Sammy Sosa: How the Mighty Have Fallen

That only one major league team has offered future Hall-of-Famer Sammy Sosa a job is perhaps the most telling indication of how far his stock has fallen. Last year Sosa earned $17 million playing for Baltimore in the last year of a five-year pact Sosa originally signed with the Cubs. Now he reportedly is being offered no more than $500,000, plus incentives, from the Nationals, none of it guaranteed. Sosa hit just .221 with 14 homers in 102 games in an injury-marred '05 campaign. Last month Sosa put on a brave front, agreeing to return to the bargaining table with Washington after the Nationals sobered him with a paltry minor league contract offer and an invitation to spring training. The Nats have finally come across with a major league pact, but is there any wonder why Sosa continues to contemplate sitting out the season in the comfort of his Miami home?