hmm never considered it...Has he gotten smaller?

There are not testing for Human Growth Hormone. They won't catch anyone taking HGH. Barry has allegedly taken HGH in the past, so I bet he's still taking it.

_________________
"There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."

In all fairness, though, when I look at him now, he's quite a bit bigger, but he doesn't look "Mr. Universe" bigger. He has that beer & pizza type of big man look.

_________________
"There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."

nas,

Tripod has an "anti-hotlink" script in place which prevents an outside page from directly linking a photo.

and here's a more recent photo....

I was going to argue that McGwire looked much more muscular than Thome. I'm not saying Thome is clean or dirty, I don't really know, but there is no way I would say that he is as chisled as McGwire was. Mac looked like a body builder, Thome looks more like a local tavern slob with hand-eye coordination.

On a side note, I haven't grown an inch since my freshman year of high school, yet I am about 75 pounds heavier. Sometimes, people are sticks and their frames fill out. I know being 14 is a hell of a lot different than Thome being 20ish in that photo, but still. I was a 6'1", 140 pound twig and now am 6'1" and circa 215. People fill out in their 20s. Maybe Thome is a fraud, but he's not at the top of my list for guys that I ignore their career numbers.

_________________
"There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."

Agreed, he has never had a small waist. He always looked corn-fed and country strong to me. Bonds and Sosa always looked swollen.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

I've gained 20 pounds in about 10 years. Unfortunately it isn't muscle. At least I was eerily thin in my 20's...Otherwise I'd look like a beached manatee.

I saw him doing an interview on comcast recently. The guy has got man boobs. It's possible. But I say no.

Nas, maybe you're right. Steriods has really fucked up my favorite game. They have forced me to be suspect of everyone, fucking assholes.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

And their 30s, 40s and 50s. Al Barlick has gained 20 pounds in ten years? That sounds about right. You can figure another 10-20 lbs. in each decade if you just keep doin what you're doin.

Doctor, is there a doctor in the house??

Bring me your finest calipers and get me a hat size from Mr. Thome, please.

In his rookie photo, that jawline is freakin' huge.

Can we find Len Dykstra and ask him if chewing tabaccy is performence enhancing?

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CSFMB: Home of the small minded

I think all big time hitters are on something (mainly hgh). This goes for Pujols, Tejada, Konerko, both Lees, Thome, Manny, Ortiz, Sheffield, etc

Trying to do it by eye is crap, who was the DRay that got caught last year? What, like 5 career HRs and a specialty in bunting? Plus a lot hides under that uniform, a lot are much stronger than meets the eye, and I've known people who are on steroids who don't look that big at all. The Bonds, McGwire, Canseco huge type are just obvious though.

It's not that surprising to me. Guys go to whatever length to gain an edge and go with what works, even if it's making love to your bat. Especially with millions of dollars at stake vs minor league bus rides.

I don't even care anymore, I know it's part of the game, and find it funny that no one cares when its revealed in the NFL, they just laugh. When it's MLB, people want to crucify Selig. And idiot Stern tries to argue how it would no way help in the NBA, going with the misconception that steroids directly lead to home runs. No, they help you work out, help make you faster, stronger, helps with injuries, etc (good qualities for every sport). If you can put the bat on the ball, then yeah, you'll get longer balls.

I think you're WAY off base here. First of all, you're using Mike North to reinforce a point? Unless that point has something to do with how to prepare a hot dog or bang the help, he's got zero credibility or expertise.

A few things to consider:
-people's bodies change A LOT from the time they are 19-21 to the time they are 35-40, more often than not bodies GET BIGGER
-you can't indict every large athlete whose bodies begin to break down as they get older, again this is a NATURAL PROGRESSION
-up until this past season, Thome played in no less than 123 games from 1995-2004 (he also played in 98 games during the strike shortened 94 campaign), showing a history of not being injury prone

I get similarly nauseated when people accuse Frank Thomas of steroid use because of his size, and the fact that he has suffered injuries later in his career. What a load of crap.

This just another example of how steroids and their abusers have damaged the game. Guys who never juiced are going to be accused solely based on their size. I will bet that if you look at pic of Thome or Thomas from each year of their career side by side, you'll see a normal growth progression from year to year. If you look at year by year pics of Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Anderson, Giambi, you will see dramatic changes from one year to the next.

I think the pic of Thome is from 1990 or 1991, find a pic from 1992, and he's a little bigger, maybe because he's a little older, spent more time in the weight room, had a professional trainer giving him advice (I doubt Peoria, IL is known for its personal trainers)?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jim-Thome-1992-Leaf ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1995-SP-Platinum-Po ... dZViewItem

I'm too illiterate to post the pics, so I posted links to a card from 1992 and 1995, both illustrate growth, but not dramatic growth. I'd bet that if you looked at a Barry Bonds pic from 1998 and one from 2001, there would be a much greater disparity between the 2 pics. Same with 1994 Mark McGwire versus 1997 McGwire, 1995 Sosa versus 1998 Sosa.

quote- "The steroid ratings are... flawed."

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CSFMB: Home of the small minded

Here are your cards Donspiracy:


I'd still like to think that Thome is just a big, corn fed farm boy...

Now there is a reasonable thought.

You hit it right on the head Lebron. It should be noted that Pappy also implicated (albeit weakly) "his guy" Podsednik based on his recent spate of injuries.