The Cubs managed to survive the last 11 days without Sammy Sosa, and now it turns out they might have to wait quite a bit longer for his return.
Manager Dusty Baker confirmed before Tuesday’s rainout that Sosa would not come off the 15-day disabled list when he’s eligible to do so Sunday. Baker said Sosa is nowhere close to being ready after having surgery May 10 to remove a toenail.
“To my knowledge, he hasn’t been able to put on his shoe yet,” Baker said. “Unless he’s going to play barefoot . . . “
Shoeless Sammy Sosa? The Cubs would take it if it beefed up a sluggish lineup that has produced only five runs the last three games.
Sosa, who is scheduled to see a doctor Wednesday, might have to go on a rehabilitation assignment to the minors before he’s ready. Baker acknowledged the timetable for Sosa’s return to the Cubs is undetermined.
“Usually they give us a window, but it needs Windex on it,” Baker said. “That window isn’t very clear. Right now I haven’t heard of a window. Right now it’s a brick wall. All I know is he’s about to go crazy.”
Baker spoke to Sosa by telephone Tuesday and said the right fielder is getting antsy sitting in his downtown condo. In his absence, Kyle Farnsworth, Hee Seop Choi, Mike Remlinger and Antonio Alfonseca have taken turns with the controls on the clubhouse stereo, playing the role of Designated Sammy when it comes to music. No salsa has been heard since Sosa’s injury, but plenty of rap has been on tap.
Sosa hasn’t been away from the team this long since he broke his hand when hit by a pitch Aug. 21, 1996, after which he missed the rest of the season.
“A week is one thing, but two weeks without your teammates, that’s a long time,” Baker said. “It’s a long time with your family, your wife or anybody when you’re home watching games. I imagine it’s not only tough on Sammy, I’m sure it’s tough on his spouse [Sonia] too. The wife has to be there and hear it when you’re watching TV and the team is losing. It’s not quite as bad when you’re winning, but we lost three out of four, and that just magnifies it even more.”
While Sosa has been gone, the Cubs have increased their NL Central Division lead from a half-game to 1 1/2 games. Quality pitching has made up for Sosa’s absence, particularly from the starters.
“We have to take the same approach as we did from the beginning, whether Sammy is here or not,” right-hander Mark Prior said. “Obviously, without Sammy you miss the walks, pitching around him and getting guys on base. . . . He’s a huge part of this team, and when he comes back, I think we’re going to be that much better. . . . We need him. We can survive without him, but we still need him.”
The Cubs are 6-3 without Sosa but have yet to show any offensive consistency since his departure, hitting .265 since he was placed on the disabled list.
“We could be 6-3 with him or we could be 9-0 with him,” Prior said. “There have been a lot of close games, like the [2-0 loss to Matt Morris on Monday]. With Sammy in the lineup, they’re probably going to pitch around him. And if he gets on base, it’s a different situation. We definitely need him back, and I hope he gets back soon.”
The big question is: When will that be?
“Only God knows how long, because only God can heal it,” Baker said. “That’s no joke when you lose that whole toenail.”
Sosa was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
When Baker managed in San Francisco, he once lost Barry Bonds for two to three weeks with a triceps injury. The Giants found a way to adapt to the short-term loss.
“We did pretty good,” Baker said. “You can do pretty good for a period of time if you have enough depth. That’s the key. But you can’t last forever. I mean, what if Atlanta loses Chipper Jones or Gary Sheffield? What if St. Louis loses [Scott] Rolen or Albert Pujols for two weeks?
“You can pick a guy from every team you’d not like to lose for two weeks. That’s a lot of games–14 games on your schedule. Most of the time you’re going to win or lose a division by under five games. Look at the Kings without Chris Webber, or the Lakers when they lost Shaquille O’Neal, or Indianapolis without Edgerrin James. These guys are impact players.
“It does hurt you for a while, and how long before they’re the same when they come back? [The Pirates’] Brian Giles still isn’t the same.
“It might only be two weeks, but in reality it could be three weeks to a month as far as quality performance by that person.”
Life without Sammy
CATEGORY W/SOSA WITHOUT
Record 19-16 6-3
Runs/game 5.29 4.44
HR/game 1.06 1.11
Avg. .264 .265
ERA 3.50 2.69
SOSA VS. O’LEARY
CATEGORY SOSA O’LEARY PROJ.
Average .303 .256 .282
At-bats 122 39 122
Runs 27 5 20
HRs 6 2 4
RBIs 23 7 22
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Troy O’Leary’s numbers for 9 games since Sosa placed on DL. Projection based on O’Leary’s season statistics.
