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Trade Bait – Sammy Sosa
No longer will Cubs fans see one of the faces of their organization in a Cub uniform again. No longer will they see the towering home runs, the famous home run hop after it is hit, the famous gesture to the camera after the home run trot is complete. Yes, Sammy Sosa is gone, traded to Baltimore for Jerry Hairston Jr. and two prospects.
Sammy’s exploits of last year detached him from the team so much that he needed to be traded. From the corked bat, to a sneezing injury, to his leaving before the last game of the season ended, Sammy drew the ire of his fellow teammates and some of the Chicago fans.
Now he will reside in Baltimore where he should enjoy the tight confines of Camden Yards and mix in with fellow Latino stars in Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez, and Rafael Palmiero. Not only should this be good for the Baltimore offense, it is hoped that it will be good for their sagging attendance as well.
In return, the Cubs received a speedy utility player in Hairston, a second base prospect Mike Fontenot, and a pitching prospect in David Crouthers. This was clearly a marginal salary dump as they will pay for about half of Sosa’s remaining year and buyout option, but they did receive some decent players in return. How GM Jim Hendry uses those players is yet to be seen as the team has a good 2nd base prospect in Richard Lewis already and David Crouthers is only viewed as a swingman at best and is unlikely to gain a spot on a veteran staff.
Jerry Hairston doesn’t completely have a position either as Todd Walker has his traditional spot at second and Todd Hollandsworth would not like to move from 4th outfielder to 5th. How he plays into the lineup will be interesting. Jerry has improved his on-base percentage each of the last four years to .378 last year, very good for a leadoff type hitter. It is most likely that he will spell Todd Walker against lefties, be a defensive replacement and see some time in leftfield as well. The Cubs may have the sparkplug leadoff hitter that they’ve been missing since Eric Young’s heyday.
The main question that remains is, “How will they replace Sosa’s bat?” There is talk that the Cubs have a deal in place with Jeremy Burnitz, but it is doubtful that he can stand up to the task after leaving the thin Colorado air. What may be more interesting is the possibility of the Cubs getting into a bidding war with the Tigers on another Chicago star in Magglio Ordonez.
As for how the GM’s prevailed, the Orioles GM Jim Beattie received an attendance booster, but still hasn’t improved the pitching staff which should have been the center of all off season moves this winter. He now has an aging outfielder that is on the decline and less money to spend on a pitcher if Sosa’s contract is extended for two years as rumored.
Jim Hendry on the other hand, not only removed a supposed clubhouse virus, he also gained payroll flexibility and marginal prospects. The lateness of this transaction limits what the Cubs can do for a quality replacement though. How he spins the players that he received back into his team directly or indirectly should be interesting to watch.
Hopefully this trade will make Sammy happy enough to say that “Baseball been berry berry gud to me,” again.
