Wood’s name has been widely circulated as one of the Cubs players who took a bat to Sosa’s noise-pulsating boom box in the clubhouse that final day.
“I don’t have the balls to do that,” Wood said. “There have been times in the past . . . (when Wood felt like doing that). I came in four or five days later to get my stuff and I didn’t notice anything.”
Asked if Sosa would be welcomed back by his teammates next spring if he is not traded, Wood said, “It (leaving his teammates on the final day of the season) was kind of what it has been like for the past three years. Sammy does his thing. Especially that last day, a lot of guys were disappointed. None of us wanted to be there, but we all suited up.”
Wood also commented on the resignations of longtime Cubs broadcasters Steve Stone and Chip Caray. Both moves were fueled by friction stirred by a few Cubs players who complained about the broadcasters’ criticism of the team’s performance.
“I have heard more than enough about the Steve Stone issue,” Wood said. “I think it got really overplayed in the media. I’m happy for Chip; he gets a chance to go work with his father (Skip Caray) in Atlanta.
“There was an incident (pitcher Kent Mercker calling the TV booth to complain during a game). But you know what? There have been a lot of incidents that don’t get in the paper and the public doesn’t find out. Now we look like a bunch of [jerks] to the rest of the league, people saying it would be tough to root for us because we look like a bunch of whiners.”
I’m with Kerry Wood on this one; enough about Steve Stone. I mean, what has he done since putting out that Gerrymander Bob single anyway?