Sosa moving down

[PuxicoRG]

News
Sammy Sosa (http://bigleaguers.yahoo.com/mlbpa/players/4344/) called manager Dusty Baker following Tuesday's game and volunteered to drop down to fifth in the batting order. Baker made the move for Wednesday's game against the Brewers and the result was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts for the slumping outfielder. "I have been thinking about this for a week. And [Tuesday night] I made it official," Sosa told the Chicago Tribune. "I'm doing what is best for the team. I don't mind doing it. I will hit fifth the rest of the year, whatever they want." It was the first time that Sosa has not batted third or fourth for the Cubs since 1994. The new lineup featured Moises Alou (http://bigleaguers.yahoo.com/mlbpa/players/4517/) in the cleanup spot behind Nomar Garciaparra (http://bigleaguers.yahoo.com/mlbpa/players/5706/). Aramis Ramirez (http://bigleaguers.yahoo.com/mlbpa/players/6014/) is hitting behind Sosa in the sixth spot.

Views
Wednesday's outing against All-Star Ben Sheets (http://bigleaguers.yahoo.com/mlbpa/players/6618/) wasn't the best start for Sosa in his new lineup location. However, there should be a little less pressure on him batting fifth; we'll see if it helps him find his swing.My question is - what good does it do to move Sosa down in the lineup if you're still going to hit Alou 4th. He's slumping just as badly, if not worse, than Sosa. Seems like Lee should hit 4th, Alou 6th. (Without looking into it very deeply.)

[Iowa_Card]

1. Patterson
2. Nomah
3. Ramirez
4. Lee
5. Sosa
6. Alou
7. Barrett
8. Grudz/Walker

[MemoriesDK]

My question is - what good does it do to move Sosa down in the lineup if you're still going to hit Alou 4th. He's slumping just as badly, if not worse, than Sosa. Seems like Lee should hit 4th, Alou 6th. (Without looking into it very deeply.)
I really think Sosa should hit 6th with Alou hitting 5th. Alou is struggling but nowhere near the kind of struggles Sosa is having. Sosa is in a 10-73 slump which gives him a very solid avg of .136

[frivolousz21]

right now sosa is batting like Reggie sanders..and I agree 6th

[The Tardis]

Since Hammy seems to have the final say in lineups, why don't they just make it official and name him the manager? The could probably sign a decent reliever with the cash they'd save, not paying Baker.

[The Tardis]

Seems like the Cubs are in a near team wide slump, right now.

In August, Sosa, Lee, Ramirez, Alou, and Barrett all have OBPs under .300. They're still hitting homers, but not doing much else.

Nomah's been good, but his OPS is under .900 in August.

The various 2Bs have been great, between Walker, Grudz, and Martinez.

And when the heck did Patterson learn to hit? He's at .354/.417/.662 in August. By far, the best single month of his career. Is it a fluke, or is he actually turning into the multi-faceted five tool stud he was hyped up to be in the minors.

[ryr8828]

If they make Sosa the manager will he play the black players and sit the white guys when it's hot outside like Baker does?

[univ_of_kentucky]

I doubt Sammy volunteered to drop in the order, I think there is/was a gentleman's agreement (beforehand) about not dropping Sosa beyond 4th. But, they could sugarcoat it, make Sosa look good while dropping down in the order while still accomplishing dropping him down. I agree that Alou should be hitting 6th.

[STLCARDSFAN1]

sosa should be hitting 6th. he is sucking

[univ_of_kentucky]

Even with his struggles and decline, he is still more likely to be an effective run producer than Alou at this stage. Sosa's slump has been mental, then the Cubs made the error of assuming it was mechanical and shifted his stance. Sosa's numbers are still much better than Alou's overall this year, but so are Walker's and Grudz has started most of the games as of late, despite it.