SAMMY SOSA

[DSheppard]

yeah, yahoo doesnt have him in there to get. someone commented in a draft today when they were trying to take im as their final pick.

i dont think it would hurt to grab him for your bench for the first couple weeks to see how he starts off or how he is being used in the lineup. He could potentially be worthwhile.

Not worth targetting or really worrying about though. Just saying.. if you are late in the draft and dont see anyone you really like.. might be worth the gamble.

[Ender]

Bonds sat out half a year while the steroids that are tested for cleaned out of his system, I'm sure Sosa is 'clean' now and on designer roids so who knows what to expect from him.

[TomG]

I was planning on grabbing him with one of my last picks in my yahoo league before I saw he wasn't listed in Yahoo. I would still love to stash him in my last bench slot. He obviously could go either way but I tend to lean towards the lineup around him, the desire to prove something, the ability to DH primarily, and his natural ability (minus whatever unnatural assistance he may or may not have been getting) leading to some decent numbers numbers on his part.

I would say he is worth a late draft shot. Would I have liked my favorite team to sign him: No. Would I be willing to use a pick in the last few rounds of a draft on him: Absolultely.

I say go for it.

[jfg]

There are a couple things I notice when I see people analyze Sammy.

There are different opinions on if and where Sosa will be benched. Looking at 2005 he hit .196 against RHP, but the Rangers obviously aren't going to bench him if they plan to use him because that's where his power is. Others think he'll be benched against LHP but he's a career .294 hitter against left handers and in 2005 came close to that number at .288. That might show that he can still hit at a normal level.

The power's obviously not going to be at peak Sosa levels, but I think if you take the middle ground on 2005's average against RHP and 2002-2004's RHP average he'll find him self batting around .230-.235 against right handed pitching probably equating to 8-10 more homeruns against RHP. I think that should be an average projection. The ceiling for me is .255 AVG-30 HR-75 RBI-45 R. Still probably not good enough to get into a starting lineup if he has only UT status, but not a bad player to stash on the bench.

[decoy562]

Actually, as goofy as it may sound, I think the Rangers are counting on him.

Don't be surprised when that POS is in the everyday scratch and putting up some numbers.

I would look to deal him once he hits 500, though.

Uh...he's way past 500 homers

[Big Pimpin]

I don't know, I just read something this morning that seemed to indicate Sammy would play just about every day. If so, and he's happy and healthy, I can see some decent numbers with that park and lineup around him...

[pokerplaya]

If he is playing everyday, he is probably worth a spot in a league with 12+ teams. I'd still only play him at home with favorable matchups until he proves he deserves otherwise.

[AdvRider]

One thing in Sammy's favor is the Rangers' subpar OF talent and bench ... the immortal Nelson Cruz, Freddy Guzman, & Victor Diaz ... Byrd and Lofton are both injury prone ... Catalonotto and Wilkerson, eh.

I wouldn't be shocked if he parlays a good spring into a starting spot. Mildly surprised, but not shocked.

[Yoda]

We'll see the real Sosa when pitchers start throwing for real.

[SmartassBoiler]

We'll see the real Sosa when pitchers start throwing for real.

Good point, instead of him seeing 75+% fastballs so far.