Photo by <cleverCl@i®ê>   some rights reserved
According to ESPN, Sammy Sosa won’t be returning to the Texas Rangers in 2008 because he “wants to play — ideally in a situation where he could get 400 to 500 plate appearances.”
Sosa is 39 years old, can’t play the field, and can’t hit right-handed pitching (.222/.267/.410 in ‘07), and he wants a full-time job. I’m sorry, how does that work again?

Lost in the Roger Clemens – Brian McNamee spat that has resulted in Clemens filing suit against his former trainer is the story of the little guy. You know, the guy who never made it because he wasn’t juicing. Ex-minor-leaguer Rich Hartmann reportedly may file a class-action suit against MLB. Quoth Hartmann:
Was I cheated of my dreams of a big-league career? I don’t know. But I do know there were thousands of guys who were right on the doorstep between 1990 and 2005 and they were cheated because they didn’t use steroids.
And a little further down:
I hear these guys apologize …read more

The 2008 CHONE projections for hitters are available. Here are a few key free agents lines:

Barry Bonds: .272/.446/.558
Alex Rodriguez: .303/.420/.588
Kosuke Fukudome: .283/.373/.465
Torii Hunter: .282/.345/.491
Andruw Jones: .246/.339/.472
Mike Lowell: .283/.346/.455
Aaron Rowand: .277/.343/.443
Mike Cameron: .246/.331/.435
Mike Piazza: .260/.321/.430
Sammy Sosa: .234/.303/.418
Julio Franco: .231/.307/.324

I hope Franco keeps playing till he’s 50. Anyway, download the whole dealio and entertain yourself for hours…
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In the interest of accountability, I thought we’d start looking back at my preseason predictions. I’ll run one division a day and make a few comments where appropriate.
First off, the American League West:

Angels – They’ve won the division, as expected. The team from Anaheim still has a chance to finish with the best record in all of baseball; that’s good because I also picked the Angels to win the World Series.
Rangers – What was I thinking? Probably that their offense couldn’t be too bad in that park. Sammy Sosa is a feel-good story. Well, sort of… I guess. The rotation …read more

I have to admit, I’m not a fan of the All-Star game. That said, the notion that Sammy Sosa, a designated hitter who can’t crack an 800 OPS while playing half his games in Arlington, might make the American League squad offends me more than a little bit.
Mark Teixeira would be the obvious choice to represent the Rangers, but he’s hurt. Pitchers? Not the rotation — nobody has an ERA under 5.90. Okay, then, reward Akinori Otsuka for his fine 2006 season. Or Eric Gagne for mostly staying healthy. Or ditch the rule that says every team has to be …read more

He isn’t the player he once was, and he’ll always be remembered as a key figure during baseball’s steroid era, but the Rangers’ Sammy Sosa pounded his 600th career home run on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs, the team that made him famous. The blast came at the expense of Jason Marquis in the fifth inning of the Rangers’ 7-3 victory and puts Sosa in rare company. Only four other men — Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays — have hit more homers in MLB history.
Sosa is only a marginally effective player these days — .242/.297/.458 is …read more

Did anyone see the Mark Buehrle no-hitter coming? You, with the hand up in the back — you’re lying.
In case you missed it, Buehrle faced the minimum against Texas on Wednesday night. The only baserunner against him came on a walk to Sammy Sosa, who promptly was picked off first base.
Others will analyze this to death, I’m sure, but I would just like to point out two things:

Buehrle was knocked out of a start two weeks ago courtesy of a line drive off the bat of Cleveland’s Ryan Garko. Nice recovery, eh?
No pitcher in the American League allowed more hits …read more

Happy Friday, folks. What are we watching today? For the most part, the back end of everyone’s rotation. Hey, that can be fun.
American League

Red Sox at Rangers, 11:05 a.m. PT – Tim Wakefield gets the start for Boston. It’s always fun to watch his knuckleball flutter. Plus, someone’s got to justify Doug Mirabelli’s presence in the big leagues. Also, Sammy Sosa is back; I haven’t seen him yet — does he still have anything left?
Orioles at Yankees, 4:05 p.m. PT – Yuck, did I just recommend sitting through a Red Sox and a Yankees game? Anyway, Adam Loewen is an …read more