Knuckle Curve » sammy_sosa

Sosa Seeks More Playing Time

Geoff Young — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:53:27 +0000

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?

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Mitchell Report Aftermath: Lawsuits?

Geoff Young — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:46:02 +0000

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 to fans, but at least the fans got to see some cool stuff. They got to see tons of home runs. They got to see (Mark) McGwire and (Sammy) Sosa go at it for the season home run record in 1998. I’d love to see one of these guys apologize to the minor leaguers whose jobs they took with steroids.

I sometimes hear it said that the use of performance-enhancing drugs is a victimless crime. Not everyone has the luxury of sharing this perspective.

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It Came from CHONE!

Geoff Young — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:22:03 +0000

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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Preseason Picks Revisited: AL West

Geoff Young — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:35:57 +0000

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 is terrible; I expected better out of Kevin Millwood and Brandon McCarthy, which probably was a mistake.
A’s – How bad would they be if they hadn’t traded Mark Mulder for Danny Haren? Re-acquiring Jack Cust was a shrewd move, as was finally dumping Jason Kendall. This is a smart organization; it shouldn’t take long for them to get back on top.
Mariners – They’ll finish with a winning record, which is amazing. Steady production throughout the lineup, mediocre rotation, stellar bullpen. If Mike Hargrove hadn’t unexpectedly stepped down mid-season, I’d give him strong consideration for Manager of the Year.

I feel pretty good about the Angels and A’s picks, but totally bombed on the other two. Ah well, maybe the AL Central will be better…

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Sosa to All-Star Game?

Geoff Young — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:13:23 +0000

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 represented. Or ditch the game itself.

Ah, don’t mind me. I’m just in a cranky mood today…

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Sosa Hits #600

Geoff Young — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 13:23:28 +0000

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 nothing special (I was going to say, especially in that ballpark, but the truth is, he’s doing much better on the road this year than at home) — but that’s more than he was for the Orioles in 2005 and certainly not what I expected from a 38-year-old who had sat out an entire season.

It’s a bittersweet thing to see Sosa reach this milestone. Many of us, myself included, have fond memories of watching him and Mark McGwire chase Roger Maris’ hallowed mark of 61 home runs back in ‘98. But in light of subsequent events that have cast a long shadow over baseball, it’s a little tough to celebrate what should be a remarkable achievement. That’s a real shame for all of us.

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Buehrle Spins No-No

Geoff Young — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:17:14 +0000

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 than Buehrle did in 2006. Or 2005. In fact, Buehrle has ranked #1 or #2 on that list in each of the past four seasons.

Once again, baseball is a very strange game where strange things happen. I have no idea how Buehrle could have done this.

Oh, and congratulations.

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Five for Friday

Geoff Young — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:08:17 +0000

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 exciting young pitcher who bears watching this season. Read more about Loewen at the Baltimore Sun (with a tip o’ the cap to Anthony at Oriole Post). Mike Mussina? Dude throws a knuckle curve, ’nuff said.
Tigers at Royals, 5:10 p.m. PT – Justin Verlander gets the call for Detroit. Anytime that kid pitches, there’s a chance something special will happen. His fastball averaged a tick over 95 mph last year as a rookie (thanks to Lee at Tiger Tales for that nugget).

National League

Mets at Braves, 4:35 p.m. PT – The matchup (Oliver Perez vs Mark Redman) isn’t particularly exciting, but these NL East rivals both have won their first three games of the season. Quoth Jeff Lynne:

Save me, oh save me
It’s unreal, the suffering
There’s gonna be a Showdown

I don’t think he was talking about this game, but you get the idea.
Cubs at Brewers, 5:05 p.m. PT – Speaking of division rivals, this one should be fun. Rich Hill and Dave Bush hook up in Milwaukee. Here are two starting pitchers that don’t necessarily get as much attention as they should. Hill has been a prospect forever, but finally appears to be on the verge of figuring out how to translate minor-league success into big-league staying power. Bush, meanwhile, posted numbers in his first full season that on first glance aren’t special: 12-11 record, 4.41 ERA. But the guy allowed fewer hits than innings pitched, and flashed a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 4-to-1. Bush is just 27 years old and, like Hill, a great candidate to break out in 2007. If you can watch only one game today, make it this one.

Me? I’ll be out at the Padres home opener here in San Diego. I plan to take many photos. You have been warned…

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