the Brewers play in Miller Stadium while the people in the seats next to them drink until they drop.

1. Mark McGuire- Career Score 4474

   First baseman for the Oakland Athletics (1986-1997) and St. Louis Cardinals (1997-2001).
   Career Numbers:
   583 HR
   1626 H
   1414 RBI
   .588 SLG %
   .263 Batting Average.

2. Harmon Killebrew- Career Score 5008

   Outfielder/third baseman/first baseman for the Washington Senators (1954-1960), Minnesota Twins(1961-1974), and the Kansas City Royals(1975).
   Career Numbers:
   573 HR
   2086 H
   1584 RBI
   .509 SLG %
   .256 Batting Average.

3. Sammy Sosa- Career Score 5445

   Outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1989-1991), Chicago Cubs (1992-2004), Baltimore Orioles (2005), and Texas Rangers (2007).
   Career Numbers:
   604 HR
   2387 H
   1647 RBI
   .534 SLG %
   .273 Batting Average.

4. Ken Griffey Jr.- Career Score 5624

   Outfielder for the Seattle Mariners (1989-1999) and Cincinnati Reds (2000-present).
   Career Numbers:
   589 HR
   2513 H
   1678 RBI
   .555 SLG %
   .290 Batting Average.

5. Frank Robinson- Career Score 6172

   Outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds (1956-1965), Baltimore Orioles (1966-1971), Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), California Angels (1973-74), and the Cleveland Indians (1974- 1976).
   Career Numbers:
   586 HR
   2943 H
   1812 RBI
   .537 SLG %
   .294 Batting Average.

6. Rafael Palmeiro- Career Score 6227

   Outfielder for the Chicago Cubs (1986-88), Texas Rangers (1989- 1993, 1999-2003), and Baltimore Orioles (1994-1998, 2004-05).
   Career Numbers:
   569 HR
   3020 H
   1835 RBI
   .515 SLG %
   .288 Batting Average.

7. Barry Bonds- Career Score 6556

   Outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-1992) and San Francisco Giants (1993-present).
   Career Numbers:
   756 HR
   2915 H
   1980 RBI
   .607 SLG %
   .298 Batting Average.

8. Willie Mays- Career Score 6705

   Outfielder for the New York/San Francisco Giants (1951- 1971, 1972) and New York Mets (1972, 1973).
   Career Numbers:
   660 HR
   3283 H
   1903 RBI
   .557 SLG %
   .302 Batting Average.

9. Babe Ruth- Career Score 6832

   Pitcher/Outfielder for the Boston Red Sox(1914-19), New York Yankees(1920-1934) and the Boston Braves (1935).
   Career Numbers:
   714 HR
   2873 H
   2213 RBI
   .690 SLG %
   .342 Batting Average.

10. Hank Aaron- Career Score 7683

    Outfielder for Milwaukee Brewers(1954-1965, 1975-76) and Atlanta Braves (1966- 1974).
    Career Numbers:
    755 HR
    3771 H
    2297 RBI
    .555 SLG %
    .305 Batting Average.