April 8, 200719 yr http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basebal...eball-headlines Sammy Sosa Hits 1st Homer for Rangers By Associated Press April 7, 2007, 10:53 PM EDT ARLINGTON, Texas -- Sammy Sosa hit his first home run since 2005 on Saturday night, a two-run shot for the Texas Rangers against Boston. Sosa hit the first pitch he saw from reliever J.C. Romero in the sixth inning into the left-center field seats. The 409-foot shot was his 589th homer, fifth on the career list. It was Sosa's first homer ever at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the 43rd different stadium where he has homered. That tied Ken Griffey Jr. and Fred McGriff for the most stadiums with a homer. Sosa's last home run was Aug. 4, 2005, a two-run shot at the Los Angeles Angels during his only season with the Baltimore Orioles. After sitting out last season, Sosa signed a minor league contract with the Rangers -- the team he made his major league debut with in 1989. He made the team by hitting .408 with five homers in 17 games this spring. Sosa, the only player with three 60-homer seasons, was 3-for-13 with only one RBI for the Rangers before his home run. As a rookie for the Rangers, Sosa hit only one home run in 25 games before being traded to the Chicago White Sox. That was five years before the current Texas stadium opened, but that lone homer came in Boston off Roger Clemens.
April 8, 200719 yr I bet he hits one tonight. 17/52 with 7 big ones all-time versus G38, plus the Rangers have owned the Sox in Arlington recently.
April 9, 200719 yr Sammy looked outmatched against Schill in his last AB. Curt threw him 4 fastballs (one was a ball) for the K. He threw a 90 mph fastball right down the middle and Sosa missed it. Joe Morgan said he needs to work on pitch recognition and that was the hardest thing for someone that's been out of baseball for a while.
April 9, 200719 yr Yeah, Sosa got pwned by both Schill and Papelbon, they gave him straight fast stuff and he wasn't that close to catching up with it.
April 9, 200719 yr I really don't see him ever reaching 600. I'll be rooting for him, but I just don't see it happening.
April 9, 200719 yr He'll get 11. He has plenty of time to get his rhythym back and for taking a year off and his age, he actually looks a lot better and further along then I thought he would. Playing in Texas will help especially when it warms up.
April 9, 200719 yr I really don't see him ever reaching 600. I'll be rooting for him, but I just don't see it happening. It's not tremendously hard to hit 11 HR's when you play half your games in Arlington. I'm not saying he'll end the year with 30, or have 600 by the break, but he'll get there this year.
April 9, 200719 yr One thing to say. . .Papelbon is pretty damn good You get 5 guys out on 15 pitches you are doing something right. I'd take him over any reliever in the game right now. Call me a homer or whatever but I think the Sox have the next Mo Rivera on their hands for the next 10 years.
April 9, 200719 yr One thing to say. . .Papelbon is pretty damn good You get 5 guys out on 15 pitches you are doing something right. I'd take him over any reliever in the game right now. Call me a homer or whatever but I think the Sox have the next Mo Rivera on their hands for the next 10 years. No argument. The guy has some nasty stuff. His splitter is unbelievable.
April 9, 200719 yr I'd take him over any reliever in the game right now. Call me a homer or whatever but I think the Sox have the next Mo Rivera on their hands for the next 10 years. He's very impressive, however I will not be able to call him the next Rivera personally until he gets a shot in the postseason and performs there at a Rivera aka absurd level.
April 9, 200719 yr One thing to say. . .Papelbon is pretty damn good You get 5 guys out on 15 pitches you are doing something right. I'd take him over any reliever in the game right now. Call me a homer or whatever but I think the Sox have the next Mo Rivera on their hands for the next 10 years. I agree that he is the best right now. . . If he will have a Rivera type career, it is too early to tell. The tools are there to dominate for a long time
April 15, 200719 yr In the last day or two I read somewhere (credible) that his overall plate appearances have been so worrisome the questions surrounding the Rangers are whether he'll be around long enough to get those 10 homer runs. With both his BA and OBP well below .200 there's no guarantee he'll be there much longer.
April 15, 200719 yr his bat speed is not even close to being on the major league level at this point. he is cut by memorial day, unless the rangers continue to prove how intelligent an organization they are.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.