Cubs to trade Sosa to Baltimore

[Cush]

per ESPN News

[WindRavenX]

1. holy shit

Baltimore is getting extremely strong...

[kanrok]

2. Sammy's a douchebag

good riddance.

[Huckebein the Raven]

3. What are they getting in return ?

[Mojambo]

5. It looks like 2B Jerry Hairston (who is not bad)

and 2 prospects. The Orioles have a couple of pretty damn good minor league arms. Rumor has that one of the pitchers is former Oriole closer Jorge Julio.

This whole deal hinges on how much of Sosa's salary the Cubs are picking up. The fact that the Orioles aren't on the hook for more than this year makes it a pretty good deal for them.

(on edit - It looks like he will likely still be in Baltimore in 2006, but at a smaller salary figure...)

[Sandpiper]

4. Good move for Sammy

He's strictly DH material at this point.

[hootinholler]

9. Good move for the O's

They need the extra draw with DC opening this year.

-Hoot

[WMliberal]

6. and good riddance.

I don't know what the hell happened with him the last two years. He stopped giving a shit about the team as soon as he got his $16 million a year contract.

At least now we have an open outfield spot (hopefully to be filled by a lefty... gawd we need some left handed bats on the team) and $16 million per year to play around with. Maybe we'll sign some decent relievers while we're at it.

[jbane]

7. Why is CNN SI not carrying this?

Is anybody else reporting it. If it's true that would be interesting. Sammy could put a lot of balls out of Camden Yards.

[saltpoint]

8. If you're 9 years old in Chicagoland tonight, you're going to --

-- wake up to sad, sad news.

9 years old in Baltimore and you lunge for the calendar to see when Spring Training begins.

[kanrok]

10. If you're 9 years old in Chicago

and you'll miss Sammy Sosa, your dad has not done his job. Sammy is a douchebag. He abandoned his team. Good f-in riddance.

[saltpoint]

11. Kanrok, you might be big enough to call Sosa a douchebag --

-- but I don't think I would myself.

Also I don't think I'd want to pitch to the man.

[kanrok]

14. Anybody who walks out on his team is a douchebag

doesn't matter what his batting average is. Sammy is a douchebag.

[saltpoint]

15. Well, you'll make a splendid impression on your 9-year old son --

-- by calling Sosa a douchebag.

Excellent parenting.

[kanrok]

31. Brilliant comeback

You must be a genius. Or something that nearly rhymes with "genius."

[mr_hat]

35. Serious? Furious? Um... Penious?

[WilliamPitt]

19. He hit like .230 this year

So...

[saltpoint]

20. So if you want to call the man a douchebag, do it.

I wouldn't think that's an entirely civil response to a lifelong athlete, whether he's at .230 or .330.

I reassert my notion that an adult who urges a 9-year old to call his baseball hero a douchebag is not acting in the best interests of the child.

Your supporting that action based on a batting average?

[WilliamPitt]

21. I'm not calling anyone a douchebag

I am responding to "Also I don't think I'd want to pitch to the man."

If I were a big-league pitcher, and Sammy was mired in a .230 slump, I'd pitch to him all week long. Just saying. Homeboy had a bad year. A change of scene might do him good.

[saltpoint]

25. Will. Focus a little, ok? The scenario did not involve --

-- anyone imagining to be a big league pitcher. I posited that a 9-year old who loved Sosa and woke to his being traded to the Orioles would be crushed.

And that a 9-year old in Baltimore would be delighted to have a new slugger in the line-up.

In the process you decide the man's batting average means you would pitch to him if you were a big league pitcher?

Really, you need to follow the trajectory of the thread.

My principal objection to an adult urging a child to call a likely future hall-of-famer a douchebag has to do with its being bad form.

That was our thesis.

[WilliamPitt]

27. LOL

I followed the trajectory of the thread by cutting and pasting your own words into my post and then directly responding to them. My bad. Or something. pzzzzzzz

[saltpoint]

28. Not your "bad." Your ego.

We've met before in real time.

You're as haughty here as there.

Keep workin' it.

[WilliamPitt]

29. I'm sorry. You're right. Sammy Sosa is not a douchebag.

You win. Or something.

I'm actually laughing right now, in fact. Anyone who views the world around them as 'real time' is someone who seems to have a good bead on things. Right?

"We've met before in real time."

Is your name Riddick?

Funny shit. Thanks.

[JohnKleeb]

23. .252 actually but your point is seen

I would have prefered to see the Orioles get Delgado who is younger and I think the better player, or a pitcher.

[WilliamPitt]

24. Like I said above

the change might do him good. See: Roger Clemens.

The again, if he is in fact a 'roid monster, his diminished performance might be due to the fact that he's weaning himself off the juice because of the new rules and scrutiny. Further, if he gets Balco'ed, it'll be a huge black eye for the Orioles.

Cross your fingers.

[JohnKleeb]

34. I thought the orioles needed to get pitching first and foremost

Yeah, it did help Clemens.

[aldian159]

36. Agreed.

100 Percent.

[HuckleB]

33. No, on both accounts.

Well, unless those nine-year-olds in Baltimore are still following the false hopes of big money spent on has-beens who never have hit in clutch situations.

Sosa's done. The Cubs know it. The only thing this will do for Baltimore is fill a few seats -- until the fans figure out that he's a liability, that is.

[Osamasux]

12. Oh, thank god somebody took him.

Omar Minaya kept threatening to bring him to the Mets. Sammy Sux.

[xray s]

13. Hendry is denying this story...

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20050128&content_id=936733&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp

01/28/2005 11:22 PM ET
Cubs GM denies Sosa trade rumor
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com


CHICAGO -- As of now, the Cubs still expect Sammy Sosa to be their right fielder. That could change.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry denied a report that Sosa was to be traded to the Baltimore Orioles. However, the Cubs did have serious discussions with a few teams on Friday regarding Sosa.

"There's no deal in place," Hendry said Friday night when asked about a WGN Radio report that the Cubs were to trade Sosa to the Orioles.

[saltpoint]

16. Maybe there is no deal to send Sosa to the Orioles --

-- but maybe they found some weapons of mass destruction in Hendry's office.

It's hard to know who's telling the truth anymore.

[xray s]

17. or maybe Hendry wanted to keep this quiet and Sosa is screwing him

Hendry is famous for putting multilevel deals together. Maybe letting the cat out of the bag early is Sosa's revenge.

[saltpoint]

18. Very possibly. There are probably a lot of cat-and-mouse --

-- games going on we don't always hear about.

For some reason I was just thinking about the natural grass and smaller retro-stadiums in Chicago and Baltimore both.

Have been to Wrigley for a couple games but haven't been to Camden yet. I'd like to get up there this summer.

[JohnKleeb]

22. Fuck yeah!

Holy crap though.

[tcfrogs]

26. Sosa is all yours, Kleeb

Without the steroids, he's been fragile and even more of a prima-donna the past year or so. Good luck getting him healthy for a full year, and even if you do, his skills have deteriorated to the point that you'll be lucky to get 30 HR out of him.

Bookmark this post - Sosa is nearly done and the Cubs will be grateful to be rid of him.

[Sandpiper]

30. It's been all down hill since he was exposed

As a cheating bat corker.

[HuckleB]

32. It looks like the deal has gone through. Bye, bye Sammy.

Thanks for the memories, but, let's face it, you don't hit when it counts. Heck, you don't hit much anymore at all.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20050129&content_id=936745&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp