Goodbye Sammy; We Knew Ye All too Well

Another happy day in Cubdom; it looks as though Sammy Sosa will be traded to the Orioles. I'm reminded of a story from the 80's regarding the Phillies who traded Von Hayes. Upon being asked how he felt about it, Lenny Dykstra is reported to have said, "Great trade! Who'd we get?"

To me, Sosa wore out his welcome a long time ago. When there were rumors about his going to the Yankees four years ago I was hoping they were true.

Why?

Sosa is not a team player; he's for Sosa. Take a look at virtually any of his quotes and you will find that the first person pronoun is employed liberally. He costs the team more runs in baserunning blunders, poor defensive play, and silly at-bats then he provided through the long ball. Worse, he's a huge distraction in the clubhouse with his loud salsa music. So much so that when he skipped out on the last game of the season last year, one of the players, Mark Prior it is rumored, smashed his boom box to bits.

A more detailed analysis may be found at: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=1979666

Oddly enough, coupled with the loss of Moises Alou through free agency, I think the Cubs will be a better team. Of course, I realize that I have been saying that for 40 years or so. The coming of spring brings out the hopeless romantic in me.