Sosa considering comeback

Sammy Sosa is considering coming back to baseball to try and reach 600 home runs. Personally, I would hope that no major league team offers Sosa a contract. This is a man who cheated and then lied about it. It is obvious that Sosa was a steroid user and he deserves to sit at home, wondering if he could still go out and get to 600 home runs. When Sosa is eligible for the hall of fame, I would hope that the voters will stand up and not put him in, same for Mark McGwire. While McGwire and Sosa did a lot to resurrect baseball in the late 90s, they still cheated and still deserve to be locked out of the game. Pete Rose was a player who did a lot for the game, but he bet on baseball, so he is now locked out.

Sosa expects that baseball will welcome him back with open arms. Last season the Washington Nationals tried to sign him, offering 500,000, which should be a good deal to a washed up cheater, but Sosa turned it down. By turning down that deal, he effectively ended his career. Sosa should not be welcomed back into the MLB, not only because he is a cheater, but because he can no longer play up to the quality that he once could.

Sosa is off of steroids and old. He is probably much older than his age says. In the past two years his decline has been very evident. Why would a team want a player like Sosa on their team? He is a cheater and a complainer. He was thrown out of the Cubs organization because he didn't support his teammates. He only cares about himself and only wants to come back to reach 600 home runs. Baseball should not support Sosa in his greedy quest for 600.

Ankiel hopes to make Cardinals' return

After Rick Ankiel's collapse during the 2000 playoffs for the St. Louis Cardinals and his struggles that followed it seemed improbable that he would return to the major leagues. However, Ankiel feels that he is ready to fight his way back, not as a pitcher but as an outfielder. Ankiel had never played outfield as a professional until 2005 when he decided to make the switch, but he was a good hitter in high school.

Ankiel seemed to be on the way back to pitching in the majors in 2004, when he pitched in ten innings for the Cards. While he did have a 5.40 ERA, he showed no control issues, but after pitching in the Puerto Rican league that off-season and showing wildness during a practice that winter, he decided to give up on pitching and make the switch to the outfield. Ankiel was able to hit 21 home runs in the low-level minor leagues for the Cardinals, but bad luck struck Ankiel once again, as an elbow injury ended his comeback in 2006.

Still only 27, Ankiel hopes to make it back to the game he loves to play. Ankiel wished he could have been at the World Series, saying, "Just knowing that I could have been there," Ankiel said. "That's pretty much what's going through your mind the whole time you're watching. Other than that, you're excited for them. I know a lot of those guys. I played with a lot of them."

Ankiel will be working all off-season to make his way back to the major leagues and in many ways it would be good for baseball to see the return of one its once prized young talents.

Luis Tiant Sr.: One of many overlooked Negro League stars

When most Red Sox fans here the name Luis Tiant, they think of the man known affectionetly as "El Tiante". The pitcher who led the Red Sox to three wins in the 1975 World Series, when the team was regarded as a major underdog. Despite the fact that the Red Sox lost that series, Tiant became a Red Sox legend. However, before Tiant became a star pitcher in the MLB, his father, Luis Tiant Sr. was a dominant pitcher in the Negro Leagues. Tiant Sr. was one of many major league quality players who were blocked out of the major leagues because of the color barrier. His son would win 229 career games, only to be told that his father was better.

Tiant Sr. was forced to pitch in Cuba for 50 cents a game, because he was not allowed to play professionally in America. Tiant proved that he could pitch well against major league talent, defeating the Babe Ruth All-Stars in two games during 1935 and allowing Ruth to get just one single.

Tiant is like many Negro League stars. He could have been an all-time great and a Hall of Famer, but instead is known only as the father of Luis Tiant, the Red Sox great. It is time for players like Tiant to be recognized.