Sammy Sosa has some things to say about the Cubs

[jersey cubs fan]

Thank goodness we got that cleared up.

 

I don't see what was unclear to begin with.

[XZero771679666304]

“He grew up in abject poverty and dreamed of being Roberto Clemente. And I think he had the ability to be Roberto Clemente. But that wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted to be the biggest name in the game, and to do that, he stopped caring about everything except hitting home runs. The bigger he got, the worse he became. And he never became that great baseball player.”

 

Barry Rozner is a [expletive] moron

 

That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read. He was a dead pull hitter who didn't hit for average and didn't hit for enough power to justify all his Ks. He stole more bases, but was never a spectacular defender. And at least a big a factor in his becoming an elite player as the roids were adjustments he made at the plate, learning to drive the ball away, lay off (as many) garbage pitches and take walks.

 

The notion that he got worse when he started hitting for huge power is as ludicrous as saying it gets colder after the sun rises. It's Sandberg-esque revere the little things to a fault hogwash. The sad thing is, there are probably a whole lot of people who buy it.

 

Sammy was a self-centered player, sure. And he was almost certainly juiced. But the way he has been vilified just boggles my mind. The man was, for about 5 years, the best Cubs player there has ever been. He was the only reason a non-masochistic person had for tuning into Cubs games for a good long while. He was a showboat, but I never felt like he dogged it, and he was never anything but an asset to the team.

 

The hate for him is just silly.

[J.R.]

Very, very few players will ever put in the work required to turn around a career the way Sammy did. Results like that don't come out of a bottle.

[Mark Priors Calves]

 

Fitting that Lou shows up in that clip.

Hawk Harrelson agrees that strike three was a b.s. call by Joe West.

[Soul]

“He grew up in abject poverty and dreamed of being Roberto Clemente. And I think he had the ability to be Roberto Clemente. But that wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted to be the biggest name in the game, and to do that, he stopped caring about everything except hitting home runs. The bigger he got, the worse he became. And he never became that great baseball player.”

 

Barry Rozner is a [expletive] moron

 

That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read. He was a dead pull hitter who didn't hit for average and didn't hit for enough power to justify all his Ks. He stole more bases, but was never a spectacular defender. And at least a big a factor in his becoming an elite player as the roids were adjustments he made at the plate, learning to drive the ball away, lay off (as many) garbage pitches and take walks.

 

The notion that he got worse when he started hitting for huge power is as ludicrous as saying it gets colder after the sun rises. It's Sandberg-esque revere the little things to a fault hogwash. The sad thing is, there are probably a whole lot of people who buy it.

 

Sammy was a self-centered player, sure. And he was almost certainly juiced. But the way he has been vilified just boggles my mind. The man was, for about 5 years, the best Cubs player there has ever been. He was the only reason a non-masochistic person had for tuning into Cubs games for a good long while. He was a showboat, but I never felt like he dogged it, and he was never anything but an asset to the team.

 

The hate for him is just silly.

 

He was a jerk to the people around him, and that definitely included Chicago media. And one thing I've learned about Chicago media types: diss them and they'll never let go of their grudge against you.

 

You'll be hearing Sosa painted in the worst possible light until the end of time. Yes, a lot of it is deserved. But I choose to also remember the good times.

[J.R.]

The arrogance shown by those within the organization who choose to deny Sosa even the slimmest accommodation is appalling.

 

Do they think the crowds poured in to see Jim Hendry?

 

Do they pretend the fans were similarly lining up to see Banks and Williams and Sandberg and Dawson in their day?

 

Do they not realize that beer and sunshine didn't sell nearly as well before #21?

 

Sammy Sosa built the modern Cubs organization. The truth hurts for some, but all I have to say is "too damn bad."

[Old Style]

Sammy Sosa was a cheater.

[SouthSideRyan]

Hank Aaron was a cheater

[Rob]

Sammy Sosa was a cheater.

 

He was our cheater.

[illiniguy]

So Barry Rozner doesn't think Sosa was great in '01. Interesting, what would a great season look like Mr. Rozner?

[SouthSideRyan]

So Barry Rozner doesn't think Sosa was great in '01. Interesting, what would a great season look like Mr. Rozner?

 

BA   OBP SLG
.296 .371 .403 
.314 .405 .457 .
.309 .372 .413 
.273 .346 .373 .
.307 .380 .430 
.325 .393 .475 
.298 .370 .414 
.326 .395 .516 
.331 .396 .455 
.319 .409 .465 
.309 .401 .471 
.309 .390 .481 
.280 .394 .429 
.298 .386 .466 
.252 .351 .386 
.200 .279 .304 

 

Any of the above would suffice.

[MSG T]

So Barry Rozner doesn't think Sosa was great in '01. Interesting, what would a great season look like Mr. Rozner?

 

BA   OBP SLG
.296 .371 .403 
.314 .405 .457 .
.309 .372 .413 
.273 .346 .373 .
.307 .380 .430 
.325 .393 .475 
.298 .370 .414 
.326 .395 .516 
.331 .396 .455 
.319 .409 .465 
.309 .401 .471 
.309 .390 .481 
.280 .394 .429 
.298 .386 .466 
.252 .351 .386 
.200 .279 .304 

 

Any of the above would suffice.

 

Sandberg??

 

 

Just checked, isn't Sandberg. Who is it?

[Benchwarmer]

Sammy has been treated poorly by the Cubs and it's Hendry's doing.

 

The one thing I'll remember about Sammy was he never wanted to sit out. In one five season stretch he played in the following games: 162, 159, 162, 156 and 160. That's pretty impressive.

 

As we get closer to the 5 year wait for the HOF being over, it's unusual that his name has not been mentioned much on the roids issue. Yes, I think he did them but no one has come forward.

[SouthSideRyan]

Sammy has been treated poorly by the Cubs and it's Hendry's doing.

 

The one thing I'll remember about Sammy was he never wanted to sit out. In one five season stretch he played in the following games: 162, 159, 162, 156 and 160. That's pretty impressive.

 

As we get closer to the 5 year wait for the HOF being over, it's unusual that his name has not been mentioned much on the roids issue. Yes, I think he did them but no one has come forward.

 

He was one of the names leaked by some paper (NYT I think?) as failing a test.

[treebird]

So Barry Rozner doesn't think Sosa was great in '01. Interesting, what would a great season look like Mr. Rozner?

 

BA   OBP SLG
.296 .371 .403 
.314 .405 .457 .
.309 .372 .413 
.273 .346 .373 .
.307 .380 .430 
.325 .393 .475 
.298 .370 .414 
.326 .395 .516 
.331 .396 .455 
.319 .409 .465 
.309 .401 .471 
.309 .390 .481 
.280 .394 .429 
.298 .386 .466 
.252 .351 .386 
.200 .279 .304 

 

Any of the above would suffice.

 

Sandberg??

 

 

Just checked, isn't Sandberg. Who is it?

 

gotta be grace

[ConstableRabbit]

Sammy has been treated poorly by the Cubs and it's Hendry's doing.

The one thing I'll remember about Sammy was he never wanted to sit out. In one five season stretch he played in the following games: 162, 159, 162, 156 and 160. That's pretty impressive.

 

As we get closer to the 5 year wait for the HOF being over, it's unusual that his name has not been mentioned much on the roids issue. Yes, I think he did them but no one has come forward.

Yeah so he could make his numbers look better obviously and hit more homers in meaningless games

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The guy walked out in the middle of a game for which he was being paid to attend. I don't think he gets credit for never wanting to sit out.

[bhogg]

it's grace, no doubt about it

[Sammy Sofa]

People that don't appreciate Sosa the Cub are scum.

[Benchwarmer]

The guy walked out in the middle of a game for which he was being paid to attend. I don't think he gets credit for never wanting to sit out.

 

Show me what game Sammy "walked out in the middle of" where he was in the starting lineup and was actually playing? Go ahead..I'll wait.

 

We cut major slack for ARam who doesn't hustle all the time and has mental lapses. We give Big Z break after break for his antics. But Sammy?

 

If Sammy had done a 'Pippen' and refused to go out and play, he would be crucified. But he didn't.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The guy walked out in the middle of a game for which he was being paid to attend. I don't think he gets credit for never wanting to sit out.

 

Show me what game Sammy "walked out in the middle of" where he was in the starting lineup and was actually playing? Go ahead..I'll wait.

 

Read better.

 

Letting that slide because Sosa is underrated by idiots like Rozner is almost as bad as using it as an excuse to hate him for being a power hitter.

[champaignchris]

As a Cubs fan, I appreciate that Sammy made a team, that was otherwise appalling, watchable for a good 8 year stretch in the mid-'90s through the early-'00s. The "team" the organization put around him in 2000, for example, was a complete joke.

 

And the team has no doubt mishandled Sosa since retirement. He should have been allowed to announce his retirement at Wrigley. There should have been a "Sammy Sosa day" each year since his retirement, with Sammy singing the 7th inning stretch. It would have been nothing at all to the Cubs, while going a long way to mend some fences.

 

All that said, you simply do not demand to have your number retired less than 5 years after your retirement. Fergie Jenkins didn't get his number retired until about 25 years after he threw his last pitch. Ron Santo waited a similar amount of time. Ryne Sandberg didn't get his retired until about 15 years after his retirement. Revered long time Cubs like Gabby Hartnett, Stan Hack, Phil Cavarretta, Rick Reuschel, Lee Smith, and Mark Grace have never have their numbers retired and likely never will.

 

(Hartnett is the only one of those I mentioned who had a career worthy of having his number retired, but his case is complicated because the team didn't have uniform numbers during the first half of his career and they didn't keep the same number from year to year over the second half of his career. Still, there should be a flag up there with Banks, Williams, etc. Nine is the number he wore most often. Retire that. Or just put his name up on a flag without a number.)

[jersey cubs fan]

The guy walked out in the middle of a game for which he was being paid to attend. I don't think he gets credit for never wanting to sit out.

 

Show me what game Sammy "walked out in the middle of" where he was in the starting lineup and was actually playing? Go ahead..I'll wait.

 

Read better.

 

Letting that slide because Sosa is underrated by idiots like Rozner is almost as bad as using it as an excuse to hate him for being a power hitter.

 

He left a meaningless game he wasn't a part of. It's not good, but it's hardly a big deal.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

He left a meaningless game he wasn't a part of. It's not good, but it's hardly a big deal.

 

He was on the roster and eligible to be used in the game. It's his job to be there. That's a big deal.

[SouthSideRyan]

 

All that said, you simply do not demand to have your number retired less than 5 years after your retirement. Fergie Jenkins didn't get his number retired until about 25 years after he threw his last pitch. Ron Santo waited a similar amount of time. Ryne Sandberg didn't get his retired until about 15 years after his retirement. Revered long time Cubs like Gabby Hartnett, Stan Hack, Phil Cavarretta, Rick Reuschel, Lee Smith, and Mark Grace have never have their numbers retired and likely never will.

 

Sandberg's the only comparable in being a player who played in the era of the Cubs retiring #s, and actually being worthy of having it retired. His #23 was never handed out once he retired. Sosa's was handed out soon after he left.

 

Agreed whole-heartedly on Hartnett, who is in the running for best Cub of all time. He deserves something beyond his name listed with 100 other just good Cubs.