Slammin' Sammy
I suppose it's time for me to comment on the end of the Sammy Sosa era in Chicago. First and foremost, the word that comes to mind is "sad"...sad that it had to end at all and sad that it had to end the way it did. Let's be clear here: Sammy dug his own grave by being egotistical, selfish and apparently just a plain bad dude. I loved him anyway.
And the Cubs aren't innocent in this mess. When Sammy was hitting those dingers, the cash registers at Wrigley were loudly ringing. People seem to forget that from 1992-1997, the Cubs were awful. (Yes, they've been awful for many years, but Sammy's first season with the team was in 1992.) Sammy's exploits were the only baseball-related reason to venture to Wrigley. Then in 1998, his HR battle with Mark McGwire arguably re-energized fans across the country (hell, around the world, too) about major league baseball. The Cubs won the wildcard that year, and Sammy picked up his first (and only) MVP award.
Since '98, Sammy had some great years and some not-so-great ones (hello, 2004). He "accidentally" corked his bat. He sneezed his way onto the disabled list. Most egregiously, he quit on his team the final day of last year's disappointing season. Oh, and he may have used steroids, too.
Did he have to go? Yeah, I suppose he did. What bothers me is that he was basically given away, and it's pretty distateful how the Cubs turned on what is arguably a monster of their own creation. When Sammy's ego and love of the spotlight became the show in Chicago, the Cubs enabled him, no question about it. Now that he's on the decline and made a big mistake that final day last year, it was time to ride him out of town on a rail. It doesn't seem right to me. Ego-driven rat bastard or not -- Barry Rozner of The Daily Herald actually had the balls to call Sammy "evil" on Channel 5 last night -- Sammy deserved a better ending.
When the corked bat incident went down in 2003, I caught a lot of shit from co-workers and friends about it. Sammy was my favorite Cub for a long time -- though he was taken over for good when Mark Prior made his debut in 2002 -- and I'll miss him. What a lot of people who don't live here don't realize is that there's always been a very vocal minority of Sosa haters in this town (meaning Cubs fans; Sox fans have always hated him). Even when Sammy was at his peak, this minority would mock his "beisbol been berry good to me" accent and his showboating. They'd bring up his strikeouts and say he never came through in the clutch. They ignored his walkoff HRs and occasionally brilliant defense (very occasionally brilliant, but he made his share of key defensive plays in the rare pennant races he was in). It hurts that now these ignorant idiots are happy today.
Interesting to note, too, is that the love affair between Cubs GM Jim Hendry and the Chicago media is officially over with the completion of this one-sided deal. Hendry is getting slammed in the press, and there's even suggestions that if the Cubs fail this year, both he and manager Dusty Baker could be shown the door along with Sammy. I can't even fathom that, as I trusty Dusty, and Hendry has completely changed the losing culture at Clark and Addison. The 2005 Cubs definitely have some holes--and right now, I have to admit I can't see them contending as is, though their pitching will likely keep them afloat--but I have faith. See, that's what being a Cubs fan is all about.
And the Cubs aren't innocent in this mess. When Sammy was hitting those dingers, the cash registers at Wrigley were loudly ringing. People seem to forget that from 1992-1997, the Cubs were awful. (Yes, they've been awful for many years, but Sammy's first season with the team was in 1992.) Sammy's exploits were the only baseball-related reason to venture to Wrigley. Then in 1998, his HR battle with Mark McGwire arguably re-energized fans across the country (hell, around the world, too) about major league baseball. The Cubs won the wildcard that year, and Sammy picked up his first (and only) MVP award.
Since '98, Sammy had some great years and some not-so-great ones (hello, 2004). He "accidentally" corked his bat. He sneezed his way onto the disabled list. Most egregiously, he quit on his team the final day of last year's disappointing season. Oh, and he may have used steroids, too.
Did he have to go? Yeah, I suppose he did. What bothers me is that he was basically given away, and it's pretty distateful how the Cubs turned on what is arguably a monster of their own creation. When Sammy's ego and love of the spotlight became the show in Chicago, the Cubs enabled him, no question about it. Now that he's on the decline and made a big mistake that final day last year, it was time to ride him out of town on a rail. It doesn't seem right to me. Ego-driven rat bastard or not -- Barry Rozner of The Daily Herald actually had the balls to call Sammy "evil" on Channel 5 last night -- Sammy deserved a better ending.
When the corked bat incident went down in 2003, I caught a lot of shit from co-workers and friends about it. Sammy was my favorite Cub for a long time -- though he was taken over for good when Mark Prior made his debut in 2002 -- and I'll miss him. What a lot of people who don't live here don't realize is that there's always been a very vocal minority of Sosa haters in this town (meaning Cubs fans; Sox fans have always hated him). Even when Sammy was at his peak, this minority would mock his "beisbol been berry good to me" accent and his showboating. They'd bring up his strikeouts and say he never came through in the clutch. They ignored his walkoff HRs and occasionally brilliant defense (very occasionally brilliant, but he made his share of key defensive plays in the rare pennant races he was in). It hurts that now these ignorant idiots are happy today.
Interesting to note, too, is that the love affair between Cubs GM Jim Hendry and the Chicago media is officially over with the completion of this one-sided deal. Hendry is getting slammed in the press, and there's even suggestions that if the Cubs fail this year, both he and manager Dusty Baker could be shown the door along with Sammy. I can't even fathom that, as I trusty Dusty, and Hendry has completely changed the losing culture at Clark and Addison. The 2005 Cubs definitely have some holes--and right now, I have to admit I can't see them contending as is, though their pitching will likely keep them afloat--but I have faith. See, that's what being a Cubs fan is all about.
posted by MH at
10:11 AM
2 Comments:
Hey. Is Sammy your favorite Oriole now?
By
Elbo, at 10:44 PM
As if anyone could replace Sir Sidney Ponson in my heart. Actually, it's kind of ironic that Sammy ended up in Baltimore; the O's have been my second-favorite team since 1979. I've lost some interest in them since I moved out of D.C. in '94 -- and because they've been lousy for the last 7-8 seasons -- but I will of course be following Sammy's exploits. I wish him well, but did notice he was in full disingenous mode during his press conference yesterday. He still can't admit he made mistakes.
By
MH, at 9:09 AM
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