Hosts: Sonny, Ryan and Rich: This episode focused solely on the American League West. With Erik Bedard now in Seattle, have the Mariners done enough to put an end to the Angels’ divisional dominance? Or will Torii Hunter spark this team to another AL West crown and more importantly, postseason success? Also, we debate about who the better team is between the A’s and Rangers

 

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Rangers Reaching for Something Better Than Last Place. The Rangers organization hasn’t done anything since they won the AL West in 1999, swapping between 3rd and 4th place finishes in the four team division. I can’t envision this year being any different as the team brings some talent on the offensive side of the ball, but absolutely no pitching night in and night out at the ballpark in Arlington.

Bats. The Rangers offensive production looks like it might be spotty. They are going to rely on a lot of players who have put up decent numbers but are still trying to prove they belong, as well as some veterans who have big question marks surrounding them. The success story that is Josh Hamilton has landed in Texas, where we all hope he doesn’t run into Nate Newton and fall back into the drug life. The Rangers also added batshit crazy, but highly talented centerfielder Milton Bradley, who is still working his way back from a ligament tear suffered after being tackled by his manager last year during an altercation with an umpire. His reputation as a clubhouse cancer precedes him, and needless to say, that is a lot of baggage to be bringing to this team. Marlon Byrd rounds out the outfield for now after a highly encouraging season last year, despite initially not making the major league club out of spring training. Frank Catalanotto appears to be the DH, but should Byrd be shipped he will move into the outfield, and with Catalanotto the Rangers will get some decent, although not great, production out of the DH slot. The left side of their infield is locked down with Michael Young and Hank Blalock, two familiar faces with this club. Blalock, at third base, is going to be an interesting player to watch, in ‘05 and ‘06 it looked like he was really in decline, however in just under 60 games last year he wound up putting up some pretty good numbers, so perhaps a resurgence is possible this year Read the rest of this entry »

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.