The Voice of Reason

The players union gave Sammy the OK to release his records. Why not just to it and end all the speculation? The standard is and should be higher for high profile athletes. This is his chance to develop some good will with the HOF voters. Look what happened to McGwire after his ridiculous performance under oath before Congress. He didn't admit using steroids but in the eye of the HOF voters, by dodging the questions, he might as well have. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2864613 Well the HOF is a popularity vote, so that's another story. I could refuse to vote for Sosa because I didn't like his haircut if I was a HOF voter and so inclined. We don't even know if Sosa's medical records would contain any enlightening information anyway. And if there's something else in there that is personal and he doesn't want to disclose, then that's a perfectly good reason to withhold the information. So if he does in fact choose to withhold the records it doesn't mean squat, period. You don't have a vote and I seriously doubt if any the voters that do would use the criteria you suggest. Medical records are released all the time with portions blacked out that are irrelevant to the pertinent facts. If Sammy has nothing to hide regarding steroids, he should release his records.

The players union gave Sammy the OK to release his records. Why not just do it and end all the speculation? The standard is and should be higher for high profile athletes. This is his chance to develop some good will with the HOF voters. Look what happened to McGwire after his ridiculous performance under oath before Congress. He didn't admit using steroids but in the eye of the HOF voters, by dodging the questions, he might as well have. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2864613

So all Sammy has to do is provide the medical records proving he was not on steroids and he regains his reputation. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

he'd HAVE to come out to eye of the tiger i would prefer gonna fly now What should Dempster's theme song be? I Walk the Line(up)?

Rocky for closer!

Nice premature.

I disagree. Twice the legal alcohol limit, 13 mph over the speed limit, drugs in the car and on his way to another bar so he could keep drinking and driving. I'd call that a hellbound loser. So what if other people have done it or have skeletons in their closet. It was pure luck he didn't kill that tow truck driver.

Three years too late.

In a rental car (due to a crash three days before), High, twice the legal alcohol limit and talking on a cell phone. Thank God this Moron didn't hit any innocent people. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2860122

He just needed a change of scenery, a new pitching coach and to play in front of more knowledgeable and supportive fans.

Sammy lovers - 1, 2, 3 attack! http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keri/070430&sportCat=mlb By coming out of retirement to chase the 600-homer mark, Sammy Sosa is helping no one but himself. Sosa's seven homers have him tied for third in the AL with Vlad and Big Papi, behind only teammate Ian Kinsler and A-Rod. Three of those bombs came Thursday and Friday night, and Sosa rolled up eight RBIs in a five-game stretch last week. The homers and RBIs are swell. But Sosa's going to be an offensive liability this season even if he blows by the 600-homer mark and hits 25-30 bombs. That's because even at his current scorching pace, he's hitting only .232, with a woeful .300 on-base percentage. Against right-handed pitchers, it's even uglier -- a .253 OBP. Put another way, when Sosa faces a right-handed pitcher, he hurts his team three times out of four. The Rangers have plenty of other problems. Their starting pitching is still shaky; Hank Blalock hasn't turned out to be the player they expected; and a bunch of regulars are off to slow starts. But Ron Washington's recent proclamation that Sosa is an everyday player will only make things worse. Watch a few Rangers games, and you'll see that he's swinging for the fences every time, aiming only for homers to pad his career total and not concerning himself with trifles such as singles and doubles. Josh Towers, a journeyman pitcher for the Blue Jays, said it best. After giving up a homer to Sosa Friday night, Towers didn't speak in reverent tones about the No. 5 home run hitter of all time. He hung his head in shame instead. "It's embarrassing," Towers lamented. "I know how many homers he's hit, but he's got so many holes [in his swing]."

Easy, easy...Let's get to .500 first. doesn't sound like the voice of reason to me...lets just beat up on the nationals some first and get to .500 Don't be so pessimistic, have the Cubs ever disappointed you before? :wink:

NL Central soon to be a two team race - Cubs and Brewers.

I guess he couldn't afford it after that whopping $500 fine LaRussa laid on him for showing up late, hungover, and unable to pitch last Thursday after his first accident. Keep in mind that the cops did not think he was drunk when he got into his accident on Thursday morning. Also, there are no reports he was at any strip club. if he was at that neighborhood at 5:30 AM, then the strip club(s) was the safest and most legal place(s) he could have been. Hancock says he usually goes out to drive late at night to get himself tired enough to rest. I know that sounds as implausible to you as it does to me, but that's what he said to the cops. Why drive in that specific area to "get himself tired?" I bet he lived nowhere close to the land of Strip Joints. The cops were probably Cardinal fans and gave him a pass.

Splurge, take a cab.

Weren't you one of the many posters who downplayed LaRussa's DUI because he was "just barely over the limit and no one got hurt"? La Russa was just plain lucky that he didn't kill someone or himself before he passed out. His offense was just as bad as Hancock's. It comes as no surprise to me that La Russa is now trying to coverup Hancock's escapades and attacking the media. When it comes to discussing DUI's, he has no crediblity. He should address (not hide) the problem of athletes drinking and driving and become part of the solution, not an enabler to he problem. Hancock was already plastered and on the way out to continue drinking when he killed himself. Why can't millionaire athletes who must drink until their sloppy drunk just call a cab or get a limo?

Lost???

OK, Eckstein (sort of) and Young. Two out of 30. Any others? What's your point? Theriot isn't like Young or Eckstein. He isn't a second basemen by trade like they were, he's a SS who was put at 2b for whatever reason. Since 2001, Theriot has played SS in 103 games in Class A ball and 86 games at SS in Class AA ball. He has played 2B in 117 games at A ball and 86 games at AA ball. My point simply is that moving a utility player with limited A and AA ball experience at SS to that position in the big leagues is not as easy as a lot of you guys are making it out to be. http:// http://thebaseballcube.com/players/T/Ryan-Theriot.shtml

OK, Eckstein (sort of) and Young. Two out of 30. Any others?

No, I don't think so. Because Terry seems to be disparaging the talents of that SS who is going to be converted: That's not always true. I think there are cases where a player gets moved from SS because there is someone else in his way also. Sandberg being a example. Theriot was playing 2nd last year because our management team at the time had faith in Izturis and Cedeno. If Maddux wasnt traded for Izturis but for a outfielder instead would Theriot have played some SS last fall? I know Izturis was hurt but he was pencilled in as the SS for the next few years already. Sandberg is a perfect example of moving an average shortstop with decent range first to 3B and then to 2B where he became a gold glove/ HOF second baseman. If he was a great SS, the Cubs would have moved him back there after Bowa.

That's not always true. Not at all. Sometimes guys are moved to second out of necessity. You really want to play the guy at SS but there is a good SS already ahead of him, so they move him to 2B. I've seen that happen on numerous occasions. You are actually agreeing with Terry's point. Which is that he's not going to waste his time scouting the second best SS on the team. If he needs a second baseman, he'll just take the SS and convert him. By "failed" he means not the starting SS. Just curious, does anyone know how many current big league shortstops are converted second basemen?

Trying Theriot at short may be worth a shot as things become more desperate but the thought of it does make me recall a quote from Terry Sullivan, the great Boston Red Sox scout.

Quick get Damian Miller from Bernie's he has to play.

Good for Sammy. Still the worst night of sports I can remember. Worse than the Bartman game????????????

Ever hear of lip service? maybe, but he apparently didn't say that sammy sosa was going to "get hit", so this thread looks pretty silly Yes it does. http:// http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/346163,CST-SPT-sox18.article