I just bought a slightly-used 14lb Yeah Baby and I'm trying to integrate it into my arsenal. The ball is drilled stacked leverage right now with the pin under the ring, and I plan to keep the fingers where they are. The thumb is going to have to be plugged and moved just a bit for span purposes.

Here's my current arsenal, from most hook to least:

DynoThane Cure, leverage, box condition
Storm Dark Thunder, pin over ring, sanded
Roto Grip Silver Streak SE, pin over ring, CG swung out 1", box condition
Ebonite Elements Ice, pin over bridge, box
Storm Thunder, leverage, polished
AMF Velocity, ring drilled through the pin, CG in palm, weight hole near thumb, scuffed

What I want from the Yeah Baby is to put it somewhere between the Dark Thunder, which hooks fairly early, and the SSSE, which is drilled to be fairly smooth, but still with most of its energy saved for the breakpoint.

What I was considering was to polish up the Yeah Baby. Am I on the right track?

Jess

I'm a mid/high-track player, with just above average speed and good revs. I don't have any need, really, for the ball to help me hook given the house condition I usually face.

My house shot is fairly wet in the heads and especially the middle, with back ends that usually scream. The SSSE would be my ideal ball but it has too much back end to be predictable most nights, particularly with the drill that is on it.

The reason I'm working the YB into that slot instead of the Dark Thunder or the Cure, basically, is because the YB came very cheap and has more games on it than either of the other two, and I'd rather experiment with it since I have less in it. I've also read the reviews page and noticed some people having good results from muting the surface of the ball a bit.

It also bears mentioning that the Cure doesn't even go in my bag most nights, and the Dark Thunder is borderline as to whether I can throw it on our usual oil pattern. If I were to make the YB go on top of the Cure, it would never get thrown.

I've had the bulk of my success over the years with polished solids, so when you combine that with the price of the YB and its condition, this seemed like the ideal opportunity to try something new.

Jess

Edited on 4/15/2006 5:12 PM

We decided to take it all the way up to 4000 abralon to keep it off other balls in my arsenal. Just drilled it up tonight and threw it in league. The ball did exactly what I wanted it to do -- very pleased. I'll post a review shortly.

Jess