Cubs must adjust without Sosa
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs got rid of one problem by finding a taker for unhappy slugger Sammy Sosa.
Now they’re faced with another, potentially bigger predicament.
Though Sosa’s production has dropped, he was still a key piece of Chicago’s offense with 35 home runs and 80 RBIs last season. Throw in departed free agent Moises Alou, and the Cubs lose a combined 74 home runs and 186 RBIs.
“You really are not going to replace him,” Cubs center fielder Corey Patterson said Saturday. “He’s one of the superstars of the game. When you’re talking about superstars of the game, it’s a very, very limited number.”
The Cubs are a few steps away from trading Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles for second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. and two prospects. The deal isn’t done yet, but the teams planned to send it to commissioner Bud Selig on Monday for approval, necessary because more than $1 million in cash is involved.
Sosa and the Orioles players still have to take physicals, probably Tuesday, and the deal could be finalized as early as Wednesday.
The Cubs have agreed to pay a substantial part of Sosa’s $17 million salary this season. Sosa has agreed to waive provisions in his contract that call for an $18 million option in 2006 to be guaranteed if he is traded, and for a 2007 club option to be added at $19 million with a $4.5 million buyout. That must be approved by the players’ association, which already has said it won’t be an obstacle.
Sosa isn’t asking for an extension, either, meaning he’d be eligible for free agency after the season unless the Orioles propose a new deal.
“I’m not surprised. I don’t think anyone’s surprised,” Cubs outfielder Todd Hollandsworth said. “I think it’s going to provide everyone with the fresh start they were hoping for.”
Sosa, 36, isn’t the feared hitter he was in 1998, when his home run duel with Mark McGwire energized baseball. His average has dropped since 2001, from .328 to .288 to .279 to .253. He’s hit 75 homers the last two years – nine more than the 66 he had in 1998 alone.
But there are plenty of players who would gladly take Sosa’s numbers. He’s hit 30 or more homers for 10 straight seasons, and he’s seventh on the all-time list with 574. He and Alou gave the Cubs four 30-homer players, fearsome production that few other teams came close to matching.
The Cubs return Aramis Ramirez (.318, 36 homers and 103 RBIs) and Derek Lee (.278, 32, 98), as well as Patterson (24 homers, 72 RBIs and 32 steals). They’ll have Nomar Garciaparra for a full season, and get back Todd Hollandsworth, who was hitting a blistering .318 when he went down with an injury.
But without Sosa and Alou’s big bats, the Cubs will likely look like a much different team this season.
“Last year, we didn’t really create offense, we just smashed the ball,” Hollandsworth said. “We were capable of beating Roger Clemens, the best pitcher in the game, any day of the week. We were also capable of losing to the worst team because we relied on the long ball.”
The Cubs had a monumental collapse down the stretch, losing seven of their last nine to blow a 1 1/2 -game lead in the National League wild-card race and cost themselves a spot in the playoffs.