With Sosa gone, Cubs have to look elsewhere for offense
CHICAGO (AP) – 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 homers 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,” 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 just 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 that 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,” 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 steadily since 2001, from .328 to .288 to .279 to .253 last season. He’s hit 75 homers the last two years – nine shy of 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 home runs 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 do 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 that cost him the second half of the season.
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. I think that’s what you saw happen the last week of the season. We got cold at the wrong time. We couldn’t generate offense.”
The Cubs had a monumental collapse down the stretch, losing seven of their last nine to blow a 11/2-game lead in the NL wild-card race and cost themselves a spot in the playoffs. Chicago managed just 22 runs in the seven losses.
Now the Cubs will have to concentrate more on manufacturing runs: laying down bunts, stealing bases, moving runners into scoring position.
“We’re going to go with pitching, defense and create some offense,” Hollandsworth said. “Maybe we’re not as strong offensively, but we’re pretty darn good.”
The bright spot is that Chicago’s rotation, if healthy, will again be one of the best in the majors. Greg Maddux shows no sign of slowing down, and Carlos Zambrano has emerged as one of the game’s best young pitchers, going 16-8 with a 2.75 ERA and 188 strikeouts last year.
Kerry Wood and Mark Prior should be back to their old selves after being hampered by injuries last year, and Glendon Rusch will be given the chance to win the fifth spot after going 6-2 with a 3.47 ERA in spot duty last season.
“We’ve got great players on our team at each position, a great coaching staff. We definitely have the pitching,” Patterson said. “Will it be harder without Sammy? Definitely so. But I think we can still win.”