I'm getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

[Gagnon39]

I love Sammy, but there's no doubt he's on the down slope of his career. I've watched more Cubs games this year than any other year (I have MLBTV) and therefore I've gotten to watch #21 strike out so many times I've come to believe that he hurts the Cubs more than helps them. So before my fellow Cub fans shower me with hate mail like I'm Bartman, let me explain...

I watch the first game of the Brewers series yesterday and Sosa was up with runners at the corners and one out. All we needed was a ball put into play, anywhere, so long as it wasn't a double play. However, Sosa...struck out of course. And the next batter, I can't remember what happened but even if he put it into play it would have ended the inning. And this isn't just one instance. Having a player that is tough to strike out is invaluable on a team. Someone like Pujols (as much as I hate to admit) always helps his team. I've yet to see Pujols strike out against the Cubs this year, although he may have, I just haven't seen it. Sosa is so predictable, he strikes out at least once a game, usually two times or three or four. And of course there is the occasional walk-off home run but its just not worth it anymore. I want a player that puts the bat on the ball, not someone who tries to hit it 500 feet every single swing. Strike outs are wasted at bats, and Sosa's been giving more than his share of those this year.

[Karlos05]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

That's just the way Sosa is. He is in the exact same mold as other power hitters. He goes out there and strikes out 3 times but that 4th trip he hits a bomb. No way he changes it, people in Chicago and all over the coutry want to see the long ball and Sosa gives it to them even at the cost of failing miserably the other trips to the plate.

I agree with you on the Moneyball srikeout theory. A strike out is just a waste of an at bat. An out can be good if it's productive(moving a baserunner) but a strikeout doesn't help at all. A good player doesn't have to hit homers all the time he just has to help the team and sometime a homerun really doesn't do that. But of course chicks dig the long ball so Sosa is gonna keep hitting the homeruns but he's going to strike out a ton too.

One other thing. Sosa looks so bad because the rest of the lineup around him is almost the same way. No real contact guys in the lineup just a lot of power and strikeouts. Lee, Paterson, Sosa, Ramirez all are prone to strikout a lot. They can all put up great numbers when their on, but on some days it doesn't happen and the whole lineup looks bad. Being surrounded by so many people who strikout frequently doesn't make Sammy look any better.

[Karlos05]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

That's just the way Sosa is. He is in the exact same mold as other power hitters. He goes out there and strikes out 3 times but that 4th trip he hits a bomb. No way he changes it, people in Chicago and all over the coutry want to see the long ball and Sosa gives it to them even at the cost of failing miserably the other trips to the plate.

I agree with you on the Moneyball srikeout theory. A strike out is just a waste of an at bat. An out can be good if it's productive(moving a baserunner) but a strikeout doesn't help at all. A good player doesn't have to hit homers all the time he just has to help the team and sometime a homerun really doesn't do that. But of course chicks dig the long ball so Sosa is gonna keep hitting the homeruns but he's going to strike out a ton too.

One other thing. Sosa looks so bad because the rest of the lineup around him is almost the same way. No real contact guys in the lineup just a lot of power and strikeouts. Lee, Paterson, Sosa, Ramirez all are prone to strikout a lot. They can all put up great numbers when their on, but on some days it doesn't happen and the whole lineup looks bad. Being surrounded by so many people who strikout frequently doesn't make Sammy look any better.

[Karlos05]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

That's just the way Sosa is. He is in the exact same mold as other power hitters. He goes out there and strikes out 3 times but that 4th trip he hits a bomb. No way he changes it, people in Chicago and all over the coutry want to see the long ball and Sosa gives it to them even at the cost of failing miserably the other trips to the plate.

I agree with you on the Moneyball srikeout theory. A strike out is just a waste of an at bat. An out can be good if it's productive(moving a baserunner) but a strikeout doesn't help at all. A good player doesn't have to hit homers all the time he just has to help the team and sometime a homerun really doesn't do that. But of course chicks dig the long ball so Sosa is gonna keep hitting the homeruns but he's going to strike out a ton too.

One other thing. Sosa looks so bad because the rest of the lineup around him is almost the same way. No real contact guys in the lineup just a lot of power and strikeouts. Lee, Paterson, Sosa, Ramirez all are prone to strikout a lot. They can all put up great numbers when their on, but on some days it doesn't happen and the whole lineup looks bad. Being surrounded by so many people who strikout frequently doesn't make Sammy look any better.

[Blzer]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Gagnon39 said:
I love Sammy, but there's no doubt he's on the down slope of his career. I've watched more Cubs games this year than any other year (I have MLBTV) and therefore I've gotten to watch #21 strike out so many times I've come to believe that he hurts the Cubs more than helps them. So before my fellow Cub fans shower me with hate mail like I'm Bartman, let me explain...

I watch the first game of the Brewers series yesterday and Sosa was up with runners at the corners and one out. All we needed was a ball put into play, anywhere, so long as it wasn't a double play. However, Sosa...struck out of course. And the next batter, I can't remember what happened but even if he put it into play it would have ended the inning. And this isn't just one instance. Having a player that is tough to strike out is invaluable on a team. Someone like Pujols (as much as I hate to admit) always helps his team. I've yet to see Pujols strike out against the Cubs this year, although he may have, I just haven't seen it. Sosa is so predictable, he strikes out at least once a game, usually two times or three or four. And of course there is the occasional walk-off home run but its just not worth it anymore. I want a player that puts the bat on the ball, not someone who tries to hit it 500 feet every single swing. Strike outs are wasted at bats, and Sosa's been giving more than his share of those this year.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

And that's why I think that he's overrated. People look at the positive stats, and disregard the negatives.

Have you ever seen Signs? Where the guys broke 5 minor league home run records, and didn't make it into the majors because he had the minor league strikeout record? As Lynell said: He had more strikeouts than any two batters.


Sounds a LOT like Sosa. I don't like how overrated he is. I mean, if he at least worried about not striking out as much, he would only have about 15 home runs a year... he would be a regular #6 hitter or so.

Oh well, too late to change that now, that's the downside.

[Blzer]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Gagnon39 said:
I love Sammy, but there's no doubt he's on the down slope of his career. I've watched more Cubs games this year than any other year (I have MLBTV) and therefore I've gotten to watch #21 strike out so many times I've come to believe that he hurts the Cubs more than helps them. So before my fellow Cub fans shower me with hate mail like I'm Bartman, let me explain...

I watch the first game of the Brewers series yesterday and Sosa was up with runners at the corners and one out. All we needed was a ball put into play, anywhere, so long as it wasn't a double play. However, Sosa...struck out of course. And the next batter, I can't remember what happened but even if he put it into play it would have ended the inning. And this isn't just one instance. Having a player that is tough to strike out is invaluable on a team. Someone like Pujols (as much as I hate to admit) always helps his team. I've yet to see Pujols strike out against the Cubs this year, although he may have, I just haven't seen it. Sosa is so predictable, he strikes out at least once a game, usually two times or three or four. And of course there is the occasional walk-off home run but its just not worth it anymore. I want a player that puts the bat on the ball, not someone who tries to hit it 500 feet every single swing. Strike outs are wasted at bats, and Sosa's been giving more than his share of those this year.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

And that's why I think that he's overrated. People look at the positive stats, and disregard the negatives.

Have you ever seen Signs? Where the guys broke 5 minor league home run records, and didn't make it into the majors because he had the minor league strikeout record? As Lynell said: He had more strikeouts than any two batters.


Sounds a LOT like Sosa. I don't like how overrated he is. I mean, if he at least worried about not striking out as much, he would only have about 15 home runs a year... he would be a regular #6 hitter or so.

Oh well, too late to change that now, that's the downside.

[Blzer]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Gagnon39 said:
I love Sammy, but there's no doubt he's on the down slope of his career. I've watched more Cubs games this year than any other year (I have MLBTV) and therefore I've gotten to watch #21 strike out so many times I've come to believe that he hurts the Cubs more than helps them. So before my fellow Cub fans shower me with hate mail like I'm Bartman, let me explain...

I watch the first game of the Brewers series yesterday and Sosa was up with runners at the corners and one out. All we needed was a ball put into play, anywhere, so long as it wasn't a double play. However, Sosa...struck out of course. And the next batter, I can't remember what happened but even if he put it into play it would have ended the inning. And this isn't just one instance. Having a player that is tough to strike out is invaluable on a team. Someone like Pujols (as much as I hate to admit) always helps his team. I've yet to see Pujols strike out against the Cubs this year, although he may have, I just haven't seen it. Sosa is so predictable, he strikes out at least once a game, usually two times or three or four. And of course there is the occasional walk-off home run but its just not worth it anymore. I want a player that puts the bat on the ball, not someone who tries to hit it 500 feet every single swing. Strike outs are wasted at bats, and Sosa's been giving more than his share of those this year.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

And that's why I think that he's overrated. People look at the positive stats, and disregard the negatives.

Have you ever seen Signs? Where the guys broke 5 minor league home run records, and didn't make it into the majors because he had the minor league strikeout record? As Lynell said: He had more strikeouts than any two batters.


Sounds a LOT like Sosa. I don't like how overrated he is. I mean, if he at least worried about not striking out as much, he would only have about 15 home runs a year... he would be a regular #6 hitter or so.

Oh well, too late to change that now, that's the downside.

[Gagnon39]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

Unfortunately for Cubs fans, thats exactly right. Sosa has his spot as the team's superstar still for the next 2-3 years. I am seriously to the point that when Sosa comes to the plate I think, oh great...The announcers are always talking like "and here's Sosa, just the man you don't want to face in this situation" (with runners in scoring position). BULL CRAP! If I have the bases full I definately want to face Sosa rather than Alou, Ramierez, Walker, Barrett or just about anyone else. I actually calculated his strikouts as a percentage its 26.2% of his at bats THAT'S TERRIBLE!!! Just more than once out of every 4 at bats. Barry Bonds stirkes out 15.8 % of the time and is FAR more productive than Sosa.

[Gagnon39]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

Unfortunately for Cubs fans, thats exactly right. Sosa has his spot as the team's superstar still for the next 2-3 years. I am seriously to the point that when Sosa comes to the plate I think, oh great...The announcers are always talking like "and here's Sosa, just the man you don't want to face in this situation" (with runners in scoring position). BULL CRAP! If I have the bases full I definately want to face Sosa rather than Alou, Ramierez, Walker, Barrett or just about anyone else. I actually calculated his strikouts as a percentage its 26.2% of his at bats THAT'S TERRIBLE!!! Just more than once out of every 4 at bats. Barry Bonds stirkes out 15.8 % of the time and is FAR more productive than Sosa.

[Gagnon39]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

Unfortunately for Cubs fans, thats exactly right. Sosa has his spot as the team's superstar still for the next 2-3 years. I am seriously to the point that when Sosa comes to the plate I think, oh great...The announcers are always talking like "and here's Sosa, just the man you don't want to face in this situation" (with runners in scoring position). BULL CRAP! If I have the bases full I definately want to face Sosa rather than Alou, Ramierez, Walker, Barrett or just about anyone else. I actually calculated his strikouts as a percentage its 26.2% of his at bats THAT'S TERRIBLE!!! Just more than once out of every 4 at bats. Barry Bonds stirkes out 15.8 % of the time and is FAR more productive than Sosa.

[skitch]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

He's been like this his whole career, not like he just started striking out a lot.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/stats/mlb_individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=122544

[skitch]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

He's been like this his whole career, not like he just started striking out a lot.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/stats/mlb_individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=122544

[skitch]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

He's been like this his whole career, not like he just started striking out a lot.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/stats/mlb_individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=122544

[Gagnon39]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

Yes, I know. I've really just started noticing it since I've probably watched 30 Cubs games this year.

[Gagnon39]

Re: I\'m getting tired of watching Sosa strike out!!!

Yes, I know. I've really just started noticing it since I've probably watched 30 Cubs games this year.