Jim Leyland must not have been able to see his name on the roster because of the plumes of cigar smoke clouding the list of potential all-stars. That or Leyland completely forgot that he was still in the league because Leyland is an old senile bastard. He didn’t even make the final five vote. He’s a fan favorite and he’s having an incredible year. Slammin’ Sammy Sosa belongs in San Francisco for the All-Star Game.

The Rangers only all-star representative is short stop Michael Young, who has had a pretty nice year. Sammy Sosa, however, has had a better one. I’m not saying Michael Young should be removed from the roster and replaced, but why isn’t Sosa on this list as well? Is it because he plays for last place Texas who nobody seems to really care about? Is it because of the lingering opinions about him being on steroids?

Sosa’s 63 RBI’s are good enough for fourth in the American League and his 14 home runs are as many as he had through his entire season in 2005. He’s anchored a Texas Rangers team that has been without a healthy Mark Teixeira all year and completely without third baseman Hank Blalock. He’s been a feel good story this year after resurrecting his career and hitting his 600th career home run. Sosa belongs because Barry Bonds slipped in without much discussion but Sosa, who has the same “off the roids now but still cheated before” reputation, didn’t even get a look.

I was under the impression that the all star game was “supposed to count” this year. If that holds true, then why aren’t managers picking the best team available. So they can fill the roster with one player from each team? Screw that. If it means home field advantage in the World Series you should build the best team possible. Sorry Pittsburgh, but you didn’t deserve much of an all star this year. Ditto Kansas City. One person who did belong was Sammy Sosa.

Sammy Sosa entered last night with 599 career home runs and a big burden on his shoulders. The longer it took him to reach 600 the more pressure was going to build, although it’s somewhat hard to feel pressured when playing for a team as bad as the Rangers. But with his opposite field shot last night Sosa has breached a barrier that only four people before him have. Next up in Sosa’s sights? Willie Mays.

People wonder why we let Sosa get away with hitting 600 home runs while probably on steroids and, on at least one occasion corking his bat. Why can Sosa get away with this but Barry Bonds can’t? Well besides the obvious reason of Bonds being about 150 home runs ahead of Sosa, it simply comes down to personality. Sosa isn’t a complete a-hole and actually has a decent sized fan base. Sosa is exciting to watch play, from his sprint out to the outfield down to his home run hop. Bonds is a bore to watch, often taking days off and generally showing little or no emotion.

I can’t stand Bonds, but I love Sosa. Is it hypocritical? Yeah probably, but I really don’t care. Sosa is a fun player to watch and always gives it his all, something that a lot of people can’t say. Maybe he took performance enhancing drugs, and maybe he didn’t, but whatever he did, he managed to get to 600 home runs. My congrats goes out to Sammy, and now we’ll have to see if he can play another year or two and try to track down Mays to move into fourth on the all time list.

Sammy Sosa’s towering grant slam yesterday versus the Reds marked his 599th career home run, just one away from the 600 home run milestone.? And while it would be nice for him to hit 600 against the Reds this weekend, it would be even better to hit it against the Cubs, Sosa’s former team and the team that they meet next starting on Monday.

The potential revenge value on this would be astronomical.? Sosa’s time with the Cubs was about as inconsistent as it got in terms of fan favoritism and playing level.? At times Sosa would be the lovable right fielder that sprinted to his position and waved to the bleacher drunks bums in right field.? Other times he would get jammed on an inside pitch and his bat would shatter, leaving pieces of wood and cork scattered on the infield.? Other times he would inject steroid needles into his ass.? And then there were the days when he would hit three bombs on a summer day versus a divisional rival (usually the Pirates.? don’t ask why) and it would seem like he could do no wrong.? Yes, that was the life of Sammy Sosa in a Cubs uniform.

When it came time for the Cubs to renew his contract after the 2004 season, the team declined and bid their decade long centerpiece goodbye.? The Cubs felt that Sosa’s whirlwind of troubles with steroids, his inability to stay healthy, and his declining skills weren’t worth the money.? Screw loyalty, this is business.? Well, Sammy’s back and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind screwing the Cubs.

So much for the declining talent.? Sosa leads the Rangers with 51 RBI’s, has 11 bombs, and has been the steal of the off-season so far.? Now that he stands only one home run away from 600 with a resurrected career and a new uniform, wouldn’t it be great if that milestone came against his former squad?? Imagine if Sosa was still in Cubs pinstripes.? With Soriano, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez around him, the Cubs would have one of the most formidable lineups in baseball.? Somewhere Cubs GM Jim Hendry is punching himself in the face, Harry Carey is smiling down from above, and Sammy Sosa is getting ready to shove 10 years of Chicagoland frustration right back up their asses.

Slammin’ Sammy Sosa is back at it in one of my favorite stories of the baseball season so far. He hit another home run last night against the Chicago White Sox in his return to the Windy City. His greeting in Chi-Town was far from receptive but Sammy feeds off that and proceeded to hit the hell out of a pitch from Mike MacDougal and silenced his critics.

That home run puts Sammy at 591 for his career, a mere nine away from joining the elite company of the six-hundred home run club. For some reason, I’m happy that he is going to join this club. I know he corked his bat, and yes he probably did steroids, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t one of the most charismatic players in the game right now. I’ll never forget Sammy running out to take the field in right, or his hop out of the batters box, so I would like to see him immortalized in the 600 home run club. And let’s be honest, this probably isn’t getting the fanfare that it deserves. There are only four players who have ever reached the 600 plateau and Sammy will be joining them shortly.

So I give props to Sammy. He went into his former city, which has since disgraced him, and participated in an ass-kicking against one of his former teams and managed to inch his way closer to infamy. He even brought his patented home run hop out of the batters box to the table and delivered it last night. It’s good to have Sammy back in the game.

Sammy Sosa launched his first home run of the season against Boston Red Sox reliever J.C. Romero yesterday. This was the 589th home run of Sosa’s career and his first since 2005. This is noteworthy not only because it was probably the first clean (non-corked or roided) home run of his career, but also because it signifies that Sammy Sosa is back.

Maybe we should shift our focus from Barroids chase for Aaron to Sammy chasing 600. When Sammy hits his 12th home run of the year he will become only the fifth player to reach the 600 home run club, and that is something we can all celebrate. Plus, now all the kids can watch Sosa celebrate and practice his hop down the first base line, and we need more gloating by young kids.

I really am happy that Sosa is back in the game. He was always fun to watch, he had all sorts of emotion and energy that most players don’t bring to the table. I haven’t been able to see Sammy yet this year, but I’m assuming he will have the same child-like energy that he always did when he took to the outfield at Wrigley Field. This is a guy who looks like he actually has fun playing this game, something that isn’t common enough in the bigs right now.

Prepare yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, for the triumphant return of Slammin’ Sammy Sosa. Sosa and the Rangers agreed to a minor league contract effectively bringing the 37 year old slugger back from his year hiatus out of baseball.

The slugger who hasn’t seen the field since he was released from the Orioles in 2005 looks to build upon a disappointing near end to his career. Sosa smashed a whopping 14 home runs in 2005 and hit an outstanding .221 in the process. How does a man go from 40 home runs in 2003 to 14 in 2005? I don’t claim to be a strength expert but it might have had something to do with him quitting his extra curricular activities in the off season. On the same note, i wouldn’t be opposed to Sosa coming back to hit 35 bombs, but that may be just because watching Sammy hit jacks is still one of the most pure things in baseball.

In all likelihood this signing will probably fizzle out by May and Sosa will be back looking for a job again. Regardless of if he is on juice or not, he still can’t hit the outside slider and he’s had to deal with a number of nagging injuries. Tip your hat to the Rangers, however, for taking a gamble on Sosa. If Sosa and closer Eric Gagne pan out, this could go down as one of the best off season of risky signings by Rangers GM Jon Daniels.