A cold look at Sammy Sosa
Let’s try to look this as disapassionately as possible. The good and the bad with Sammy Sosa:
The Good
* The Rangers could use a big bat behind Mark Teixeira in the lineup. That’s why they pursued Mike Piazza earlier this winter.
* Sosa is 38 years old and was once a premier power hitter deluxe. He should not be over-the-hill. The Oakland Athletics made the playoffs last year because of a resounding comeback by Frank Thomas.
* In 2004, Sosa hit 35 home runs with 80 RBI. Those numbers would be worth the investment. Teixeira is the only Ranger right now who has hit that many in a season.
* He is highly motivated reach at least 600 home runs and restore the luster of his Hall of Fame legacy. One Rangers official said Sosa wants to reach 700 home runs.
* Let’s just say that a big year in 2007 under the current climate of strict drug testing would help remove the taint of any suspicions that may or may not cling to past accomplishments.
The bad
* He hit .221 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI in 102 games and 380 at-bats for the Baltimore Orioles in 2005. He had a .376 slugging percentage. He did not play at all in 2006.
* The Rangers have a new manager in Ron Washington. This is his first Major League managerial job. Handing him Sammy Sosa is not going to make it easier.
* Sosa is strictly a DH. He can not play the field on a regular basis. This is going to take away playing and development time away from Nelson Cruz, Jason Botts and Victor Diaz.
* The same issues that Sosa has had with previous managers – Dusty Baker, Don Baylor – resurface again in Texas. If he is "humble," it’s a recent development.
* Let’s just say there are still a lot of people out there investigating what went on in baseball over the past 10-20 years and it’s probably safe to say that not everything has been uncovered that’s going to be uncovered.
Scenarios
* Sosa goes to Surprise, can’t hit worth a lick and is let go. No harm, no foul.
* Sosa comes to Spring Training, hammers the ball all over the desert, wins American League Comeback of the Year and the Rangers win the pennant. GM renames his child, Sammy Daniels.
* Sosa wins a job in Spring Training and is the Rangers designated hitter. Brad Wilkerson is traded at the end of Spring. Frank Catalanotto plays left, Cruz plays right and Botts makes the team as an extra bat. That might be the best fit for the roster.
* Sosa has a big Spring and then goes into decline the way Phil Nevin did last year, taking away at-bats from others who could really use them.
* The circus comes to town. Enough said.
T.R. Sullivan
Toby
The biggest hurdle to putting him on the team is how he fits in the clubhouse even if he can still hit. He has all the incentive he needs as TR pointed out. However, the press gets to add a ring to the circus that was only starring TO before. Just what we need a year round sports circus.
Scenario: Rangers give up on Diaz and Botts…Cruz plays “bench city” and the Rangers come in third in the division because of a lack of pitching. Little Jon…thanks for bringing Sammy on board! Once again a Rangers general manager looks in the wrong place for the “get out of 3rd place” card
Thanks for breaking this down for us. I really think this is a no-brainer. This is a VERY low risk proposition and could pay huge dividends, much like Frank Thomas as you mentioned. I think the fact that Sosa didn’t play last year humbled him and he is ready to come in and earn his way back. He cares what people think about him and that could be very good with a player of that age that needs to have something to prove.
What the heck. No harm in finding out if he can still play. Unfair statement to Daniels that he is looking in the wrong place. He had to re-sign Padilla, and he did trade for McCarthy a SP. Talked with Zito and Mulder. May still make a trade.
check out:
Baseball Talk With The Big Dog
http://www.tradewars.mlblogs.com
why take the chance on sammy,when there are other options that seem like a better fit for the rangers,such as steve finley,the guy had 12 triples last year
I think its worth a try. The A’s won out with Frank and his incentives. Plus, Nelson Cruz isn’t going anywhere. He’s got too much potential. If Sammy has a comeback year as DH this could work. Plus, when he does play outfield I’m sure he’ll hussle a whole lot more than Carlos Lee ever did and he’ll be a cheap investment.
The way I look at it is that we have the best hitting coach in the game. If Sosa has anything left then its going to come out in Texas under Rudy. This is a positive thing for the club because it creates competition. If the young guys want a spot on the team then they have to earn it. Nothing should be given to them. If it looks like we hare jammed with to many OFs then trade one and get depth in another position.
Stop!!
This making me sick!
The best hitting coach in baseball did nothing for Hidalgo, Jordan, Galarraga, Caminiti, Everett, Fullmer and every other over-the-hill clown brought in the past six years.
He also couldn’t keep Juan Gonzalez in the lineup in his second go-around with the Rangers.
How many “ifs” does it take for a team to be good? If Blalock and Wilkerson come back from surgery, if Lofton hasn’t lost a step, if Gagne is over his injuries, if Byrd can regain his stroke, if Jerry Hairston Jr. can play, if Sammy Sosa can still hit…
Too many ifs and too few givens.
This is how Hicks got into trouble in 2001-02, banking on guys who no longer could do the job.
Stop saying IF!!! Go with young players. Say no to Sammy
Just say no
Sosa also had injury problems (staph infection and a abcessed toe) in 2005, which both limited his production and eliminated his playing time during a month stretch in late April and early May. He was on the DL again in August, which ended his season and career with Baltimore. Thomas had a similar year in 2005 to that of Sosa and came back to hit 39 homers and drive in a 100+ runs in 2006. Similar production by Sosa in 2007 would mean a vastly improved Rangers team.
Nothing in baseball is a guarantee. If you let the young guys play then you still have a lot of IFs. The deals made for the offseason with Gagne and Sosa are low risk deals. Say Gagne fails then you still have Aki to close. There is probably a 50% chance that Sosa doesnt make the club. There is nothing wrong with competition. It gets the young guys to take their game up a notch.
Last year’s Cardinal’s took an outrageous risk on Weaver who had been cut and ****** all year until he became the hero of October. Right scenario, right clubhouse, right management and you never know what can happen. If Sammy Sosa is in shape (good judges say yes) and if he has the right mental attitude (again, circumstances and incentives lean toward affirmative) AND Sosa himself has a vested interest in restoring his legacy in the game, then we have NOTHING to lose with this.
I have no comment for the Nevin comparison. Nevin was the booby prize in the get “Chan Ho **** the Heck out of Arlington” Sweepstakes we played and I don’t think there is a Ranger fan who would take it back.
Gagne: Great risk, especially with resigning Otsuka
Lofton: Awesome 1-year signing before next year CF-free agent extravaganza
Byrd: Regain stroke? Byrd never had a stroke, but he has a very good glove and will do fine once every other week giving guys a day off and batting ninth.
Hairston: A perrenial 4th infielder that manages to find a way to get into lineups by hook and by crook. Pretty good glove and basestealer. Nice cheap insurance.
Cruz, Blalock and Wilkerson: All upside. Without Cruz, Blalock at 75% and Wilkerson at 50% or below, the Rangers almost went .500.
Without going on a Yankees-esque spendind spree, we have a Monster if just a few pieces fall into place…I say Bravo, Mr. Daniels, Bravo!!!
Competition is good for some players, but frankly Botts has nothing more to prove in the minors. If he doesn’t make the big league team then what do we do with him? We have a young gun like Nate Gold on his way up the ladder as well. What are going to do then? Lets go out and get Julio Franco again. He should be 50 by then, and should fit right in with the rangers philosophy.
Frankly, I’ve been a ranger fan since as long as I can remember loving the greatest game on earth. The rangers have never competed over a long sustained period of time, with maybe the exception of the late 90′s, but we still have never won a playoff series. To get to my point, I like what JD is doing this offseason. He is putting together a pitching staff for a long period of time while still being able to develop our homegrown kids. I see alot of talent in the minors like Mayberry, Arias, Gold, this new Stewart catcher, and others offensively. Then we still have alot of young pitchers. We have a chance to compete for a long period of time, but I still fear picking up Sosa stunts someones growth. Many players need a vote of confidence, so they can go play without extra pressures on them. For someone young, that is important because they tend to push a little too much.
Anyways, good luck to Sammy, if you bring us a playoff series victory, I’m all for it, yet only if it doesn’t cost us the ability to compete for years to come……………………
……….AND SIGN TEX AND YOUNG.
T.R.’s scenarios strike me for this reason. If he is motivated (either for personal glory and moving up the homer list, OR more noble-like to re-establish himself and help his team win) then we have a potential ace-in-the hole signing by J.D. I think it is a low-risk, calculated move to catch lightning in a bottle, and I think we might have. If he stinks up Suprise, well, we have lost nothing. A great deal in my estimation. If Botts and Cruz can watch a veteran climbing back to the top of his game again, watch out-Botts and Cruz can have someone to point to and learn from, someone with a pedigree. I don’t want to give Sosa that much credit–I just hope J.D. offered him an incentive-laden contract because he saw a spark of past greatness or maybe it was just a mirage-we’ll know soon enough. Either way, this is very low risk which does NOT have to affect Botts or Cruz’s playing time–IF done right. Are you listening or reading Ron? Hope so…….Like my point in the preceding blog, we’ve tried to sign “has-beens” like Galarraga, Camaniti, and Hidalgo, and it went over like an iron baloon. I for some reason feel this is different, even if Sosa is motivated by his personal statistics, so what? He’ll help Tex, and perhaps be the next Frank Thomas. In a perfect world, of course.
I’m sick of hearing all those people like pantherparent08. I don’t want to hear all the negativity of the IF’s. EVERY TEAM HAS IFS. No I didn’t say most teams. EVERY team including the Yanks, Cards, BoSox and yes even the Tigers. Go ahead go count the ifs the Tigers had to start 06. I like the Sammy Signing! It brings him back full circle and allows him to prove himself again while helping Teixiera set career numbers and leading us to a championship. We have arguably THE best infield in the major leagues. We have an ok OF with tons of upside and our best pitching staff to start the year that I can remember. There are plenty of reasons to be exited about the upcoming year. For those pessimists out there try this: Compare our team to those in our division! Go ahead every position right down to the bench. You’ll find that on paper we will be very competitive and will have every opportunity to win this year and beyond. Sure Sammy may not come back and hit 60, but what if he hits 25 and helps Tex hit 50? It could happen look at Tex’s numbers after Lee came on board compared to pre-Lee times. One slugger can make others better. As for Botts I like the kid. If he can’t catch on with this club this year then maybe next will be better or if Sammy comes out and tears up spring training maybe he’ll be someone we can use to go get that 5th starter many of you are worried about. Remember Travis Hafner? I still like the idea of going after Petit from Florida. Go JD you are doing a fine job. Bring on baseball!!
Well said Rangerfan19! No signings can guarantee success, but good guesses can be made. JD has assembled a team, that admittedly, does have some ‘If’s’ in it, but heck, every team in baseball has that! Finally our pitching is looking competitive, with work still to be done. The infield is very strong, and at least with Sosa, we have added to the options at DH/Outfield. My only concern with Sosa is with his attitude and the affect this has on the Wash. Wash seems to be a strong enough character, but could Sosa be an unwanted distraction in his first managerial season? Has Sosa moved on from his egocentric days, or not? The self centred , conceited player who allegedly controlled the dressing room with his pre & post game antics. I just hope he has grown up and he leaves that famous ghetto blaster in the Dominican Republic! IMHO its worth the gamble though. Well done again JD.
I’ll remind you last two “guys” that everyone is entitled to their opinion and they don’t need to be called out because they exercise it. I thought we were here to talk about baseball.
So far the only thing that intrigues me about this move is Rudy’s (and subsequently other Rangers’) enthusiasm for it.
Even if Sammy is “back”, I feel sick at the fact that we are looking the other way at his 2 past apparent forms of cheating.
Despite my greater enthusiasm for Cruz, Diaz, Botts, Byrd, and even Kata, I’d be much more enthused about Sammy if he’d say something like:
“I’ve cheated in the past. I plan to be an honest hitter. Furthermore, I’m after OPS for the sake of my new team, more than 12 more homers for my own sake.”
Here’s hopin’
Scenarios
* Sosa goes to Surprise, can’t hit worth a lick and is let go. No harm, no foul.
Lets hope so!
* Sosa comes to Spring Training, hammers the ball all over the desert, wins American League Comeback of the Year and the Rangers win the pennant. GM renames his child, Sammy Daniels.
Not without his steroids and corked bats!
* Sosa wins a job in Spring Training and is the Rangers designated hitter. Brad Wilkerson is traded at the end of Spring. Frank Catalanotto plays left, Cruz plays right and Botts makes the team as an extra bat. That might be the best fit for the roster.
The best fit would be for him to have never showed up to Spring Training. He’s a one dimensional player who doesn’t do that one dimension well anymore. I’d much rather have the versatile Wilkerson on the roster playing LF than Sosa.
* Sosa has a big Spring and then goes into decline the way Phil Nevin did last year, taking away at-bats from others who could really use them.
Exactly what will happen if the Rangers put him on the 40 man. Not to mention we will end up losing someone (probably youth) who gets taken off the roster.
* The circus comes to town. Enough said.
It already has and the ringmaster’s name is Jon Daniels. Sammy Sosa is the star of the freakshow!
*First let me address the “humbled” comments. He will lose that humble approach once he makes a MLB team. He will then become “entitled” again.
*Secondly, he will unfairly be given the benefit of the doubt over the younger guys because of his past cheating days.
*Third, there was nothing unfair about the Daniels comment. He kicked tires on pitchers but didn’t come through on any but the guy who stated all along he wanted to pitch in Texas.
*Why would you sign Steve Finley? Guzman could put up the numbers (other than power) that he’s supplying.
*I agree about quit calling Jaramillo the best hitting coach. Texas hitters have empty numbers and other than Young, hardly ever hit in the clutch and don’t execute fundamentals other than Young and Laird.
*The Gagne deal wasn’t low risk. That money along with the Cat money could have gone to another good starter eliminating the need to trade Danks and Masset for another Chris Young, who coincidentally Daniels got rid of. They’ve also alienated Otsuka!
*I would take back the Chan Ho for Nevin trade. I will take a starting pitcher with a high 4 low 5 ERA in Texas over the worthless Nevin any day! Botts should have been the full time DH over Nevin last season and there wouldn’t be a question there this season.
*What’s the talk about developing young pitchers. He let at least two go at the end of last season in meaningless trades, traded two of our top 5 minor league pitchers this offseason and just traded another with potential for ANOTHER catcher. We’ve signed, converted and drafted so many catchers here recently that someone isn’t doing their job if we have to waste a young pitcher on another. We could have gotten another non-roster invitee with that guy’s stats.
*I don’t want Botts and Cruz looking up to a selfish, cheating prima donna like Sosa. Let Botts look up to Tex and Cruz can look up to Lofton.
*Show me stats that we have the best infield. I would take A-Rod, Jeter, Cano and whatever player thrown in at first for the Yankees than ours. I like our infield and it is one of the tops but I’m tired of hometown fans who subjectively throw out the biased opinion that ours is best.
*Since I don’t post here very often and seem very critical, let me get it clear that I am a huge Ranger fan. I’m just tired of these bonehead moves that hold my hometown team back year after year. The downfall started when the best Ranger GM in recent times was let go (Doug Melvin) because Tom Hicks is the most easily influenced owner in pro sports. If he would have left Melvin to do his job, the Rangers would be in a better position year in and year out.
not the best Infield? Let’s compare the Yanks who you would take. Fricking Yanks. 3b Ok ARod is better than Hank. Although with a good shoulder Hanks 3b defense is very good and his offense should improve. SS No way could you go with Jeter over Young. NO WAY! Young has more hits, is younger and is just as clutch if not more so than Jeter. 2b Cano vs Kinsler this is not just an over exaggerated fan putting in his bias. Kinsler has better power and speed his defense is just fine. It’s close but I’d take Kinsler and his promise of better days ahead. and Tex at 1b is a Shoe in favorite over anyone the Yanks can put at 1st. GG and silver slugger are you kidding me? so even if you go with Cano over Kinsler. That is 2 for the yanks and 2 for Texas with Tex putting us over the top with his sheer numbers both offensive and defensive. Not enough for you to give Texas the edge? Very well compare the salaries. The point is we have a good team gentlemen let’s not focus on the negatives of the ifs and instead focus on the promise of a good competitive year!
I’m going to keep this short. I don’t like the Sosa signing. I think it’s a mistake. That said, I hope he hits 30 homers and makes me eat my words, but I doubt it.
He’s got more Phil Nevin in him, I’m afraid, than he does Frank Thomas.
We DO NOT have a good team – because we DO NOT have good starting pitching!
rangerfan19… “and our best pitching staff to start the year that I can remember”????
First, even if that were true, it’s not saying much, but more importantly – it’s not true. Millwood and Padilla are AT BEST average #2 starters, evidenced by their 4.50 ERAs and combined 2 CGs. The bottom 3 are each a complete **** shoot – and based on consistent Ranger history, not one of them will amount to much, although, as with every winter, I hope they make me eat my words.
Little Jon failed us again. He went shopping for a muscle car for the mound, and came back with a Honda Insight and two mopeds. I agree with mark – please bring Doung Melvin back.
Sammy is a great signing, though. If he has a chance to produce anywhere – it’s here. There is no downside – if he produces, he’s worth the circus (which won’t scratch TO level). If he doesn’t – see ‘ya. If he does, he will make Tex better and Blalock and the whole lineup. And with Tex, Young and hopefully Blalock entering the priime of their career, we better win soon.
Which leads me to the one thing I most agree with rangers19 on – our only hope for optimism this season is that the AL West is always up for grabs. Which is a blessing and a curse.
Blessing because it keeps us fans hopeful through August. A curse because it also keeps Hicks overly optimistic. And he’s the real problem. He’s held on to departing free agents in seasons where were close enough to keep selling seats into August and September at the expense of letting the walk in the winter with no return value to us. How else could we have 4 times more league MVPs than playoff game victories in his tenure.
Imagine where we’d be today if we had gotten something, anything – even propects – in return for Pudge, Rogers, GMJ, DeRosa, and more.
Instead, I could field a roster of recent former Rangers that would cream our current team. That’s bad management and bad ownership.
And that’s why, while I’m a huge fan who hopes for the year God Himself intervenes to deliver a championship season that proves me wrong (which is probably the only way it will happen), the Rangers will continue to break our hearts every Fall and never truly contend.
ok dnewsome you said you didn’t agree that this was our best pitching staff as of recent memory to start the year but you failed to back that up with a rotation that we had…..Millwood will be fine. Padilla will be fine. McCarthy may take a few lumps but over the course of the year will prove to be good. Tejada (see McCarthy) and the 5th? I like Eric Hurley over everyone else. That is a pretty solid rotation. Yes it’s not one that will terrify teams but it will keep us in games and our bullpen will keep the leads our offense will give us. We can certainly beat Seattle. I feel we can beat Oakland (Harden will get injured again leaving only Blanton to worry about). And Aneheim? Here is the strategy that will work to beat them EVERY time. Walk Vladdy. Dont pitch carefully to him he’ll go out and get it we’re talking intentionally walk him. No one else can beat us on that team. So do we all have reason for optimism? ABSOLUTELY! Shall we crack the champagne corks for the division title? No but we may be able to do that at the end of the season. We have a good shot to do it. One note I read a prospect book written by a scout last year he had Eric Hurley listed right behind Phil Hughes in the SP top 50 and quite a ways ahead of Danks and Diamond. This year the book hasn’t been prited yet but the top 50 list has and Hurley again is rated higher than Danks and Diamond. It’s not just hype from us rangerfans trying to find anyone in our system we can consider a good prospect this kid has gone mostly unnoticed until the Danks trade so he hasn’t had a lot of hype. We’ll see this year now that he is veiwed heavily as the #1 pitching prospect on our farm but I think he’ll be just fine. Here is to hopeing he wins the #5 slot and giving a nice bookend on our rotation.
ok dnewsome you said you didn’t agree that this was our best pitching staff as of recent memory to start the year but you failed to back that up with a rotation that we had…..Millwood will be fine. Padilla will be fine. McCarthy may take a few lumps but over the course of the year will prove to be good. Tejada (see McCarthy) and the 5th? I like Eric Hurley over everyone else. That is a pretty solid rotation. Yes it’s not one that will terrify teams but it will keep us in games and our bullpen will keep the leads our offense will give us. We can certainly beat Seattle. I feel we can beat Oakland (Harden will get injured again leaving only Blanton to worry about). And Aneheim? Here is the strategy that will work to beat them EVERY time. Walk Vladdy. Dont pitch carefully to him he’ll go out and get it we’re talking intentionally walk him. No one else can beat us on that team. So do we all have reason for optimism? ABSOLUTELY! Shall we crack the champagne corks for the division title? No but we may be able to do that at the end of the season. We have a good shot to do it. One note I read a prospect book written by a scout last year he had Eric Hurley listed right behind Phil Hughes in the SP top 50 and quite a ways ahead of Danks and Diamond. This year the book hasn’t been prited yet but the top 50 list has and Hurley again is rated higher than Danks and Diamond. It’s not just hype from us rangerfans trying to find anyone in our system we can consider a good prospect this kid has gone mostly unnoticed until the Danks trade so he hasn’t had a lot of hype. We’ll see this year now that he is veiwed heavily as the #1 pitching prospect on our farm but I think he’ll be just fine. Here is to hopeing he wins the #5 slot and giving a nice bookend on our rotation.
@rangerfan19- Defensively Tex was well above the Yankee First Basemen. But offensively, Giambi wasn’t as far off as the divide between PayRod and Blalock.
Giambi who played 1b/DH (.253/37/113) Tex (.282/33/110)
3B- PayRod (.290/35/121) Blalock (.266/16/89)
2B- Cano (.342/15/78) Kinsler (.285/14/55)
ss- Jeter (.343/14/97) Young (.314/14/103)
Numbers don’t lie or get biasly influenced! You play the “should improve” game with Blalock even though his numbers have declined each year. I think if you look at the SS numbers, I’d take either one. Young is just your hometown hero. I don’t believe you did your homework on 2B but I consider that a wash too because I like Kinsler probably as much as you do. Since the comparisons of talent truly didn’t slant your way, you had to bring up salaries. Problem is, the topic was about talent not salaries. It is not the player’s fault that they have an owner who will pay his players for the opportunity to win instead of getting rid of them before they cost the organization too much. Or, in our poor management’s case, let them walk with no compensation. Quit looking through the rose colored glasses and evaluate the Rangers objectively like you would do every other team.
I think our rotation is just below the playoff rotations we had and is in better shape than it’s been in for a while. If Tejeda and McCarthy prove themselves, i’ll put it up there with the playoff teams because they were nothing more than steady innings eaters, not really dominant.