Sosa Says He Was ‘Humiliated’ by Drop in Lineup
The AP reports that “Sammy Sosa was humiliated by being dropped to sixth in the Chicago Cubs lineup, and claims he was mistreated by the club.” Sosa told the Hoy newspaper in Santo Domingo, D.R., “I’m a cleanup hitter or third because I’ve earned that right with almost 600 career home runs.”
Other than the abandonment of his team on the final day of the season, I have been a big defender of Sosa against those who would place the blame for the Cubs’ repeated failure on Sosa’s shoulders. But Sosa’s logic here is atrocious. By his reasoning, he should hit 3rd or 4th in the lineup in perpetuity, just because he was once great. Sosa’s comment also evidences a complete disregard for team goals, something that he’s largely heretofore managed to avoid explicitly expressing.
Sosa finished 2004 fourth on the team in EqA.
(Article tip via Michael Caldwell.)