Sammy

[Roast]

I'd like to see him back in the NL so he could play a series at Wrigley. I would be extremely interested to see his reception.

 

If I was there I'd give him a standing ovation.

 

Me too.

 

How people can be so ignorant to forget what he did for us for so long bewilders me.

[biittner77]

I'd like to see him back in the NL so he could play a series at Wrigley. I would be extremely interested to see his reception.

 

If I was there I'd give him a standing ovation.

 

Me too.

 

How people can be so ignorant to forget what he did for us for so long bewilders me.

 

I can just hear Dusty Baker crying to reporters about how Cub fans boo their own team but cheer for Sosa.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Would Sammy accept a platoon role at this point in his career? If the Cubs are unsuccessful at finding a new RF that is worth a damn, what if they offered Sammy and Burnitz $3MM each to platoon in RF? Burnitz IS a decent hitter against RHP, and Sammy's splits against LHP vs. RHP keep getting more pronounced as his career has matured--since he gets around later in his swing, the extra look he gets at LHP helps him get around faster.

 

Since the OF ideas are looking bleak right now, I'm just trying to come up with possible alternative outcomes. Maybe the Cubs could try to get by and juuuuust enough offense--like the 03 Cubs and 05 Astros and 05 White Sox--and pour their money and resources this offseason into pitching instead.

 

Trade for Barry Zito? Sign Kevin Millwood? Sign two new late inning relievers?

[1908]

Super small parks = lots of homers.

The majority of parks over there are MLB-sized. The lots of homers comes from the lower level of play.

[Buford T Justice]

Don't flame me too hard..However a co-worker who is an Astros fan said he had heard a rumor the Stro's we gonna pursue Sammy. I don't know if this is true or not.

[UMFan83]

I'd like to see him back in the NL so he could play a series at Wrigley. I would be extremely interested to see his reception.

 

If I was there I'd give him a standing ovation.

 

Me too.

 

How people can be so ignorant to forget what he did for us for so long bewilders me.

 

Maybe its because people believe that Sosa's numbers weren't legit....

 

I'd still cheer Sammy at Wrigley though. I had some good times cheering for him when I was a teen and didn't think about stuff like cork or steroids.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

I want Sammy to come back to the Cubs so my autographed Sosa Majestic jersey, framed and mounted, has high value again. :-)

[Fred Hornkohl]

I want Sammy to come back to the Cubs so my autographed Sosa Majestic jersey, framed and mounted, has high value again. :-)

 

I fear that your Sosa jersey won't have high value again unless Sosa does. :wink:

[Banedon]

Don't flame me too hard..However a co-worker who is an Astros fan said he had heard a rumor the Stro's we gonna pursue Sammy. I don't know if this is true or not.

 

Minute Maid might help get him hitting well better again...

[Buford T Justice]

That was my response..But I think he's done.

[Tedward]

So I see that Sammy filed for free agency. Anyone care to speculate about where he might end up or how much he might get?

 

Baltimore's Sammy Sosa filed for free agency Monday along with World Series star Geoff Blum and Chicago White Sox teammate Carl Everett.

 

Sosa was a bust in his first and likely only season with the Orioles, who acquired him from the Chicago Cubs in February with one year left on his $72 million, four-year contract. The 36-year-old outfielder, fifth on the career list with 588 homers, was limited by injuries to 380 at-bats and hit .221 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs.

 

In a new release over on ESPN regarding two former Cubs...

 

In a move that comes as a surprise to no one, the Baltimore Orioles announced Saturday that first baseman Rafael Palmeiro and outfielder Sammy Sosa will not return to the team next season.

 

And this is interesting...

 

It also was reported that he and Miguel Tejada had a disagreement that led to an icy relationship between the two Dominican Republic superstars

 

Finally, an excerpt from a recent Ken Rosenthal article...

 

Outfielder Sammy Sosa, another player in need of a revival, is attracting zero interest as a free agent. Sosa, 37, likely will need to sign a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training if he wishes to remain in the majors. He is 12 homers short of 600.

[SantoForHOF]

it's amazing what happens to people when they can't take roids anymore.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

If Sammy would accept a bench role as PH and occasional, maybe 10 starts during the year type thing, I'd sign him to a 1-year, $1MM deal as a going-away tour gift. The Cubs are his home, and we DO need a guy who can come off the bench late in the game and hit a home run. We aren't going to get that from Jerry Hairston or Neifi Perez, who as things currently stand are the only two position players on our bench.

 

Sammy could easily get 150 PAs for the season, and based on his career HR/AB ratio, he could have an outside shot at reaching the 600 mark he so covets. More important though, the Cubs owe Sammy a lot, and no matter what some say, most of the fans still love him. I do. He had a snit and walked out during the last game of the year, big deal. It's not players that get into fights with teammates, or get in trouble with the law, or are drunks or drug abusers or who knows what.

 

Heck yeah, Sammy for the bench, I'm all for it.

[erik316wttn]

it's amazing what happens to people when they can't take roids anymore.

 

The fact that he's in his late 30's has absolutely nothing to do with it, right?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'd love to see a reunion with Sammy as a bench role for 2006, but I don't think it will happen and probably shouldn't for a number of reasons. Sammy burned a lot of bridges with his teammates. I still think there's a lot of resentment there.

 

I'm also not sure Sammy's ego could handle a return to Chicago as a bench player. And we don't need him arriving in spring training declaring he's back at his house or something ridiculous like that.

 

If it were merely a production issue, a homecoming and farewell tour would be nice, but there's more at stake than that. I'll always be appreciative of what Sammy did and when he's inducted into Cooperstown, I'll likely don my Sosa jersey and make the trip there, but I don't think bringing him back for one year, regardless of what stipualtions he might agree to, is a good idea.

[Crash]

I could see the WhiteSox bringing in Sosa on a very small deal to be the DH. They could probably get him very cheap. The park is a launching pad. And the Sox, even with a World Series, always are looking for an attendence "draw".

[Wheelimus]

Deal with the Sox, sadly WOULD be a very smart idea. Being a DH would let him focus solely on his hitting, and it would attract the Cubs "Sosa loyalists" to the South Side :evil:

[Backtobanks]

I think Sosa's future is in Japan. He could go over there and make a lot of money, hit a lot of homers, and be idolized. He's not going to do any of those three things in the majors anymore. I really don't think Sammy's ego could take sitting on the bench and pinch hitting once a week.

[RockTheIvy]

I think Sosa's future is in Japan. He could go over there and make a lot of money, hit a lot of homers, and be idolized. He's not going to do any of those three things in the majors anymore. I really don't think Sammy's ego could take sitting on the bench and pinch hitting once a week.

 

Yeah I agree, Willy Loma- I mean Sammy Sosa should probably quit the American baseball scene and just wait for his induction into Cooperstown.

[RynoRules]

it's amazing what happens to people when they can't take roids anymore.

 

The fact that he's in his late 30's has absolutely nothing to do with it, right?

 

It does. But his decline has been alarmingly sharp compared to most sluggers of his magnitude. This leads one to wonder...

[USSoccer]

it's amazing what happens to people when they can't take roids anymore.

 

The fact that he's in his late 30's has absolutely nothing to do with it, right?

 

It does. But his decline has been alarmingly sharp compared to most sluggers of his magnitude. This leads one to wonder...

 

I actually think Sammy was older than everyone thought he was. Combine that with the fact that he was aging regardless, the fact that he got hit in the head in 2003, and had nagging foot injuries from 2003-05, and you've got a nice recipie for decline. It's just been such a drastic dropoff, though. It's sad.

 

If he were willing to sign a 1yr, $1m deal to be a 5th OF here, I'd welcome him back. Or even just a minor league invite to camp.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Actually, in fairness to Sammy, his decline began precipitously after the Solomon Torres beaning. Prior to that, Sammy was tearing it up at his usual rate in 2003, his OPS at the time IIRC was nearly 1000.

 

I think the beaning did a lot of damage to Sammy's aggressiveness and approach, and his ego tried to compensate with the stupid corked bat episode. That was dumb, but in a way, an understandable reaction too, if in fact the beaning had the effect it might have had.

 

There is no evidence that Sammy ever used steroids, and I do not believe he did. To insinuate so is grossly unfair. His game fell apart rapidly as he hit his late 30s just as it did for so many other greats in the game. Injuries take their toll, the beaning, etc...

 

Sammy for the bench!!

[erik316wttn]

I don't think one-day contracts are allowed, but if Sammy would retire during the season sometime, I'd like to see him sign a 1-day contract with the Cubs, start in RF that day, play one last game, and then retire.

[erik316wttn]

it's amazing what happens to people when they can't take roids anymore.

 

The fact that he's in his late 30's has absolutely nothing to do with it, right?

 

It does. But his decline has been alarmingly sharp compared to most sluggers of his magnitude. This leads one to wonder...

 

With some sluggers, they just gradually decline until they can't find a job anymore, or retire.

 

Some just hit the wall. McGwire, Mays, etc just hit the wall. Decent one year, then terrible the next. Sammy was one of those.

[AI]

it's amazing what happens to people when they can't take roids anymore.

 

The fact that he's in his late 30's has absolutely nothing to do with it, right?

 

It does. But his decline has been alarmingly sharp compared to most sluggers of his magnitude. This leads one to wonder...

 

With some sluggers, they just gradually decline until they can't find a job anymore, or retire.

 

Some just hit the wall. McGwire, Mays, etc just hit the wall. Decent one year, then terrible the next. Sammy was one of those.

 

Its probably not the best idea to reference Mark McGwire as an example of an aging star who hit the wall as opposed to someone who used steroids.