Category Archives: chicago white sox

A Cubs Fan’s Perspective: Sammy Sosa

I have been a Cubs fan for as long as I’ve been alive. I am 28 years old and some of the earliest memories involved my dad and I watching afternoon games on WGN. I remember Jody Davis, Leon Durham, Rick Sutcliffe, and Lee Smith all fighting the Chicago summer heat. The times were special and moments that I wouldn’t change at all. The teams were bad and most of the crowd didn’t care, and I didn’t care too much either. I was a little kid who idolized the players with dreams of one day playing professional baseball too. Those dreams never came true, but I am still a Cubs fan, although I am a little confused of how happy I am about that today.

I was in middle school when the Cubs traded George Bell to the White Sox for a young outfielder, Sammy Sosa. I liked Bell for the few seasons that he was with the Cubs, but I kind of understood that they needed to get younger. I didn’t know much about Sosa, other than owning a few of his rookie cards. My lone opinion was that he looked extremely happy. Almost immediately, the trade for Sosa started to pay off. He was stealing bases and hitting more homers than I expected. The first season, I thought that he may be a better version of Shawon Dunston, since he didn’t strike out as much, which didn’t say much.

The Cubs didn’t win many games the first few seasons that Sosa was around. I can still hear Harry Caray yell out Sosa’s name after he jacked a 400+ foot home-run. Those moments gave me joy, about as much as an actual Cubs victory. Sosa’s home-run total kept creeping up, but the whispers of the ball being juiced calmed my fears of anything fishy going on. It wasn’t until the summer of ’98 that the homers were getting out of hand. I have to admit, I still didn’t care. Mark McGwire was hitting just as many homers as Sosa and he looked noticeably huge. I didn’t suspect much about steroid use, the only thing that was written was something new to me called “Andro.” I read about it and saw that it wasn’t illegal. I didn’t think anything was wrong, but I wanted Sosa to beat him. I think most people wanted Sosa to beat McGwire, if not for the fact that he was more likeable.

Every time that Sosa took the field in the first inning, he would run out into right field like a perfectly choreographed play. Everything Sosa did was more of a show for the fans. After 9/11, he hit a homer and ran around the bases with a little American flag.

Sosa’s numbers stayed the same as McGwire began to breakdown. Sosa’s average took a hit, since he looked like he was wanting to knock it out of the park with every swing. Finally, his behavior the last year with the Cubs was too much for the club to handle. They dealt him to Baltimore for a few young players. Sosa’s career was never the same, mainly because the cloud of suspicion was too great. To this day he denies all claims of using PEDs, but the revelation of a failed test in 2003 makes it all clear. Sosa apparently cheated, it doesn’t surprise many, but I’m just confused.

I believe that a large number of players used some sort of performance-enhancing drug during the same period of Sosa’s career. I believe he wanted an edge and once he had a taste of success, he couldn’t leave it alone. If he didn’t do it for himself, he did it for the fans. As I said before, my first opinion of Sosa was his smile. He didn’t lose his smile until the end of his career. He didn’t have his smile when he was testifying in front of Congress. If Sosa’s number isn’t retired and he doesn’t make the Hall of Fame, Sosa may never smile again. A decision to forgive and forget has to be made at some point. Some purists still have a big problem with “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and the Black Sox. I say that we still need to decide on what kind of punishment would suit the crime.

My opinion is for the Baseball Writers of America to have a conference. Everyone should take sides and maybe come to a conclusion. I would like to see all the alleged steroid users, that have Hall of Fame numbers, be inducted in the same class. You would be able to put that on Pay-Per-View and it would have a high buyrate. I don’t think it’s right that they used PEDs, but enough is enough. I want to move past this. It may take the player’s union to allow blood testing, it would be a step in the right direction.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Griffey Jr. To The Cubs?

Ken Giffey Jr. has been a superstar since he was old enough to put on a uniform. He has done just about everything you can do in baseball, but the most important thing, win a championship. Griffey is currently a free agent and he doesn’t have many more years left to accomplish this goal. His trade to the Chicago White Sox late last season is an indication that he wants to play for a contender. The Chicago Cubs need a left-handed power bat, could Griffey Jr. be reunited with his old skipper in Seattle?

The Chicago Cubs haven’t made it a secret that they are in the market for a left-handed power bat to solidfy their line-up. The rumors suggest that Milton Bradley will be their guy, but Griffey would be a great addition to the Cubs. The outfield for the Cubs will be a rotation of Alfonso Soriano, Joey Gathright/Felix Pie, Kosuke Fukudome, Reed Johnson, and possibly, Bradley. Trade rumors have been circulating around Felix Pie the last two seasons and early returns say that they have lost interest in developing the prospect. By signing Joey Gathright to a contract, the Cubs sealed Pie’s fate. Chicago needs to add more defense to their squad and Soriano and Gathright aren’t great in that department. Fukudome has a cannon arm, but he batted below the Mendoza line doing down the stretch.

Ken Griffey Jr. is a cheap option for a secondary left-handed bat in the lineup. He can fill the role that Jim Edmonds played for them last season. He can spell the outfield and can give you an extra lefty to face a tough pitcher. He would also be a great pinch-hitting option off the bench. He can use him in situations where they could say Gathright for pinch-runner duties, something that they saved Ronny Ceceno for last season. He would give the younger players a role model in the clubhouse and he could possibly be signed for around $2-3 million.

Jim Hendry, the Cubs GM, has made some nice trades and signings over the past few seasons, but I think signing Ken Grffey Jr. would be a step in the right direction. Not only would Griffey be comfortable playing for Pinella, but he had some of his best seasons under him in Seattle. I understand that he was in his prime during that period of time, but he doesn’t have to play everyday and Pinella is smart enough to use him to best suit his skills.

The Chicago Cubs need to win the World Series this year and they need to add players that are hungry. Ken Griffey has played nearly 20 seasons and he is starving. Wrigley Field would be the best place for Junior, I know he has hit enough homers there against them in the past.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.