Sammy : "I'm Not A Sixth Hitter"



He's right. But most of the time, National League clubs are in the practice of having the pitcher hit 9th.

From the Associated Press :

Sammy Sosa was humiliated by being dropped to sixth in the Chicago Cubs lineup, and claims he was mistreated by the club.

When he struggled down the stretch of the season, Cubs manager Dusty Baker lowered the slugger in the batting order -- much to Sosa's dismay.

"I'm not a sixth batter," Sosa told Hoy newspaper in Santo Domingo on Saturday upon returning to his native Dominican Republic. "I'm a cleanup hitter or third because I've earned that right with almost 600 career home runs."

Sosa, 35, batted .253 this season - his lowest average since 1997. In 126 games, he had 35 homers and 80 RBIs, ending his run of nine straight 100-RBI seasons.

This is just the sort of character guy the Mets need --- an aging slugger who seems to be getting smaller as his bat speed gets slower. A player who thinks he's entitled to hit cleanup everyday even when he's stranding runners left and right. Taking on Sammy is a great idea compared to what, Jason Giambi?

Posted: Sun - October 31, 2004 at 12:24 AM      

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