"Sosa ruined his career - and his legacy" Per NBC

[The Voice of Reason]

Not sure this belonged in the Goodbye to Sammy thread. Evidently Mr. Cook was not a big fan.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11376697/

[Bixby]

I'll remember Sammy for monster homeruns, his enthusiasm for the game, sprinting to right field at Wrigley, and playing the game 110% at all times.

 

I'll always love Sammy Sosa.

 

Dan

[Roast]

I'll remember Sammy for monster homeruns, his enthusiasm for the game, sprinting to right field at Wrigley, and playing the game 110% at all times.

 

I'll always love Sammy Sosa.

 

Dan

 

I agree.

 

And whatever turned sosa from the best player in cubs history, to not even being able to find a team to sign with should burn in five different hells.

[Wilson A2000]

He has no one ot blame but himself.

[CubinNY]

That guy is a horse's ass

[CubinNY]

He has no one ot blame but himself.

 

Or Solomon Torres

[TheDude]

That guy is a horse's ass

 

He is also a poor writer:

 

What’s sad about Sosa’s retirement is not only that this once-great player's career fell off a cliff so quickly and violently that even Wile E. Coyote sent a sympathy card.

[Roast]

That guy is a horse's ass

 

He is also a poor writer:

 

What’s sad about Sosa’s retirement is not only that this once-great player's career fell off a cliff so quickly and violently that even Wile E. Coyote sent a sympathy card.

 

Wow, thats terrible.

[erik316wttn]

Big man can kick a guy when he's down.

 

Where was everyone saying this when Sammy was still at the top of his game? There weren't too many people writing scathing articles about him then, were there?

 

Jackasses.

[Omar]

Best Cub? Arguably.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Best Cub? Arguably.

 

In his prime? Definitely

 

On the whole? IMO it's him and Billy Williams.

[The Voice of Reason]

Best Cub? Arguably.

 

I'd have to go with Ernie Banks as #1. Two time MVP, over 500 Home runs (in an era when home runs wern't so common), played a key position (shortstop) for several years, was excellent defensively and had a great attitude and work ethic throughout his whole Cub career.

 

#2 would be Ryno.

 

Based on relative value to players of his era, I'd have to put Sammy #3.

[Derwood]

I helped kick sammy out the door, but just let the dude retire with a little dignity...

[Guest]

Best Cub? Arguably.

 

In his prime? Definitely.

I'm not sure on that one. His 2001 season was by far the best any Cub has ever had, but it would be hard to argue Sosa's 1998-2002 run was much better than Hack Wilson's performance from 1926-1930

 

Career-wise Ernie Banks and Cap Anson should definitely be in the conversation.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Best Cub? Arguably.

 

In his prime? Definitely.

I'm not sure on that one. His 2001 season was by far the best any Cub has ever had, but it would be hard to argue Sosa's 1998-2002 run was much better than Hack Wilson's performance from 1926-1930

 

Career-wise Ernie Banks and Cap Anson should definitely be in the conversation.

 

I knew there was someone I forgot to check. Figures I checked Tinkers and Evers and not Wilson.

[Andy]

What a load of crap. What would NBC know about sports anyway, considering they let MLB, NFL, and NBA walk over the last seven or so years in favor of the Gravity Games and Arena Football?

[MikeyLikesCubbies]

I dunno, I didn't think the article was that scathing. Really just put together all the dark clouds that are now part of his legacy. I actually agree with most of the points he made, and while I'll always have love for Sammy, there's no denying that the last few years have destroyed his reputation.

 

The question is, will Sammy be a first ballot hall of famer, or will the writers try to punish him based on the cork incident and his suspicious decline?

[Shawon12]

Not sure this belonged in the Goodbye to Sammy thread. Evidently Mr. Cook was not a big fan.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11376697/

 

Not to be a hater, but I couldn't agree more with his assessment. He was a fraud who played those fans who worship the stars.

[soccer10k]

Not sure this belonged in the Goodbye to Sammy thread. Evidently Mr. Cook was not a big fan.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11376697/

 

Not to be a hater, but I couldn't agree more with his assessment. He was a fraud who played those fans who worship the stars.

 

I’m with you on this one on the assessment of Sosa. I will never forget anything he did. That includes everything for the Cubs and for baseball in general (the home run chase in 1998), but it also includes the steroid allegations, the corked bat and not being able to realize that his skills were quickly leaving. Sammy is incapable of realizing that he isn’t worth much more than $500k per year.

 

 

I'm not sure on that one. His 2001 season was by far the best any Cub has ever had, but it would be hard to argue Sosa's 1998-2002 run was much better than Hack Wilson's performance from 1926-1930

 

Career-wise Ernie Banks and Cap Anson should definitely be in the conversation.

 

You can't list Hack Wilson as one of the best Cubs ever because didn't play most of his career there. When discussion the best Cubs ever you need to have Billy Williams, Banks, Anson, Sosa, Sandberg, Santo in no particular order. I know I'm missing some here but the point is that to be considered one of the best Cubs of all time, one has to play most of his career with the Cubs. I do agree that Wilson's stretch from 1926-1930 is just as good as Sosa's 1998-2002. If it was me, Ernie Banks is the best Cubs player of all time and it will be hard for anyone to top that.

Edited February 17, 2006 by soccer10k

[MPrior]

My favorite part is this,

 

A 37-year-old athlete retiring isn’t necessarily pathetic, but it is when the athlete is quitting because he can’t face the financial and psychic implications of a salary cut from $17 million to $500,000.

 

where a professional journalist completely, obviously, and drastically misuses a word in his (presumably edited and revised) piece. Man, those psychic implications are HUGE.

[Guest]

You can't list Hack Wilson as one of the best Cubs ever because didn't play most of his career there.

I was responging to TT's post saying Sosa's was better at his peak than any other Cub, and only meant to bring up Wilson as an example of someone who had several peak years just as good as Sammy's. I agree that his tenure on the north side was too short to be considered for the franchise's all-time best player; that's why I brought up Anson and Banks.

[Geech]

I don't know how you feel about the metric, but according to WARP3, Sosa was worth 47.7 wins during his peak while Hack was worth 42.5. That's close, but Sosa still has a significant edge.

[erik316wttn]

Gene Wojecheaowaodiajdslski of ESPN.com wrote this Sammy article, in which he rips on Sammy for, among other things, "not taking a chance."

 

the last sentences in the article are...

 

He doesn't understand there is no dishonor in trying and failing. The dishonor comes when you don't try at all.

 

So, by that logic, all players who retire because they feel they can't perform at the level they once did are cowards for "not taking that chance."

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2333277

 

It's really easy to take shots at him now that he's washed up. Note how very few if any people were writing these articles when Sammy was among baseballs' elite. It really takes a big man to kick someone when they're down, and that's exactly what everyone in the media is doing right now.

 

Having a bad day? Write an article about how Sammy's a jerk. Get into a fight with the wife? Tell people for the 3000th time that Sammy had a corked bat! Boss yell at you? Boy, is that Sosa ever a jerk!

 

Give it a rest, boys. Don't say anything about him that you wouldn't say directly to his face.

[CarolinaCubFan]

Gene Wojecheaowaodiajdslski of ESPN.com wrote this Sammy article, in which he rips on Sammy for, among other things, "not taking a chance."

 

the last sentences in the article are...

 

He doesn't understand there is no dishonor in trying and failing. The dishonor comes when you don't try at all.

 

So, by that logic, all players who retire because they feel they can't perform at the level they once did are cowards for "not taking that chance."

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2333277

 

It's really easy to take shots at him now that he's washed up. Note how very few if any people were writing these articles when Sammy was among baseballs' elite. It really takes a big man to kick someone when they're down, and that's exactly what everyone in the media is doing right now.

 

Having a bad day? Write an article about how Sammy's a jerk. Get into a fight with the wife? Tell people for the 3000th time that Sammy had a corked bat! Boss yell at you? Boy, is that Sosa ever a jerk!

 

Give it a rest, boys. Don't say anything about him that you wouldn't say directly to his face.

 

I'm bigger than Sammy now, So I'm not too worried. If I could say something to Sammy face to face, I'd just laugh at him. For me, Sammy Sosa's legacy is nothing more than a liar and a cheat. Good Riddings Sammy Sosa.

[The Voice of Reason]

I think Rick Telander summed it up pretty nicely today in the Sun-Times

 

 

 

I will be left with the vision I had, sitting in the congressional baseball-and-steroids hearing room in Washington, two rows behind Sosa just over a year ago.

 

Sosa, the verbal guy, suddenly had an interpreter.

 

Sosa, the happy guy, suddenly didn't have a smile.

 

He didn't know nothing.

 

He hadn't heard nothing.

 

He looked like nothing.

 

And I felt sorry for him.