Sosa Traded
« Next time someone says.... | Main | Evidence that Walt's worth what we pay him, and then some.... »As you've probably read elsewhere tonight, the Cubs have all but traded Sammy Sosa today to the Baltimore Orioles for Jerry Hairston Jr. (he of the .261/.334/.371 career line) and a couple of minor leaguers.
Cubs fans I've spoken with act as though it's a burden lifted off their team's shoulders -- and the bolder ones have even claimed the Central Division title already for the Cubs. Over at ESPN.com, Jayson Stark writes the along similar lines; however, he does note that the Cubs do need to do better in the outfield than Todd Hollandsworth and/or Jason Dubois. And ESPN/Chicago Tribune writer Phil Rogers boo-hooes the deal, calling it a "dump job."
In other forums, The Cub Reporter gets into some more specifics of the deal, with some commentary about what might result from it, while View From the Bleachers merely says "wait and see."
In my opinion, Sosa for Hairston obviously doesn't improve the Cubs on paper, even if they do end up acquiring an Aubrey Huff type to replace him -- Hairston just isn't that good. With several over-40 types still going strong in today's majors, who's to say Sosa is past his prime at 36? While Sosa and Dusty Baker have certainly had their troubles, thus making it perhaps a little less likely Sosa would play well as a Cub (according to many Cubs fans I've heard from, anyway), I still feel that Sosa's production with the Orioles could be good enough that the Cubs will regret this deal for years to come.
Your thoughts?
Posted by MO Boiler at January 29, 2005 09:17 PMThe thought that keeps repeating in my head is "This is not a baseball move." The Cubs were so consumed by the desire to trade Sosa, that either he's the biggest jerk on the planet or Baker/Hendry/etc. were immature in their dealings with Sosa (releasing surveillance video?) or both. The only person who comes out looking better from this whole ordeal is Barry Bonds.
I've complained that the Cardinals sometimes sanitize their news (e.g., no official notice that Simontacchi was released), but the whole Sosa saga suggests that's the best policy. I mean, Cubs fans are *relieved* over a transaction that likely made their team worse!
My other thought is that I don't want to drive up to Lafayette tomorrow to watch my alma mater get beat by a bad Purdue team, pretty much ending their NCAA chances.
Posted by: Rob at January 30, 2005 12:47 AMExactly. This just seems to be a terrible trade, and the arguments that it sure sound pretty flimsy to me.
I'm not so sure Lafayette hasn't been worth the drive for opposing fans all year. I've driven there way too much (thanks to a poor investment in season tickets), and it hasn't been worth it at all. And what is this NCAA chances thing you speak of? I haven't heard of such a thing recently.
Posted by: MO Boiler at January 30, 2005 01:16 AM"arguments that it is sound"
Posted by: MO Boiler at January 30, 2005 01:19 AMSo it was Dusty Baker or Sammy Sosa who had to go... and the Cubs picked Dusty Baker to keep. I don't get it.
Posted by: Dan at January 30, 2005 01:35 AMAs a Chicago resident and someone who crosses paths with a fair number of sportswriters and radio guys, this has always been about Sosa being the biggest jerk on the planet.
The Chicago media has despised Sammy ever since 1998 because he continuously reveals himself to be nothing but an egomaniac - the smile is there as long as the cameras are on, but as soon as they click off, watch out. It has just been over the past 2-3 years that the public has come to the same conclusion.
This was a good move for the Cubs simply because Sammy was such a cancer, but my feeling is that Baker is *almost* as much of a jerk and that people haven't been able to see it with Sosa in town.
Does the trade fix the problems the Cubs have in their outfield? Not by a longshot.
They have what may be the worst outfield in baseball.
Posted by: Sean at January 30, 2005 11:42 AMAs a Cards fan I hate to say it, but this is a good deal for the Cubs. The number one reason is that Sammy Sosa is way past his prime. Unlike Bonds, Johnson, and Clemens, Sosa's numbers have already been declining for years. Perhaps a move to a new team and eventually a spot at DH will help rejuvinate him. But, if he stayed on the cubs he would have been a whole lot of awful this year. If I were the cubs I would have traded Sosa for 5 million dollars and a bucket of baseballs.
Posted by: Bob at February 1, 2005 03:27 PM