Sosa claims Cubs 'threw me into the fire'
August 23, 2010 4:43 PM | No Comments Chicago Magazine reports: Sammy Sosa continues to duck questions about steroids and blames the Cubs for making him unpopular with his former fan base in Chicago.

"My numbers don't lie," Sosa said by phone from his Miami home when asked about the steroid era. "Everything that I did was so big -- my career was so good -- that even if people want to scratch it from the board, it's not going to happen. Those numbers are going to stay there forever."

Of his departure from the Cubs in 2004 -- which came after the team said video evidence showed he left Wrigley Field while the season finale was in progress -- Sosa said, "(The Cubs) threw me into the fire. They made (people) believe I'm a monster."

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Egotistical bullshit.
He was, as Donspiracy would say, a "bad guy".

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Yeah they do

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Fans created that monster.

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Respectfully disagree. Fans don't create monsters, they feed them.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Sosa did it the "wrong way". I have no doubt about that. He had a great stretch for the Cubs, including 3 years with 60 or more Homers. No other player has done that. That said, his domination of the clubhouse with his blaring boom-box and huge attitude were tolerable when he was "The Man". But when his production fell off, it became more difficult to deal with it. The team marketed Sammy for so many years, that in order to make fans better accept his departure, they may have felt they needed to demonstrate why he was being sent away. He really should keep a low profile and let some time pass. If he did that, in a few years he might be welcomed back into the organization as an embassador or something. They might even retire his number 21. But this kind of thing is not going to help him.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Retire his number for cheating? That's funny! I'd rather see them retire #21 because it was worn by Al Spangler.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Milton Bradley

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More for hitting more Homers than any Cub in their team history. That, and bringing a lot of fans into that ballpark in years when there wasn't a lot else to excite fans. Sure, the loyal fans that love Baseball would still have gone to games. But Sammy brought a lot of casual fans out to the park, to watch him. He sold lots of tickets. Hell, he sold tickets for road games. There were lots of people that came to watch him, just as they did for Bonds.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I'll give you that.

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If they had piss tested him, those numbers wouldn't have lied either.

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I actually liked Jason Marquis
23-18 around a 4.50 ERA. Not bad for a 5th kinda guy.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Scott Sanderson

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I always thought the Cubs had bigger problems than Marquis. Dusty's infatuation with making him a pinch runner was a little odd though.

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Most of the goodness came in the first half of 2007. After that, it was pretty much suckage.

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What Sammy did, as well as McGwire, MLB knew about and cast a blind eye to. Say whatever you want, but Home Run Derby saved their asses after the strike.

This, testimony to the stewardship of Bud Lite. Although, what's the guy's real job? To save baseball from the threat of game fixing? (No) The threat of steroids? (No, obviously Mark & Sammy the proof of that) The threat of bad TV contracts/dealing with players union (oh, yes.)

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

Have you seen his numbers for this season??....0-6 with an 11.39 ERA But in his last start he went 5 innings vs the Phillies and gave up just 1 run on 4 hits. His next start will be in the series that starts tonight vs the Cubs. God, I don't want him to get his only win on the year vs the Cubs....but it wouldn't shock me.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Sammy is really the perfect symbol for the Cubs, from players to management to fans, from about 1980 to 2003.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

i dont think marquis ever played for dusty, at least as a cub.

That's right. Marquis was with the club '07 and '08.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

That doesn't mean Dusty didn't try to use him as a pinch runner though.

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i agree with this...it's ridiculous the Cubs tried to embarass him for that...more evidence that Hendry is a Bully

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You should be happy that Sosa left after 2004. Do you know how hard it was to get tickets when he was patrolling RF?

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Greg Gross

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You know me like that.

good one...but I didnt look at it that way...tickets were hard to come by because of the cubs playoff run in 2003 and Kerry Wood and Mark prior...when Sosa was the dominant guy before 2003, and especially in the 90's, it wasn't that hard to get tickets

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Right, because the corked bat wasn't embarassing at all

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i was waiting for someone to say that...way to change the subject...we're talking specifically about that game and Hendry's love for bullying players

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Team Cutler.

He left the ballpark early because he is a self centered asshole. Hendry may or may not be a bully, but that was a dick move by Sosa. The last of many he made while with the Cub.

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