Baseball Guru
08-22-2001, 08:04 PM
Courtesy of MLB.Com
CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa is on a mission and it has nothing to do with catching Barry Bonds.
Sosa hit three home runs to raise his season total to 49, drove in six runs and made two curtain calls to power the Chicago Cubs to a much-needed, 16-3 romp Wednesday over the Milwaukee Brewers.
The win was Kevin Tapani's first in his last 14 starts.
The Cubs players met before the game, hoping to turn things around after losing eight of 11 and falling into second place in the National League Central.
"The way we came out today, I had that feeling that we could pick it up a little bit," Sosa said. "This game was big for us. Hopefully, we can go for more."
It was Sosa's second three-homer game of the season, equaling a Major League record, and the fourth of his career. He also clubbed three on Aug. 9 against Colorado. He's on pace to hit 63 -- but don't ask him about the home run race.
"I'm not thinking about Barry Bonds," Sosa said of the Giants slugger, who leads the Majors with 54 homers. "I'm thinking about trying to win some more games, trying to win the division. I'm not thinking about anybody else. Whatever it takes for me to get into first place, that's what I'm going to do.
"I don't want to hear it," he said about the home run talk. "That's for other people. Right now, my main focus is to continue to play the best that I can and win some games. My teammates need me. I don't want to talk about home run races. I'm on a mission. We want to get back to first place."
The Cubs (70-56) started the day three games behind Houston in the Central. They've needed to get the offense in gear all season, and the key Wednesday wasn't necessarily Sosa but the fact that Eric Young and Corey Patterson, the Cubs' Nos. 1 and 2 hitters, were on base ahead of him.
"That makes it easier for me," Sosa said.
"When those guys get on in front of Sammy, we have a very productive day," Cubs Manager Don Baylor said. "When they're out there most of the times, he gets good pitches to hit."
Young had been scuffling, entering the game with a .276 on-base percentage, and was 2-for-19 in his previous six games, which is below average for a leadoff hitter. He went 4-for-6 Wednesday with two doubles and two RBIs and scored three runs. Quite an improvement after being benched Tuesday.
"He knows how to get under my skin," Young said. "My wife also said, 'If I was him, I would've sat you down, too.' It was a wakeup call. It's about time for me to start getting on base a little more."
It helped.
Sosa hit a two-run homer with one out in the first off Brewers starter Mac Suzuki (2-4), a three-run shot in the fifth off Rocky Coppinger and a solo shot with two out in the sixth, also off Coppinger. He now has 435 in his career to take over 28th on the all-time list ahead of Rafael Palmeiro (433).
"He's grooving right now, so what can you do?" Brewers catcher Kevin Brown said. "We threw pitches inside, we threw pitches away, and he got them all. He's having that kind of year right now. All you can do is try to get him to chase balls out of the zone, which he doesn't do very often."
Then Brown tried to add up Sosa's totals.
"He has what -- 47, 48, 49 home runs? So we're not the only team that's giving them up. He's just a good hitter," Brown said.
Sosa does ignite the crowd. The 33,904 at Wrigley Field chanted "Sammy, Sammy" after his second homer and again after the third. And he responded with a wave from the top of the dugout steps.
"It's neat to see him," Brown said. "Even when he goes out before the game, he's the first one out there, stretching before the game. You don't see that with a lot of players -- stars like Sammy -- do that. I think he knows it gets the fans going. Obviously, they love him. I've never seen anything like that."
"It's every day," Baylor said of Sosa's never-ending amazing feats. "Forty-nine home runs. He plays every day. The intensity he brings to the ballpark every day -- young players should watch how he approaches it every single day."
It was Sosa's eighth multi-homer game this season and the 52nd of his career. The six RBIs matched his career high, which he has reached six times and now twice this year.
"This is my second year around him and this is the hottest I've ever seen him," Young said. "Some people say he's been on hotter. It seems like he's on a mission to carry this team himself. It can't happen, but he's got that attitude and mentality."
Sosa almost single-handedly carried the Cubs in June of 1998, hitting 20 homers. He has 14 this month and 28 RBIs. More amazing numbers: He's batting .625 (15-for-24) over his last six games with six homers, two doubles, one triple and 12 RBIs. Since Aug. 4, he's batted .471.
Sosa didn't need a team meeting to inspire him. His teammates did.
"After our meeting today, I think some guys are going to respond," Young said.
What happened in the meeting?
"We just knocked each other out and knocked each other around and tried to wake each other up," Young said. "We need to have another one tomorrow."
Sammy Sosa
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 225
Position: RF
Bats/Throws: R/R
More info:
Player page
Stats
Hit chart
cubs.com
Video Highlights: 56k | 300k
"We only have five more weeks," Sosa said. "We've got to stay strong. The only way you can win games is do the best that you can.
"We believe that we can do it," he said. "We know we can come back."
The only other Cub to have two three-homer games in a season was Dave Kingman in 1979. Sosa now has four three-homer games in his career, something only Ernie Banks had accomplished as a Cub.
Tapani (9-10) wouldn't mind if Sosa saved a few of those runs for another start.
The right-hander won for the first time since June 2, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks over seven innings. The Cubs had scored just 19 runs while he was on the mound in his previous 13 starts. They nearly reached that total Wednesday.
While Sosa drove the crowd wild at Wrigley wild, Suzuki was just plain wild. The Brewers right-hander had more wild pitches than innings pitched, giving up seven runs on six hits and three walks over two innings.
The Cubs nearly scored in every inning. Sosa's homer in the first made it 2-0 and Chicago tallied five more in the second on an RBI double by Bill Mueller, an RBI single by Tapani, a two-run single by Patterson and a wild pitch by Suzuki.
Young added a two-run double in the third. The Cubs skipped the fourth and added five more in the fifth on Sosa's second homer and a two-run single by Ricky Gutierrez.
Mark Loretta hit a two-run homer in the third for Milwaukee (55-70) to make it 7-2 and Jeromy Burnitz added an RBI single in the fifth.
But it was all Sammy.
"Sammy's very, very good," Milwaukee Manager Davey Lopes said. "We all know that. Even when you make a pitch on Sammy, he hits them out."
Tapani has seen these Sosa streaks before. What could Sosa possibly do to amaze him?
"Right now, an 0-for-4 would surprise me," Tapani said.
It's unlikely right now.
CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa is on a mission and it has nothing to do with catching Barry Bonds.
Sosa hit three home runs to raise his season total to 49, drove in six runs and made two curtain calls to power the Chicago Cubs to a much-needed, 16-3 romp Wednesday over the Milwaukee Brewers.
The win was Kevin Tapani's first in his last 14 starts.
The Cubs players met before the game, hoping to turn things around after losing eight of 11 and falling into second place in the National League Central.
"The way we came out today, I had that feeling that we could pick it up a little bit," Sosa said. "This game was big for us. Hopefully, we can go for more."
It was Sosa's second three-homer game of the season, equaling a Major League record, and the fourth of his career. He also clubbed three on Aug. 9 against Colorado. He's on pace to hit 63 -- but don't ask him about the home run race.
"I'm not thinking about Barry Bonds," Sosa said of the Giants slugger, who leads the Majors with 54 homers. "I'm thinking about trying to win some more games, trying to win the division. I'm not thinking about anybody else. Whatever it takes for me to get into first place, that's what I'm going to do.
"I don't want to hear it," he said about the home run talk. "That's for other people. Right now, my main focus is to continue to play the best that I can and win some games. My teammates need me. I don't want to talk about home run races. I'm on a mission. We want to get back to first place."
The Cubs (70-56) started the day three games behind Houston in the Central. They've needed to get the offense in gear all season, and the key Wednesday wasn't necessarily Sosa but the fact that Eric Young and Corey Patterson, the Cubs' Nos. 1 and 2 hitters, were on base ahead of him.
"That makes it easier for me," Sosa said.
"When those guys get on in front of Sammy, we have a very productive day," Cubs Manager Don Baylor said. "When they're out there most of the times, he gets good pitches to hit."
Young had been scuffling, entering the game with a .276 on-base percentage, and was 2-for-19 in his previous six games, which is below average for a leadoff hitter. He went 4-for-6 Wednesday with two doubles and two RBIs and scored three runs. Quite an improvement after being benched Tuesday.
"He knows how to get under my skin," Young said. "My wife also said, 'If I was him, I would've sat you down, too.' It was a wakeup call. It's about time for me to start getting on base a little more."
It helped.
Sosa hit a two-run homer with one out in the first off Brewers starter Mac Suzuki (2-4), a three-run shot in the fifth off Rocky Coppinger and a solo shot with two out in the sixth, also off Coppinger. He now has 435 in his career to take over 28th on the all-time list ahead of Rafael Palmeiro (433).
"He's grooving right now, so what can you do?" Brewers catcher Kevin Brown said. "We threw pitches inside, we threw pitches away, and he got them all. He's having that kind of year right now. All you can do is try to get him to chase balls out of the zone, which he doesn't do very often."
Then Brown tried to add up Sosa's totals.
"He has what -- 47, 48, 49 home runs? So we're not the only team that's giving them up. He's just a good hitter," Brown said.
Sosa does ignite the crowd. The 33,904 at Wrigley Field chanted "Sammy, Sammy" after his second homer and again after the third. And he responded with a wave from the top of the dugout steps.
"It's neat to see him," Brown said. "Even when he goes out before the game, he's the first one out there, stretching before the game. You don't see that with a lot of players -- stars like Sammy -- do that. I think he knows it gets the fans going. Obviously, they love him. I've never seen anything like that."
"It's every day," Baylor said of Sosa's never-ending amazing feats. "Forty-nine home runs. He plays every day. The intensity he brings to the ballpark every day -- young players should watch how he approaches it every single day."
It was Sosa's eighth multi-homer game this season and the 52nd of his career. The six RBIs matched his career high, which he has reached six times and now twice this year.
"This is my second year around him and this is the hottest I've ever seen him," Young said. "Some people say he's been on hotter. It seems like he's on a mission to carry this team himself. It can't happen, but he's got that attitude and mentality."
Sosa almost single-handedly carried the Cubs in June of 1998, hitting 20 homers. He has 14 this month and 28 RBIs. More amazing numbers: He's batting .625 (15-for-24) over his last six games with six homers, two doubles, one triple and 12 RBIs. Since Aug. 4, he's batted .471.
Sosa didn't need a team meeting to inspire him. His teammates did.
"After our meeting today, I think some guys are going to respond," Young said.
What happened in the meeting?
"We just knocked each other out and knocked each other around and tried to wake each other up," Young said. "We need to have another one tomorrow."
Sammy Sosa
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 225
Position: RF
Bats/Throws: R/R
More info:
Player page
Stats
Hit chart
cubs.com
Video Highlights: 56k | 300k
"We only have five more weeks," Sosa said. "We've got to stay strong. The only way you can win games is do the best that you can.
"We believe that we can do it," he said. "We know we can come back."
The only other Cub to have two three-homer games in a season was Dave Kingman in 1979. Sosa now has four three-homer games in his career, something only Ernie Banks had accomplished as a Cub.
Tapani (9-10) wouldn't mind if Sosa saved a few of those runs for another start.
The right-hander won for the first time since June 2, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks over seven innings. The Cubs had scored just 19 runs while he was on the mound in his previous 13 starts. They nearly reached that total Wednesday.
While Sosa drove the crowd wild at Wrigley wild, Suzuki was just plain wild. The Brewers right-hander had more wild pitches than innings pitched, giving up seven runs on six hits and three walks over two innings.
The Cubs nearly scored in every inning. Sosa's homer in the first made it 2-0 and Chicago tallied five more in the second on an RBI double by Bill Mueller, an RBI single by Tapani, a two-run single by Patterson and a wild pitch by Suzuki.
Young added a two-run double in the third. The Cubs skipped the fourth and added five more in the fifth on Sosa's second homer and a two-run single by Ricky Gutierrez.
Mark Loretta hit a two-run homer in the third for Milwaukee (55-70) to make it 7-2 and Jeromy Burnitz added an RBI single in the fifth.
But it was all Sammy.
"Sammy's very, very good," Milwaukee Manager Davey Lopes said. "We all know that. Even when you make a pitch on Sammy, he hits them out."
Tapani has seen these Sosa streaks before. What could Sosa possibly do to amaze him?
"Right now, an 0-for-4 would surprise me," Tapani said.
It's unlikely right now.