Maple bats con't: Olivo stashes the ash; Ripken, Reynolds not convinced; Dunne is done with 'em

We're not going to beat this MLB maple bat controversy to ... don't make us say death.
Following up on Sunday's column (linked here) and previous blog items (linked here) on the subject, we'll just try to provide a daily update on news and notes as the MLB safety commission continues to bide its time studying data while another slate of games pass, somehow, without a player, fan or umpire suffering a very, very severe injury....

In today's Kansas City Star (linked here), apparently Royals catcher Miguel Olivo isn't that committed to putting his maple bat away, even though it put umpire Brian O'Nora out of a game last week.
He switched back to ash bats after that game. For about a week.
Olivo hit a pinch homer Monday in the ninth inning -- with a maple bat.
"I feel more comfortable with the maple bat," Olivo admitted. "There's more balance, and when you hit the ball, you don't have to take a hard swing. But they break easily. The last two weeks, I've broken 15 or 16 bats. ...
"Everybody prefers maple bats. It's a good bat. When you hit it well, you know it. I'm just scared that somebody is going to get really hurt one day."

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During a conference call today with Cal Ripken Jr. and Harold Reynolds, who'll be on TBS' show Sunday to announce the lineups for the AL and NL All-Stars, both former major leaguers weren't convinced the maple bats are the real problem here.
"I think they might be making a little bit too much out of it," Ripken said.
"They don't use as thick a handle anymore and the bats are a lot lighter. ... The head of the bat is a lot bigger, and it's going to break," Reynolds said. "I don't think it's maple or whatever substance they might be using to make the bat. I think its more in the design that the players are using now."
Added Ripken: "Maple bats are a little harder. They do break. When they do break, pieces fly all over the place. I can't imagine it being any more than it was, you know, when I played."
Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, also on the conference call (he's part of the show as well), didn't say he had a preference for ash versus maple.
"As long as they don't use aluminum, I'm fine with it," he said.

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Cincinnati Reds slugger Adam Dunn is done with maple bats.
"I'm tired of them breaking all the time," he said in an MLB.com story (linked here).
Dunn's reason behind the switch is mostly about product performance.
"Maple is good, but whenever you have a hairline [break] and can't even see it and hit the ball good, and you know you hit it good, your bat explodes," Dunn said. "And it's a soft liner to second base and the pitcher is ducking. ... I don't want one of my bats sticking somebody in the head."