If Sammy Comes Back... [Archive]

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anjo25

11-05-2006, 11:45 AM

Mattingly

11-05-2006, 11:59 AM

With the Hot Stove warming up, if Sammy Sosa returns to MLB, what team do you think will still be interested in him?

MLB.com:
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061104&content_id=1733239&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
I don't see why anybody would be interested in him. After he'd declined the Orioles' $500k offer, which he'd felt was beneath him, I felt that he'd just shot himself in the foot.

While that would be insufficient to cover his regular expenses, perhaps he could've remembered that fans (of my ilk, anyway) wanted a "show me" season where he could perform reasonably well without any PEDs. It was a season I'd hoped for where, while he'd be playing at a financial sacrifice, considering he'd made $18m+ in the past, but could hope to resurrect his good name. He'd decided that money should decide this.

I didn't expect him to play for free, but if that's the determining factor, then I'm sure he'll soon figure out who will want his autograph. Had he had a .275, .800+ OPS, 20 HR, 80 RBI season, I think that would've been enough for people (at least myself) to think he's got some usefulness in him.

Definitely not "Sammy Slammy" numbers, but last I've heard, the longer you stay away, the less interest there is in you. If he again declines for 2007, then Rafael Palmeiro will have a better chance of returning in 2008 than he will.

DoubleX

11-05-2006, 12:05 PM

Didn't the Nationals make him an offer last year? If Sosa can humble himself and take a deal without much guaranteed but that is incentive laden, similar to what Frank Thomas had this year with A's, then there will probably be a few possible suitors out there for Sosa.

Lindseynelson

11-05-2006, 02:03 PM

sosa turned down 500 g's from the Nats.
I hope he has as much sense as Thomas and lets a team take a flier on him.
270-25-85 or 90 would be a nice return on your investment.

Mattingly

11-05-2006, 02:40 PM

sosa turned down 500 g's from the Nats.
I hope he has as much sense as Thomas and lets a team take a flier on him.
270-25-85 or 90 would be a nice return on your investment.
Exactly. Had he done that, he'd have possibly qualified as a "comeback player" type of thing. No guarantees he'd win the award, but it would still be a feel-good story.

I seriously doubt that people will want his autograph right now. I could be wrong, but I view him as tainted goods. Had he at least sat with the fans, signed balls, jerseys, smiled for pictures, I believe that he could at least return to some degree of popularity.

If all he sees is a humbling base salary, then he should perhaps humble himself. In the end, the fans' demand for him would keep him in the money. He may not see that right now, nor is he expected to see the money.