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Posted By: vikes066

Many thanks to Dan, Jay and Lee for taking the time to go on this trip. Rather than have something that was the 150th post, I thought it better to start a new thread so that the guys could answer or comment some follow-up questions, comments and thoughts that I have.

a) On the photo "evidence" of DiMaggio hitting with the label down, where you given any indication of the date on those pictures and where they came from. The reason I ask that is that if the photo is not from the week that the bat was proportedly used then it is irrelevant. It may or may not have been taken years before or years afterward.

b) One of the keys to the whole issue is the lucidity or possible lack thereof of Heinrich during the taping of the interview. Some may say he would have no reason to lie about the bat, but in actuality he really would. If the tape is as edited as reported that raises some serious concerns. I have a grandmother who is 95 years old and sometimes she talks slow as well, but their lack of being able to present to you the unedited tapes leaves them open for some reasonable doubt and rightfully so.

c) Did Bushing finally reveal to anyone where his mysterious Master's Degree came from and what subject it is in? This goes to credibility issues for him as an affiliate of Mastro. People like George O'Leary have been fired for stretching the truth on their resumes to make themselves seem more than they are. I have heard that he really does not have a Master's, but unless he comes out and tells the world we may never know. If you don't believe me look at his bio on MastroNet's site. It does not give school he attended nor emphasis (subject) of the degree.

d) Does anyone find it really interesting that the self proclaimed "foremost leading and ONLY expert" in bats, gloves etc. etc would just happen to have dumb luck in this instance? If he is that lucky, have him pick me the next Powerball ticket numbers. To me, this is a huge stretch. If he is the leading expert, you would think that a "discovery" of this magnitude would have been taken a bit more time and serious preparation instead of a reported "flip" of buy from Peter and sell to Paul almost immediately at a big profit.

c) They seemed to present to you guys the "leap of faith" theory quite a bit and I don't really buy it. Let me explain why. Yes, some authentication can and is based upon "faith", but a lot can and should be based on scientific and forensic FACT. Bushing knows this. That is why he was most likely peeved about you guys bring up the Ichiro bat. He has to know he was wrong, honestly no one could be that stupid to think that it was just an honest mistake.

Examples: Bushing and the Billy Crystal Mickey Mantle glove as reported in Daily News. It was widely reported and verified by Rawlings glove company that the glove was misdated by the palm stampings that were in the pocket of the glove. That is NOT opinion, that is forensic FACT based upon the testimony of the company that produced the item. How can Bushing explain that away? (He can't...) Same as the Seaver and DiMaggio gloves and the Ichiro bat. These are mistakes and omissions that cannot be ignored or just pushed aside. To do that would be to not serve the overall collective hobby community in the correct fashion.

If you are the leading expert in the industry (or any industry mind you) you do not make these types of mistakes that are so blatent and so obviously wrong unless you are trying to make a quick buck to the unsuspecting collector. There cannot be any other reasonable explanation.

Would you not agree that he has made way too much money and has seen way too many things over the years to make these type of consistent, simpleton errors. IMHO he did not bank on anyone ever being able to prove him wrong. The internet has been a great equalizer in the amount of information available and the timeliness and speed of the spread of that information.

My grandfather (rest his soul) used to say "Fool me once... shame on you, Fool me twice..shame on me." I wonder what he would say to the industry that has been fooled multiple times?

d) Lastly did anyone (including the guys that went) think that they were going to invite you into their den and not be able to give you enough information to try and sway your opinion? Please understand that is not a knock on the guys that went. I think anyone would have been swayed a little by the evidence they were able to show that day.

The difference may be when Plancich's attorney (Adam) gets Bushing, H&B, Mastro, and whomever etc. UNDER SWORN OATH in recorded depositions where your business, livelihood, freedom etc. will be under intense scrutiny and open testimony. My bet is that there is a settlement beforehand since I'm willing to bet there is a lot of stuff that the authenticators do not want out in the public domain.

Once again thanks to Dan, Lee and Jay for going. It has been informative thus far and you should be thanked for your efforts to clear up the confusions and clean up the hobby.

Vikes066