Sosa to Orioles...Probably

It looks like Sammy will be going to the Orioles. Enjoy your new dugout cancer. There are still a few hurdles to clear first. The Cubs are going to have to pick up about $10 Million of his salary if the stories are true, but it should free up $12 Million over the next two years.

Sosa could end his 12-year stay with the Cubs if a proposed deal with the Orioles is approved next week. But there are some details that need finalizing, such as Sosa passing a physical and restructuring his contract.

This next paragraph kind of says it all.

Hendry did talk to teams on Friday regarding Sosa, who batted .253 in 2004, his lowest average since 1997. He hit 35 home runs and drove in 80 runs in 126 games, missing one month because of sneeze-induced back spasms. Sosa enters the 2005 season with 574 career home runs and ranks seventh on the all-time list.

That's right, he missed a month because he sneezed and threw his back out. There is apparently no truth to the rumor that Mike Flanagan has hired an assistant to protect Sammy from encountering pepper.