Does Sosa's bust HELP the Cubs?

by Chadnudj on Jun 17, 2009 6:42 AM CDT Comment 9 comments

I know we are discussing the Sosa 2003 positive test leak elsewhere, and its effect on his legacy, Hall of Fame chances, corrupting effect on our memories, etc, so that should be talked about in those discussion lines.

What I'd like to talk about here is a far more relevant question: Does Sammy's PED bust (and the inevitable storm of stories that it stirs up) take the proverbial monkey off the back of THIS YEAR'S Cubs?

I mean, we know baseball is a game where you can press, and where the "press" (excuse the pun) can put pressure on you to press, and that pressing causes you to lose games. Sometimes, you just need to be able to play free from distraction, so you can see the ball, hit the ball, catch the ball, and throw the ball and perform to your best ability.

So with fans disappointed to some degree in the Cubs' start, bats being silent for much of the season, new additions not working as planned...isn't a complete side show having nothing to do with this year's team that will distract the media EXACTLY what the doctor ordered?

In other words, is Sammy's bust, in its own way, the equivalent of Lou's 2007 blow-up at the umpire, whiich took focus away from the Barrett-Zambrano duel, and allowed the team to loosen up a bit when it needed to?

I await BCB's thoughts....

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Yes...

because when you’re trying to get through a slump, the exact thing you want to do is talk about a guy you either never played with or barely played with before he walked out on you.

And you want to do that over and over and over again to media outlets that you never knew existed.

There is no such thing as an ugly female breast

by Worf on Jun 17, 2009 7:03 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't often agree with you, but...

… you are absolutely right. This is a distraction the 2009 Cubs don’t need.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Jun 17, 2009 7:29 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed...

I don’t see how Sosa’s bust takes any pressure off the team. If anything, it just adds another unnecessary annoyance.

by SouthernCub on Jun 17, 2009 7:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No.

n/t

by Floyd10 on Jun 17, 2009 8:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

An interesting perspective as always, Chanman...

…but I’m not sure Lou’s ‘07 blowup and Sammy’s inevitable outing as a juicer are analogous. Piniella’s freakout gave the team something to rally around. No one really wants to rally around Sammy. I’d guess most players want to stay as far away from him – literally and figuratively – as they can. Unfortunately, the press will be shoving Sosa down the team’s collective throat for the foreseeable future.

Maybe the story will provide some distraction from the Cubs hitting slump. But that’s assuming that slump continues. Let’s hope it ends today.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jun 17, 2009 10:13 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs