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American Morning
Shattered Image for Sammy Sosa?
Aired June 05, 2003 - 07:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is still the most talked-about story in Chicago and, in fact, the world of sports today again. His public image may be tarnished, but so far Sammy Sosa's bats are clean. Major League Baseball seized 76 last night after the Chicago Cubs slugger was ejected from a game Tuesday for using a bat filled with cork. There is no sign of cork in any of the other bats x-rayed.
Sammy, for his part, has apologized to teammates and fans, and now waiting to hear what his punishment will be from baseball.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMMY SOSA, CHICAGO CUBS RIGHT FIELDER: I'm man enough to take, you know, everything that I've done for, and I stood up yesterday and I came in and take the blame. But, you know, the media today, you know, they got me out there like I'm a criminal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: What kind of fallout now from the cork caper? Dan Bernstein is a sports talk show host on WSCR radio in Chicago. He's outside of Wrigley Field, where it's starting to rain a little bit there in the windy city.
Dan, good morning. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING here on CNN.
DAN BERNSTEIN, SPORTS RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Good morning. How are you?
HEMMER: I'm doing just fine. Thank you much.
You have no love lost for Sammy Sosa. I read some of your comments this morning and again last night. Do the x-rays, though, they come back negative, does that mean Sammy Sosa now is in the clear?
BERNSTEIN: No, it doesn't. I think his numbers here on in and in the past are forever tainted by this. He's lost his halo. He's lost his credibility.
HEMMER: Well, he said he uses this cork bat in batting practice. How true is that for any major leaguer?
BERNSTEIN: Regardless of whether or not he uses it in batting practice, he used it in a game. He cheated. He says in the papers today, I'm reading he's now saying amidst all of that outpouring of love last night, but he says everybody knows I am innocent. He's not innocent. He's been caught.
And the larger question is now: What can we believe about his earlier denials regarding some other possible performance enhancements?
HEMMER: Yes, well, let's keep it to the cork bat issue right here. What do you believe right now is proper punishment? In the past, we've seen 5 games, 8 games, 10 games.
BERNSTEIN: I think it will probably come down to the 7-to-10 range, and probably on appeal then be pushed down somewhere between 5 and 7. My suspicion is that Major League baseball needs him involved in this weekend's series against the Yankees, and the powers that be will do everything they can to make sure he plays against New York.
HEMMER: Well, you are somewhat cynical, aren't you, Dan?
BERNSTEIN: Well, I have trouble believing Sammy after what I've heard. I think when you're in this business a long time you get a pretty good built-in shockproof lie detector, as Hemingway once called it.
HEMMER: Listen, what's the reaction in Chicago? What are fans in saying?
BERNSTEIN: The reaction is interesting. I think there are a lot of critical thinkers who don't buy a word of what Sammy Sosa is saying and who do believe this is a black mark on his career and his legacy. There are others whom you saw last night giving him this inexplicable and disappointing standing ovation. I don't know how they could explain it to their kids if their kids were with them.
And I know that for years, this team for decades has been known as lovable losers, and a lot of the fans here have celebrated this lovable losing. But for the first time, we've created an amazing phenomenon, the lovable cheater. I'm wondering how long that lasts.
HEMMER: Wow! You are strong, Dan. Listen, come back. We'll talk again as we wait to see how this thing plays out. Dan Bernstein, a sports talk show host there in Chicago.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired June 5, 2003 - 07:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is still the most talked-about story in Chicago and, in fact, the world of sports today again. His public image may be tarnished, but so far Sammy Sosa's bats are clean. Major League Baseball seized 76 last night after the Chicago Cubs slugger was ejected from a game Tuesday for using a bat filled with cork. There is no sign of cork in any of the other bats x-rayed.
Sammy, for his part, has apologized to teammates and fans, and now waiting to hear what his punishment will be from baseball.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMMY SOSA, CHICAGO CUBS RIGHT FIELDER: I'm man enough to take, you know, everything that I've done for, and I stood up yesterday and I came in and take the blame. But, you know, the media today, you know, they got me out there like I'm a criminal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: What kind of fallout now from the cork caper? Dan Bernstein is a sports talk show host on WSCR radio in Chicago. He's outside of Wrigley Field, where it's starting to rain a little bit there in the windy city.
Dan, good morning. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING here on CNN.
DAN BERNSTEIN, SPORTS RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Good morning. How are you?
HEMMER: I'm doing just fine. Thank you much.
You have no love lost for Sammy Sosa. I read some of your comments this morning and again last night. Do the x-rays, though, they come back negative, does that mean Sammy Sosa now is in the clear?
BERNSTEIN: No, it doesn't. I think his numbers here on in and in the past are forever tainted by this. He's lost his halo. He's lost his credibility.
HEMMER: Well, he said he uses this cork bat in batting practice. How true is that for any major leaguer?
BERNSTEIN: Regardless of whether or not he uses it in batting practice, he used it in a game. He cheated. He says in the papers today, I'm reading he's now saying amidst all of that outpouring of love last night, but he says everybody knows I am innocent. He's not innocent. He's been caught.
And the larger question is now: What can we believe about his earlier denials regarding some other possible performance enhancements?
HEMMER: Yes, well, let's keep it to the cork bat issue right here. What do you believe right now is proper punishment? In the past, we've seen 5 games, 8 games, 10 games.
BERNSTEIN: I think it will probably come down to the 7-to-10 range, and probably on appeal then be pushed down somewhere between 5 and 7. My suspicion is that Major League baseball needs him involved in this weekend's series against the Yankees, and the powers that be will do everything they can to make sure he plays against New York.
HEMMER: Well, you are somewhat cynical, aren't you, Dan?
BERNSTEIN: Well, I have trouble believing Sammy after what I've heard. I think when you're in this business a long time you get a pretty good built-in shockproof lie detector, as Hemingway once called it.
HEMMER: Listen, what's the reaction in Chicago? What are fans in saying?
BERNSTEIN: The reaction is interesting. I think there are a lot of critical thinkers who don't buy a word of what Sammy Sosa is saying and who do believe this is a black mark on his career and his legacy. There are others whom you saw last night giving him this inexplicable and disappointing standing ovation. I don't know how they could explain it to their kids if their kids were with them.
And I know that for years, this team for decades has been known as lovable losers, and a lot of the fans here have celebrated this lovable losing. But for the first time, we've created an amazing phenomenon, the lovable cheater. I'm wondering how long that lasts.
HEMMER: Wow! You are strong, Dan. Listen, come back. We'll talk again as we wait to see how this thing plays out. Dan Bernstein, a sports talk show host there in Chicago.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
