Did they? Sosa is past his prime as a baserunner, is in serious decline as a fielder, and is losing it as a hitter. Sure, he'll probably hit 30 HR, but nothing else. And, he'll strike out a lot. Oh, and one more thing - he sucks all the oxygen out of the room.

Granted, they gave up little. But I don't really see him helping them.

In other words, the O's got the Dominican Jeromy Burnitz - no running, no fielding, lots of HR and K's. Oh wait, the Cubs just signed the real Jeromy for $5 million (plus the ~$10 mil they're still paying Sammy). So the Cubbies added Hairston and spare parts and get a wash from Sammy to Burnie - for $15 million. Hope that pitching stays healthy.

For the O's, I think the Sammy deal is just to put fannies in the seats.

The Cubs had to unload Sammy and are happy to have that behind them. In return, they got diddly squat in talent (sorry, Jerry H.) and freed up vitually no money in 2005. However, they are off the hook in '06 and should have some good free agent money available.

Anyone who thinks the Cubs did this trade from a "talent" standpoint obviously hasn't been paying attention to what has been going on in Chicago. After seeing the crowd at the Cubs convention, there was no doubt in my mind Sammy had to go, no matter what we got in return.
And Hairston seems incredibly excited to be coming back to Chicago(he grew up there)...that often makes a difference.

And I'll take 1 year of Burnitz at $5mill rather than 5 years of a quesionable Ordonez at 3 times that. If he could prove he can stay healthy, then I'd obviously want him.

Watching SamMe at the press conference was all I needed to be happy with any trade AT ALL. I just can't stand his "personality" any more. THANK YOU BALTIMORE!!! and God Help You.