Sammy Sofa

So what do you tell your son about Sosa?

$14 million? Seeyuh, Barry. I wouldn't pay more than $9 million plus incentives, and even that is pushing it.

how is he half a player? He's the offensive half. That's the half they desperately need. This team isn't hurting defesnively thanks to Hendry's "catch the ball" passion.

Lee was out most of the season. Why focus on only two months of that time? In fact, Lee played the first half of April, so really you're talking about one and a half months of the season and using that to dismiss the need for the Cubs to hold on to their most productive offensive player over the last three years because all you "remember is him dogging it and slacking." Sound reasoning. Ramirez in 2006: April: 71 ABs; .197/.321/.394 (Derrek Lee had 44 ABs) May: 109 ABs; .266/.296/.495 (Lee had zero ABs) June: 105 ABs; .276/.325/.476 (Lee had 22 ABs) July: 96 ABs; .344/.414/.750 (Lee had 53 ABs) August: 111 ABs; .333/.400/640 (Lee with 12 ABs) September: 98 ABs; .306/.346/.551 (Lee had 44 ABs) Ramirez was VERY productive. He played in the most games of his career and he improved greatly on defense. Oh, I guess he's just a "second tier" guy though because of the few grounders he didn't bust ass down the line on. IMO he is a 2nd tier guy because when the cubs needed him, he was invisable....according to some in sports radio, he even asked to be moved down in the line up.... maybe he has been the most productive offensive player in the last 3 years, but remind me, what did the cubs win in 2004, 2005, and 2006?? i want all the players to play 100% him included.... Why you ignoring how incredibly good he was later in the year when the rest of the team was still horrible? It's not like they magically got better...Aramis had a slow start, and nobody is going to deny that. But you're presenting it like the team being bad was only a temporary thing and by the time Aramis blew up they had gotten better. They hadn't. They were the same awful team they were at the beginning of the year. So how did he not "step up" in June, July, Agust and September?

You're right, Wood is no dummy. He KNOWS he isn't going to get a BIG deal, and most likely will only get a incentive laden contract. So if you are going to settle for that kind of contract, why not stick to the ONLY organization. KW loves the city, loves the org (I don't know why, but he does), so like ARam, KW will be back in Chicago. He may "love" it here, but the man no doubt also "loves" getting the extra million or two that making himself a free agent will probably net him from the Cubs. I'm not holding this against him...it's just what ballplayers do. Maximize your payday.

Just to play devil's advocate, you don't know how DLee would have performed if ARam broke his wrist and had to miss the same time that DLee did. And frankly losing either of those two players this year would have been a HUGE blow since the rest of the team wasn't very good. ARam can only control the hitting aspect. ARam wasn't responsible for the Cubs having the 24th best ERA in the year or for the Cubs giving up the fifth most runs in the league. Nobody was producing, that includes pitchers as well, early in the year when DLee went down. i agree....Aram will get the big dollars, i just wish he would not dogg it when he doesnt feel like it....i want him to try hard, like D-Lee in 2005, even though the cubs were stinking it up, he still was the best out there, and i cant say i feel the same about Aram....when then going got tough, he played lazy....IMO How does that make any sense? As the year went on and the Cubs got worse, Aramis clearly got much, MUCH better.

So, because you say I can't use that against Hendry, I can't? Okay. How foolish of me to think that the GM of a major league baseball team can't lock down the necessary players to keep the team competitive for years to come. How foolish of me not to realize EVERY other single player in MLB has an opt out clause. That contract was signed quite some time ago. Hendry has had plenty of time to work out a new arrangement to avoid having Aramis opt out of this deal when he did. Aramis is no longer the property of the Chicago Cubs. He's free to sign wherever he wants. He's free to sign for however much he wants. Hendry basically just put himself in a position to pay top dollar for a free agent that he had under his own control. I can understand paying top dollar to lure a free agent away from another team, like Vlady or Beltran a few years back. It's totally different being one of 30 teams making an offer in comparison to working out an arrangement before the 29 other teams have a chance to outbid you. I'll be absolutely shocked if Aramis is wearing a Cub uniform in 2007. The ball is definitely in Aramis' court now. But, no one can sit there and tell me that the ball was never in Hendry's court and have me believe it. Bringing back Hendry back for another year is already starting to spell disaster. Please for the love of God somebody get this lazy fat pos GM out of here already. He's terrible! So if Hendry hadn't been extended or had been fired after this last season, Aramis wouldn't have opted out? I don't understand how this situation is any more of a "disaster" under him or any other possible GM at this moment. I don't believe for a second Aramis would have accepted any offer before he could opt out short of something insanely huge.

My dad and I noticed the same thing. Questions about his production or not, his impact as a Latin American player cannot be ignored.

Does this really surprise anyone? Who honestly expected him not to exercise the opt out clause to try and get as big a pay day as possible? Aramis isn't stupid...he knows he's an in-demand player that can command top dollar, and opting out will ensure he gets it, either from the Cubs or some other team. He's just playing the cards he has. If the Cubs want to keep him, they pay up...it's that simple. Yes, the opt out option wasn't the greatest idea, but hey, that was then, this is now. Aramis opting out isn't a surprise at all. I would have been stunned if the Cubs locked him up without him opting out.

Wood may like it here, but he's no dummy. Making himself technically a free agent is basically him ensuring he gets as much money from the Cubs as possible if they want to keep him. I think he can still be had for relatively cheap, but if it's for more than $3-4 million dollars a year plus incentives, no thanks. I wouldn't want more than 2 years, with 1 being the ideal option.

Every time you show that picture, I want to kill you just a little bit more. Where is Vance's right hand in that picture? I'm injecting Sammy. With confidence!

Diginty? We're Cubs fans. Dignity hasn't done squat for us lately...or, for that matter, ever.

If Sammy was willing to take the money and the role, I'd love it. But his ego wouldn't allow him to do it.

As opposed to most of the alternatives out there? Probably. But injuries and questionalbe history and all, Bonds does more for this team offensively than Murton possibly could at this point. And Murton would still get plenty of playing time with Bonds in LF.

And has that model worked? I really don't see a point in following a model that hasnt worked. You dont need a superstar line-up to win. You also dont need to have a $200 million payroll to win either. Pitching comes first, then you go out and get your hitting. The. Cardinals. Didn't. Have. Great. Pitching. They didnt have great pitching, but their pitching stepped up when it matter the most. Which, in the end, gave them a World Series victory. What are you suggesting? The Tigers had great pitching and lost the WS. The 2nd and 3rd best pitching staffs (SD and Minnesota) got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. The 4th and 5th best didn't make the playoffs. So, do the Cubs go out and try to build one of the best pitching staffs in baseball? Or do they just try to get an average pitching staff that somehow knows how to "step up when it matters the most"? I would go out and build one of the best pitching staffs in the league. Cubs already have some pieces in place for the lineup. Lee, Ramirez, Barrett, and Murton all could hit .300 next year. As some of the posters have pointed out, focusing almost all of the offseason attention and resources on "great pitching" doesn't mean anything. As it was said, look at the Braves in the 90's...some of the greatest pitching ever together on one team, and what do they muster? 1 WS win. You need a rough balance between pitching and offense to win...you need to bolster both with the idea that during a short stretch like a playoff run parts of either could run cold. Focusing mostly on pitching OR hitting is not the answer, period. The 4 players you listed are not enough to carry a team offensively for an entire year, even if you have the best pitching in the league. You'd need at least 2 more impact bats to shore up the hitting, and that takes money...money that can't be used mostly for pitching.

What are his grit, fire and hustle ratings?

at this point, if bonds can take us to the playoffs, he can burn an american flag while doing it for all i care. i'd rather not see the Cubs in the playoffs if it takes bringing Bonds onboard..where is your integrity? Far, FAR outweighed by a century of futility.

Luckily for you, STL is not recruiting for new citizens at this time. boy, that would sure be a tough sell. Hey look, we have an arch!!! We also have a baseball team. You can also... uh.... well ok, that's about all there is to do here, but seriously, come live in St Louis! "Oh yeah...we've got NELLY!!!" ... "Uh, hello? Where'd everyone go? Guys? Hellooooooooo..."

Bruce, do you think it gets done? Eventually, yes. The agent is doing a little squeezing right now. Which isn't surprising. The Cubs did this to themselves. I hope you're right, Bruce. Thanks for stopping by. *Lights candle*

BWAAAAAAAAAAA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! *Collapses and weeps hysterically*

Sammy had a ton of moments that made me love him and this team more than I thought I ever would, but I definitely hope that Lee NEVER comes close to having the same "it" Sammy had. Sammy rarely seemed like a true team player and never seemed like a leader. His ego showed through constantly and whenever he got really good it just got worse. I'm not gonna pretend like he didn't play fantastic baseball or do great things for this team, but I'm also not going to ignore his faults and I'm certainly not going to wish for his personality traits again. I want the team to do a lot better, but I don't want to see that kind of ego/attitude being the centerpiece of the organization again. It's self-destructuve.

Meh. If he was a Cub, we wouldn't care.

I'm counting Hill as a 5 possibly 4 until he proves he can pitch as well as he did at the end of 2006. didn't he prove he can pitch as well as he did at the end of 2006 at the end of 2006? Awww, crud. Now I'm stuck in a logic loop.

I've wanted him for years. He's the perfect scapegoat for everything. "The Cubs just blew a 6 run lead in the bottom of the 9th and have lost the WC spot! WHAT HAPPENED?!?" [norm mcdonald]"Yep, you guessed it...Frank Stallone."[/norm mcdonald]

Off-topic maybe, but what exactly about Sosa "came to light"? Of any of those you mentioned: Bonds, Giambi, McGwire, plus Canseco, and Palmeiro (who testified in front of the Congressional committee) -- Sosa has the least against him. He never tested positive for steroids. No players or trainers have said anything about him taking performance-enhancing drugs. All we have is declining production and injuries. It's speculation. If you are talking about the cork incident, that's a different story, but it's nothing compared to juicing, imo. That is the odd thing about Sosa...personally, I think he was doing "something" during his peak years to add to his power, but you're right, he hasn't had anything even close to the accusations and "revelations" as the other proven or suspected users. Perhaps he's actually the most brilliant man in the world...well played, Sammy. Well played. But like I said, I don't know if he used. I could be wrong. I don't think I am, but hey, anything's possible.