Marquis to wear #21

[b_wiggy_66]

Who cares what number he wears. All I want him to do is go out there with the rest of the team and win baseball games. I don't care what number anyone wears. Just go out and play the game.

[Brian]

I honestly don't see the big deal, 21 will be on a foul pole some day.

[DiamondMind]

I don't mind... when Sammy's jersey is retired, I will. Marquis is no longer a Card, he is a Cub. Sammy is no longer a Cub, he is a Ranger.

 

Exactly

[Guest]

I blame the Cubs more than Marquis. 21 is Marquis's number, and he's been wearing it a while. It was the Cubs' job if they so chose to tell him not to wear it.

 

This organization's refusal to recognize Sammy Sosa's contributions since October 2004 happened is absolutely nauseating to me.

 

Time will heal. Sammy brought a lot of things on himself with his petulant and selfish behavior.

Albert Pujols is petulant and selfish in many ways too, but I can't see STL ever allowing #5 to be issued again once he leaves the team, even if he leaves a meaningless game on the last day of the year early.

Pujols is a much better player than Sammy. Even at Sammy's peak he didn't approach Pujols' completeness as a hitter.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I hope Marquis does really well with the Cubs. I do think it's a bad decision by Marquis and a bad decisison by the Cubs to allow the number to be worn. Will I boo Marquis or hope he fails because of it? No. But if he starts to stink up the joint, this move will hardly make me sympathetic for him.

[kujay]

I don't have a problem with this at all.

 

Sosa was a great Cub, but he was also terribly self-centered, had the most fragile ego in the history of the world, and was probably the biggest impediment to building decent team chemistry (whatever that is) during his time on the team. We'll never know the effect it might have had, in terms of wins and losses, if he were ever interested in being a good teammate.

 

Not to mention the "s" word. McGwire gets hammered by so many people here in St. Louis (I'd say it's 50/50), and the only reason Sosa has largely escaped such scrutiny is his wise decision to just say, "no habla ingles."

 

That said, I've seen up close how bad Marquis has sucked. But I'm hopeful as anyone that he wins 20 games this year and turns himself into a great pitcher. How can any Cub fan not want him to do well?

 

So, boo Marquis for the number on his back? Gibberish.

[Mizzou]

I blame the Cubs more than Marquis. 21 is Marquis's number, and he's been wearing it a while. It was the Cubs' job if they so chose to tell him not to wear it.

 

This organization's refusal to recognize Sammy Sosa's contributions since October 2004 happened is absolutely nauseating to me.

 

Time will heal. Sammy brought a lot of things on himself with his petulant and selfish behavior.

Albert Pujols is petulant and selfish in many ways too, but I can't see STL ever allowing #5 to be issued again once he leaves the team, even if he leaves a meaningless game on the last day of the year early.

Pujols is a much better player than Sammy. Even at Sammy's peak he didn't approach Pujols' completeness as a hitter.

What do you mean that he didn't approach Pujols' completeness?

 

And for the record, Pujols hasn't come close to matching Sammy's '01 numbers.

[Mephistopheles]

sure he has, twice.

[Mizzou]

sure he has, twice.

I'm assuming that was in response to my post?

 

I don't know which two years you're talking about, but I guess you can say that he's come close, depending on what you mean by "close". But he certainly hasn't had a season as good as Sammy did that year.

[Mephistopheles]

EqA

.368 - Sosa '01

.362 - Pujols '03

.357 - Pujols '06

 

MLVr

.657 - Sosa '01

.612 - Pujols '03

 

Sosa's was certainly better but is 'peak' just one season? Albert has had four years better than Sosa's second best season.

[Andy]

I blame the Cubs more than Marquis. 21 is Marquis's number, and he's been wearing it a while. It was the Cubs' job if they so chose to tell him not to wear it.

 

This organization's refusal to recognize Sammy Sosa's contributions since October 2004 happened is absolutely nauseating to me.

 

Time will heal. Sammy brought a lot of things on himself with his petulant and selfish behavior.

Albert Pujols is petulant and selfish in many ways too, but I can't see STL ever allowing #5 to be issued again once he leaves the team, even if he leaves a meaningless game on the last day of the year early.

Pujols is a much better player than Sammy. Even at Sammy's peak he didn't approach Pujols' completeness as a hitter.

That isn't what I was trying to say. Regardless of the fact that Pujols will, when all's said and done, be known as a better player, Sammy meant at least as much to the Cubs and, more importantly, their fans as Pujols does to STL and their fans.

[UMFan83]

I've been opposed to this in the past, but the last thread on this someone made a good point.

 

Did anyone get pissed when players like Dave Kingman, Leon Durham, Lloyd McClendon, Luis Salazar or Bruce Kimm wore #10 after Santo left? How about when Larry Bittner and Fritz Connally wore #26 after Williams retired?

 

He's gonna get it retired anyways, whether or not his number is issued to other players between now and then

[Guest]

I blame the Cubs more than Marquis. 21 is Marquis's number, and he's been wearing it a while. It was the Cubs' job if they so chose to tell him not to wear it.

 

This organization's refusal to recognize Sammy Sosa's contributions since October 2004 happened is absolutely nauseating to me.

 

Time will heal. Sammy brought a lot of things on himself with his petulant and selfish behavior.

Albert Pujols is petulant and selfish in many ways too, but I can't see STL ever allowing #5 to be issued again once he leaves the team, even if he leaves a meaningless game on the last day of the year early.

Pujols is a much better player than Sammy. Even at Sammy's peak he didn't approach Pujols' completeness as a hitter.

What do you mean that he didn't approach Pujols' completeness?

 

And for the record, Pujols hasn't come close to matching Sammy's '01 numbers.

1) I consider a peak to be more than one year. Sammy's peak was clearly 1998 - 2001. Pujols was a significantly better hitter over the past four years than Sammy was during those four years.

 

2) Pujols doesn't have the same home run numbers, but he is a much more complete hitter. He rarely strikes out, his walks keep going up, hits with plenty of power, has batted below .329 just once (and hit .314 that year) and he has no holes in his swing that can be attacked by certain types of pitchers. Even at his peak, Sosa was susceptible to pitchers that could couple a really good heat in the kitchen with a good slider low and away.

[soccer10k]

Didn't this debate already happen a few weeks ago?

[Mephistopheles]

probably, its getting towards the end of the offseason. You can always tell because the topics are repeated with increasing frequency.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

This is why all players should play in jocks and cleats ---- only.

 

Admit it, you just want to see Cecil Fielder like that.

[Bruno7481]

Its just a freakin number, who cares?

 

Sosa, at least currently, is still playing. Teams don't usually retire numbers until a player has officially retired anyway.

 

I don't see the big deal.

[oldstyle81]

First of all, IMO you should get the "Marquis is a cardinal" talk out of your system before spring training starts, because Jason Marquis - for better or worse - is now a Chicago Cub.

 

The way I see it, as others have said, Jason was given a list to choose from. He chose the one he wanted. That seems like enough.

 

in the same way Derrek Lee was apart of that hated Marlins team

 

Aram was a pirate OMG

 

Neal Cotts what a sox

 

 

the only thing that matters now is that he has a blue hat with a red C on it. He is no longer a cardinal, he is a cub

[oldstyle81]

Its just a freakin number, who cares?

 

Sosa, at least currently, is still playing. Teams don't usually retire numbers until a player has officially retired anyway.

 

I don't see the big deal.

 

how many people played with Ron Santos number after he retired?

[Sammy Sofa]

Its just a freakin number, who cares?

 

Sosa, at least currently, is still playing. Teams don't usually retire numbers until a player has officially retired anyway.

 

I don't see the big deal.

 

how many people played with Ron Santos number after he retired?

 

I think at least half a dozen.

[oldstyle81]

Its just a freakin number, who cares?

 

Sosa, at least currently, is still playing. Teams don't usually retire numbers until a player has officially retired anyway.

 

I don't see the big deal.

 

how many people played with Ron Santos number after he retired?

 

I think at least half a dozen.

 

Did people cry when Mark Guthrie had the audacity to take Fergie Jenkins and Maddux's 31 ? (not directed at you, just sayin overall)

[Southpaw191679666239]

Its just a freakin number, who cares?

 

Sosa, at least currently, is still playing. Teams don't usually retire numbers until a player has officially retired anyway.

 

I don't see the big deal.

 

how many people played with Ron Santos number after he retired?

 

I think at least half a dozen.

 

Ironically (or is it coincidentally?) ... 10.

[cbbryan]

Its just a freakin number, who cares?

 

Sosa, at least currently, is still playing. Teams don't usually retire numbers until a player has officially retired anyway.

 

I don't see the big deal.

 

how many people played with Ron Santos number after he retired?

 

I think at least half a dozen.

 

Did people cry when Mark Guthrie had the audacity to take Fergie Jenkins and Maddux's 31 ? (not directed at you, just sayin overall)

 

I love this argument! Somehow, the fact that Guthrie wore #31 makes it okay for Marquis to wear #21.

 

Marquis shouldn't be wearing Sammy's number. The Cubs shouldn't have made it available. I blame the Cubs.

 

I don't wish bad fortune on Marquis, but I wonder about his thought process in accepting the number. Does he not know it was Sammy's?

[A New Era]

I mean it's just a number. Common. Sammy can STILL be remembered fondly. And his number can STILL be retired with respect. Give it a few years and I think sammy and the cubs will be on good terms again. And hopefully have a respectful # retiring ceremony. I think it's silly to quable over this like it's a huge disprespect to sammy or something. .

[cbbryan]

I mean it's just a number. Common. Sammy can STILL be remembered fondly. And his number can STILL be retired with respect. Give it a few years and I think sammy and the cubs will be on good terms again. And hopefully have a respectful # retiring ceremony. I think it's silly to quable over this like it's a huge disprespect to sammy or something. .

 

To all the folks that say "it's just a number".................. What would you have thought if Jose Nieves would have wore number 23 in 1998 after Ryno retired?

 

I have argued this point a few times and I have to say it really annoys me. Sports teams retire numbers to show respect to the GREAT players in their teams history. Sosa is undoubtedly one of the best Cubs of all-time. Marquis shouldn't wear #21 and it doesn't become a nonfacorif the Cubs decide in 10 years to retire his number.