rockin500
03-01-2003, 01:37 AM
MESA, Ariz. -- Sammy Sosa is ready to go.
The Chicago Cubs superstar hit a single in his second Spring Training at-bat on Friday against the San Francisco Giants but more important, he feels good about the team.
"The team looks very, very good," Sosa said of the Cubs. "Everybody is excited to be here and we're not going to have a hard time any more."
Sosa led the National League with 49 home runs last season but it was a difficult year because of the 67-95 record and the turnover at manager. Now, the Cubs have a new skipper in Dusty Baker, and Sosa is doing everything he can to be one of the guys. He started by showing up with the rest of the position players rather than being tardy, which he has done since 1998.
Sosa dismissed talk about the possibility of him becoming a free agent at season's end. He does have that option.
"We've got a great manager, we've got a great team," Sosa said. "I don't want to be a distraction for the team. I want to be happy and win -- that's the thing. If we win and we give what we want to Chicago, we'll be OK."
"Sammy's more like a character -- he's talking all the time, he likes to have fun," Chicago shortstop Ramon Martinez said. "He's the leader of this team. We're going to follow him."
Sosa didn't have as much success in his first at-bat as Giants slugger Barry Bonds, who homered on the first pitch he saw in the first inning.
"Unbelievable. That's a quickie right there," Sosa said of the monster shot by Bonds. "The guy is ready. I got to give the guy credit, give the superstar credit. He's a very, very good hitter, a very good player."
And there is no rift between the two like last spring when there was a media-fueled feud.
"I don't have no hard feelings for nobody, no hard feelings for me," Sosa said. "We can show the whole world we're here to play baseball, we're not here to kill each other."
Sosa even talked to the team on the day he reported.
"I let them know the first day the kind of person that I am," Sosa said of his teammates. "They got the message and feel comfortable about it. That's what you see now. They see a team together. When you see that on any team, there won't be no finger pointing at anybody and we will do much better."
Last year was a tough year, Sosa said.
"We only won 67 games," he said. "The team that we had last year was a great team but something was missing. I can't tell you what was missing, but we didn't play at the level we were supposed to play last year.
"Things didn't go right," he said. "I don't want to talk about last year. Last year's over. We're in 2003. We have the potential now, we have the ability, we have the captain. Hey, let's get it on."
Baker has made quite an impression on Sosa.
"When you want to play for somebody, believe me you're willing to do everything," he said. "We're going to go out there and show the whole world, watch out for the Chicago Cubs."
Sosa's right thigh was wrapped after the game and he joked it was because he's getting a little old. What does he need to do this spring?
"Right now, the kind of hitter I am, I know the power is there," he said. "I want to stay with my plan. Use my hands a little more and get on top of the ball. If I do that I'll hit more home runs anyway. I'm trying to be more patient and be more aggressive when they throw me strikes and not overdo anything."
Someone jokingly asked Sosa if he had a chance at making the Cubs final 25-man roster.
"Definitely," he said, laughing. "I got a hit today. Very nice."
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/news/chc_news.jsp?ymd=20030228&content_id=206572&vkey=spt2003news&fext=.jsp
The Chicago Cubs superstar hit a single in his second Spring Training at-bat on Friday against the San Francisco Giants but more important, he feels good about the team.
"The team looks very, very good," Sosa said of the Cubs. "Everybody is excited to be here and we're not going to have a hard time any more."
Sosa led the National League with 49 home runs last season but it was a difficult year because of the 67-95 record and the turnover at manager. Now, the Cubs have a new skipper in Dusty Baker, and Sosa is doing everything he can to be one of the guys. He started by showing up with the rest of the position players rather than being tardy, which he has done since 1998.
Sosa dismissed talk about the possibility of him becoming a free agent at season's end. He does have that option.
"We've got a great manager, we've got a great team," Sosa said. "I don't want to be a distraction for the team. I want to be happy and win -- that's the thing. If we win and we give what we want to Chicago, we'll be OK."
"Sammy's more like a character -- he's talking all the time, he likes to have fun," Chicago shortstop Ramon Martinez said. "He's the leader of this team. We're going to follow him."
Sosa didn't have as much success in his first at-bat as Giants slugger Barry Bonds, who homered on the first pitch he saw in the first inning.
"Unbelievable. That's a quickie right there," Sosa said of the monster shot by Bonds. "The guy is ready. I got to give the guy credit, give the superstar credit. He's a very, very good hitter, a very good player."
And there is no rift between the two like last spring when there was a media-fueled feud.
"I don't have no hard feelings for nobody, no hard feelings for me," Sosa said. "We can show the whole world we're here to play baseball, we're not here to kill each other."
Sosa even talked to the team on the day he reported.
"I let them know the first day the kind of person that I am," Sosa said of his teammates. "They got the message and feel comfortable about it. That's what you see now. They see a team together. When you see that on any team, there won't be no finger pointing at anybody and we will do much better."
Last year was a tough year, Sosa said.
"We only won 67 games," he said. "The team that we had last year was a great team but something was missing. I can't tell you what was missing, but we didn't play at the level we were supposed to play last year.
"Things didn't go right," he said. "I don't want to talk about last year. Last year's over. We're in 2003. We have the potential now, we have the ability, we have the captain. Hey, let's get it on."
Baker has made quite an impression on Sosa.
"When you want to play for somebody, believe me you're willing to do everything," he said. "We're going to go out there and show the whole world, watch out for the Chicago Cubs."
Sosa's right thigh was wrapped after the game and he joked it was because he's getting a little old. What does he need to do this spring?
"Right now, the kind of hitter I am, I know the power is there," he said. "I want to stay with my plan. Use my hands a little more and get on top of the ball. If I do that I'll hit more home runs anyway. I'm trying to be more patient and be more aggressive when they throw me strikes and not overdo anything."
Someone jokingly asked Sosa if he had a chance at making the Cubs final 25-man roster.
"Definitely," he said, laughing. "I got a hit today. Very nice."
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/news/chc_news.jsp?ymd=20030228&content_id=206572&vkey=spt2003news&fext=.jsp