cheeses_h_rice
03-07-2002, 10:26 AM
The Sox still have the goose egg as far as Moronotti's columns this year...way to go, Jay!
I rank today's column about Sam-ME as positive. Even though Jay tries to support the "likable Sam-ME" proposition with USA Today figures, I think Fluffy believes so, too.
So I give the column a 4, based on the following scale...
5=Extremely positive
4=positive
3=equal parts positive and negative
2=negative
1=extremely negative
That makes the totals (columns/points/average points):
Flubs 4/16/4
Sox 0/0/0
http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay071.html
Sammy isn't all sweetness
March 7, 2002
BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--We always knew there was a mean streak in there, a cutthroat competitor beneath the love taps, hugs and blown kisses. All Sam-my Sosa needed was some disrespectful lout to kickstart his rage.
And what better provocateur, in the spirit of smiling-guy-vs.-surly-guy drama and the sizzle of home-run races this year and beyond, than Barry Bonds?
In a certifiably wacko media climate that gives us Tonya Harding fighting Paula Jones and Danny Partridge fighting Greg Brady, isn't it perfect Sosa would rip Bonds for calling out Sosa and launch a heated rivalry between baseball's top sluggers? The latest crossfire in this ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' pilot came Wed-nesday when Bonds, sitting by his corner locker in Scottsdale Stadium, took turns laughing and shaking his head while reading a copy of Sosa's stinging shots--which ranged from calling Bonds selfish to saying, ''Now I have to believe that all the negative things that have been said about him by his teammates are true.''
Your turn, Barry. ''It's funny, to be honest. It's childish, to be honest,'' Bonds said. ''The thing that's sad is, it's two minority athletes in the game of baseball.''
What race has to do with a volley of unrelated insults, I have no idea. But as usual, the many moods of Bonds spilled out during a three-minute retort. At first, he truly seemed surprised and hurt by Sosa's comments, knowing he has had some success in altering public perceptions about him after his record 73-homer season. Then he shifted into amusement mode, chuckling aloud in a crowded clubhouse and wondering what got into Sosa. Most of all, he was perplexed, stunned that a national controversy would emerge from their friendly outfield conversation before a game last week in Mesa.
''I'm the guy who always said Sammy should be MVP,'' said Bonds, referring to his lobbying for Sosa last season. ''I'm the one who's absolutely rooting for Sammy to do great things. Where did all this come from? I don't know what made him burst out. Sammy should understand how the media portrays things.
''I've got a lot of respect for Sammy Sosa. I love the guy from the bottom of my heart to the top of my heart. This outburst isn't going to change that. Maybe it will change things in his mind, but it's not going to change things in my mind.''
Whether they eventually make up or not--''Sure,'' Bonds said when asked if he'd like to talk to Sosa soon--the seeds have been planted for delicious battles ahead. It's clear now that Sosa is taking this record business very seriously, not only the idea of passing Bonds' single-season mark but ultimately outdueling him in the pursuit of Henry Aaron's all-time mark of 755. When Sosa said of Bonds, ''I don't have to worry about him ... He has to worry about me because I'm the one who has a chance to break his record,'' he laid down the challenge. Even if he and Bonds share a hug Monday, when the Cubs and San Francisco Giants meet again, the true feelings of both men have been exposed.
Besides, it doesn't sound like Sosa wants to break bread. ''Whatever [Bonds] says,'' he said Wednesday, ''he understands he made a big mistake. ... He's probably not going to do it again. But in case he says something again, [I'll] pay back.'' Whoa.
They seem to be playing an early head game with each other, like boxers before a colossal fight. Although Bonds doesn't understand the fuss, he should know he drew Sosa's ire when he suggested Sosa's version of their outfield chat--claiming Bonds urged him to break the single-season record--was a lie and that Sosa has a verbal diarrhea problem.
If he were a gentler soul, Bonds would have shrugged off Sosa's comments. But he's a sensitive, complex man who has been the polar opposite of Sosa--unaccommodating to the media and cold to the outside world. When Bonds' comments were relayed to Sosa by Sun-Times reporter Mike Kiley, Smilin' Sammy morphed into the Incredible Hulk. ''That doesn't surprise me coming from Barry. I always admired him as a player and a person, but now I have to say that I don't care about him or what he say,'' Sosa said.
All of which conjures mental pictures of the pre-2001 Bonds, an image he managed to improve during his record-smashing season. He impressed us with his thoughtful words after Sept. 11 and cool demeanor in the final weeks, when he suffered a personal tragedy while being pitched around by opponents. Sosa has injured Bonds in the public eye. When the most popular player in the game (according to a USA Today survey) torches a historically unpopular player, there's no way Bonds wins.
For the same reason, there's no chance of Bonds winning mass support in a power duel with Sosa. Having hit 243 homers the last four years, Sosa is viewed as the more consistent of the two sluggers and, factoring in his likability, certainly is the people's choice to have the record. This has to grate on Bonds, who might be remembered as the game's greatest all-around outfielder yet doesn't get a smidgen of the love Sosa receives.
Before this week, the American public had grown bored with home runs. Nothing like a rocking feud to renew interest, huh? ''Who will play you, Barry, in the Sammy movie?'' a reporter asked Bonds, referring to the proposed motion picture.
He just smirked and shrugged, knowing there never will be a Barry Bonds movie.
I rank today's column about Sam-ME as positive. Even though Jay tries to support the "likable Sam-ME" proposition with USA Today figures, I think Fluffy believes so, too.
So I give the column a 4, based on the following scale...
5=Extremely positive
4=positive
3=equal parts positive and negative
2=negative
1=extremely negative
That makes the totals (columns/points/average points):
Flubs 4/16/4
Sox 0/0/0
http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay071.html
Sammy isn't all sweetness
March 7, 2002
BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--We always knew there was a mean streak in there, a cutthroat competitor beneath the love taps, hugs and blown kisses. All Sam-my Sosa needed was some disrespectful lout to kickstart his rage.
And what better provocateur, in the spirit of smiling-guy-vs.-surly-guy drama and the sizzle of home-run races this year and beyond, than Barry Bonds?
In a certifiably wacko media climate that gives us Tonya Harding fighting Paula Jones and Danny Partridge fighting Greg Brady, isn't it perfect Sosa would rip Bonds for calling out Sosa and launch a heated rivalry between baseball's top sluggers? The latest crossfire in this ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' pilot came Wed-nesday when Bonds, sitting by his corner locker in Scottsdale Stadium, took turns laughing and shaking his head while reading a copy of Sosa's stinging shots--which ranged from calling Bonds selfish to saying, ''Now I have to believe that all the negative things that have been said about him by his teammates are true.''
Your turn, Barry. ''It's funny, to be honest. It's childish, to be honest,'' Bonds said. ''The thing that's sad is, it's two minority athletes in the game of baseball.''
What race has to do with a volley of unrelated insults, I have no idea. But as usual, the many moods of Bonds spilled out during a three-minute retort. At first, he truly seemed surprised and hurt by Sosa's comments, knowing he has had some success in altering public perceptions about him after his record 73-homer season. Then he shifted into amusement mode, chuckling aloud in a crowded clubhouse and wondering what got into Sosa. Most of all, he was perplexed, stunned that a national controversy would emerge from their friendly outfield conversation before a game last week in Mesa.
''I'm the guy who always said Sammy should be MVP,'' said Bonds, referring to his lobbying for Sosa last season. ''I'm the one who's absolutely rooting for Sammy to do great things. Where did all this come from? I don't know what made him burst out. Sammy should understand how the media portrays things.
''I've got a lot of respect for Sammy Sosa. I love the guy from the bottom of my heart to the top of my heart. This outburst isn't going to change that. Maybe it will change things in his mind, but it's not going to change things in my mind.''
Whether they eventually make up or not--''Sure,'' Bonds said when asked if he'd like to talk to Sosa soon--the seeds have been planted for delicious battles ahead. It's clear now that Sosa is taking this record business very seriously, not only the idea of passing Bonds' single-season mark but ultimately outdueling him in the pursuit of Henry Aaron's all-time mark of 755. When Sosa said of Bonds, ''I don't have to worry about him ... He has to worry about me because I'm the one who has a chance to break his record,'' he laid down the challenge. Even if he and Bonds share a hug Monday, when the Cubs and San Francisco Giants meet again, the true feelings of both men have been exposed.
Besides, it doesn't sound like Sosa wants to break bread. ''Whatever [Bonds] says,'' he said Wednesday, ''he understands he made a big mistake. ... He's probably not going to do it again. But in case he says something again, [I'll] pay back.'' Whoa.
They seem to be playing an early head game with each other, like boxers before a colossal fight. Although Bonds doesn't understand the fuss, he should know he drew Sosa's ire when he suggested Sosa's version of their outfield chat--claiming Bonds urged him to break the single-season record--was a lie and that Sosa has a verbal diarrhea problem.
If he were a gentler soul, Bonds would have shrugged off Sosa's comments. But he's a sensitive, complex man who has been the polar opposite of Sosa--unaccommodating to the media and cold to the outside world. When Bonds' comments were relayed to Sosa by Sun-Times reporter Mike Kiley, Smilin' Sammy morphed into the Incredible Hulk. ''That doesn't surprise me coming from Barry. I always admired him as a player and a person, but now I have to say that I don't care about him or what he say,'' Sosa said.
All of which conjures mental pictures of the pre-2001 Bonds, an image he managed to improve during his record-smashing season. He impressed us with his thoughtful words after Sept. 11 and cool demeanor in the final weeks, when he suffered a personal tragedy while being pitched around by opponents. Sosa has injured Bonds in the public eye. When the most popular player in the game (according to a USA Today survey) torches a historically unpopular player, there's no way Bonds wins.
For the same reason, there's no chance of Bonds winning mass support in a power duel with Sosa. Having hit 243 homers the last four years, Sosa is viewed as the more consistent of the two sluggers and, factoring in his likability, certainly is the people's choice to have the record. This has to grate on Bonds, who might be remembered as the game's greatest all-around outfielder yet doesn't get a smidgen of the love Sosa receives.
Before this week, the American public had grown bored with home runs. Nothing like a rocking feud to renew interest, huh? ''Who will play you, Barry, in the Sammy movie?'' a reporter asked Bonds, referring to the proposed motion picture.
He just smirked and shrugged, knowing there never will be a Barry Bonds movie.