Anyone heard anything?
Jman what do you think of Sosa these days? I'm just worried with the tougher steroid testing a lot of his homeruns from days past will just be long fly balls now. Warning track type of power.
Orioles are a strange team, it seems they don't mind spending they just spend in all the wrong places. I grew up watching this team, always been my favorite but they are in a tough division and got a lot of holes right now. I don't follow them closely these days but I hate this deal if the post is right about what players they are going to lose, LOL. I would guess the Cubs are going to pay most his salary.
Orioles are a strange team, it seems they don't mind spending they just spend in all the wrong places. I grew up watching this team, always been my favorite but they are in a tough division and got a lot of holes right now. I don't follow them closely these days but I hate this deal if the post is right about what players they are going to lose, LOL. I would guess the Cubs are going to pay most his salary.
Patrick McIrish said:
Horrible deal for Baltimore, why would they spend this kind of money on a guy coming off the juice? His homeruns were way down, anyone could see he was nothing off the juice, balls landing in the net at Wrigley...
I have no idea what the Orioles are thinking here...One thing they may be thinking is a team 40 minutes away called the Washington Nationals, they now must share the D.C. & Va. audience with...Sosa is a big name draw but his 40-50-60 homreun days are over....
Best case scenario Sosa hits 30 and drives in 100 , but I doubt it...they NEED PITCHING!:nono5:
Anyone know who else is involved in the trade besides Hariston? It says Julio was part of the deal, but Harold Reynolds just said that he is not involved in the trade. I know a lot of people will think that this is a poor trade for the Orioles but I think Sosa is worth the gamble. The major piece, besides a marquee pitcher, that the Orioles need is a power hitting outfielder. Everyone said that they need pitching, but I think that the pitching staff will be much improved from last year. Ever since Ray Miller became the pitching coach the Orioles pitchers have been a lot more successful.
01-28) 19:39 PST NEW YORK (AP) --
The Chicago Cubs were close to agreement on a trade to send unhappy slugger Sammy Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles, several high-ranking baseball officials told The Associated Press.
Medical tests and approval from commissioner Bud Selig and the players' association remain unresolved, the officials said Friday night, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Cubs would pay a substantial part of Sosa's $17 million salary this season, the executives said. Sosa would agree to void his salary in 2006, they also said.
In exchange, Chicago would receive second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. and at least two prospects.
Sosa's contract gives the Cubs an $18 million option in 2006 with a $4.5 million buyout. But the contract says that if he is traded, his 2006 salary would become guaranteed and a 2007 club option would be added at $19 million with a $4.5 million buyout.
The players' association had told Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, several weeks ago that voiding the option would not be a problem.
The teams had not finalized a deal, all the executives said. Selig's approval is necessary because the trade would involve the transfer of $1 million or more.
Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie and vice president Mike Flanagan could not be reached for comment. Cubs spokesman Sharon Panazzo also could not be reached for comment and Katz declined to comment.
The Cubs have been looking for a taker for Sosa since the end of the season, when he skipped out on the finale at Wrigley Field. Sosa initially claimed he didn't leave until the seventh inning, but the Cubs produced videotapes showing him leaving shortly after the game began and fined him $87,500 -- one day's salary.
The New York Mets were initially thought to be the best bet because general manager Omar Minaya signed Sosa when he was a teenager in the Dominican Republic. But the Mets won the bidding for Carlos Beltran two weeks ago, and two Mets officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said they were not involved with Sosa trade talks this week.
The Orioles' interest apparently heated up after they lost out on Carlos Delgado earlier this week. Baltimore offered Delgado $48 million over four years, but the slugger took a $52 million, four-year deal from the Florida Marlins instead.
Sosa has 574 home runs, seventh on the career list, and his home run race with Mark McGwire in 1998 made him one of the game's most popular players. With an infectious smile, home run hops and heart taps, he became Chicago's favorite athlete after Michael Jordan retired. In all those dark years when the Cubs struggled, Sosa and his jaw-dropping homers were the lone bright spots.
But Sosa's relations with the Cubs -- and the fans -- soured in recent years. Hampered by injuries, he's batted just .266 the last two seasons and his homer totals have dropped. Last season, Sosa batted only .253 -- his lowest average since 1997 -- and hit 35 homers and 80 RBIs in 126 games, ending his run of 100-RBI seasons at nine.
The breaking point came when he skipped out on the final game of last season. He criticized manager Dusty Baker the next day, with Sosa saying all the blame was put on him for the Cubs' failures. In a later interview, Sosa said he was humiliated by being dropped to sixth in the batting order.
While Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, Baker and Cubs players insisted at last week's Cubs convention that Sosa's presence wouldn't be a disruption to the team, fans weren't buying it. When his image appeared on a video, there was a loud chorus of boos.
<HR>AP Sports Writers Nancy Armour in Chicago and David Ginsburg in Baltimore contributed to this report. <!-- END STORY -->
The Chicago Cubs were close to agreement on a trade to send unhappy slugger Sammy Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles, several high-ranking baseball officials told The Associated Press.
Medical tests and approval from commissioner Bud Selig and the players' association remain unresolved, the officials said Friday night, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Cubs would pay a substantial part of Sosa's $17 million salary this season, the executives said. Sosa would agree to void his salary in 2006, they also said.
In exchange, Chicago would receive second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. and at least two prospects.
Sosa's contract gives the Cubs an $18 million option in 2006 with a $4.5 million buyout. But the contract says that if he is traded, his 2006 salary would become guaranteed and a 2007 club option would be added at $19 million with a $4.5 million buyout.
The players' association had told Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, several weeks ago that voiding the option would not be a problem.
The teams had not finalized a deal, all the executives said. Selig's approval is necessary because the trade would involve the transfer of $1 million or more.
Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie and vice president Mike Flanagan could not be reached for comment. Cubs spokesman Sharon Panazzo also could not be reached for comment and Katz declined to comment.
The Cubs have been looking for a taker for Sosa since the end of the season, when he skipped out on the finale at Wrigley Field. Sosa initially claimed he didn't leave until the seventh inning, but the Cubs produced videotapes showing him leaving shortly after the game began and fined him $87,500 -- one day's salary.
The New York Mets were initially thought to be the best bet because general manager Omar Minaya signed Sosa when he was a teenager in the Dominican Republic. But the Mets won the bidding for Carlos Beltran two weeks ago, and two Mets officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said they were not involved with Sosa trade talks this week.
The Orioles' interest apparently heated up after they lost out on Carlos Delgado earlier this week. Baltimore offered Delgado $48 million over four years, but the slugger took a $52 million, four-year deal from the Florida Marlins instead.
Sosa has 574 home runs, seventh on the career list, and his home run race with Mark McGwire in 1998 made him one of the game's most popular players. With an infectious smile, home run hops and heart taps, he became Chicago's favorite athlete after Michael Jordan retired. In all those dark years when the Cubs struggled, Sosa and his jaw-dropping homers were the lone bright spots.
But Sosa's relations with the Cubs -- and the fans -- soured in recent years. Hampered by injuries, he's batted just .266 the last two seasons and his homer totals have dropped. Last season, Sosa batted only .253 -- his lowest average since 1997 -- and hit 35 homers and 80 RBIs in 126 games, ending his run of 100-RBI seasons at nine.
The breaking point came when he skipped out on the final game of last season. He criticized manager Dusty Baker the next day, with Sosa saying all the blame was put on him for the Cubs' failures. In a later interview, Sosa said he was humiliated by being dropped to sixth in the batting order.
While Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, Baker and Cubs players insisted at last week's Cubs convention that Sosa's presence wouldn't be a disruption to the team, fans weren't buying it. When his image appeared on a video, there was a loud chorus of boos.
<HR>AP Sports Writers Nancy Armour in Chicago and David Ginsburg in Baltimore contributed to this report. <!-- END STORY -->
Maybe this will wake Sosa up. He needs to stop trying to hit the ball 500 feet every swing. Tejada is a heck of a clubhouse leader and hopefully him and Sosa will click. Mora will not be traded. He is a steal for what they pay him and they have no one else to play third. If you're only giving up Hairston and some prospects, I like it. They will still get Aubrey Huff and will have a heck of a lineup.
