The chickens are back in the hen house.Sammy Sosa has apparently not only learned English in the time since the steroid hearings, but he’s also learned only the right English words. Sosa has been all smiles, humility, and “team first” attitude in his Spring Training tryout with the Texas Rangers. He says he feels great, and that he’s just a rookie out there, trying to make the team.

And, oh yeah. He’s hitting the hell out of the pelota to the tune of a .500 average, a .526 OBP, and an .889 slugging percentage.

Are we buying it?

I have to admit, I was never a big Sosa fan. I know it was a privilege to watch one of the game’s most prolific sluggers take aim at Waveland Avenue 4+ times a game, 81 games a year. I know his 2001 season may very well be the greatest season a hitter will ever have in a Cubs uniform. I know Sammy did a lot to carry some awful Cubs teams on his broad shoulders. I know he worked hard to make his defense better adequate, and I certainly never saw him get cheated out of a swing.

But still.

He certainly could have done more to be a clubhouse leader. At one point, he was one of the most popular athletes in the United States, maybe even the world. He could have demanded the respect of his teammates with his numbers and his hustle, even if his off-the-field antics and comments were clownish. But it seemed the only time he was interested in being vocal was when there was a microphone in front of his face. It bugged me that it never seemed to bug him that the Cubs were putrid for much of the time he was in Chicago. But then, maybe it’s unfair to fault a guy for not being more of a leader. Some guys just aren’t comfortable in that role.

But of course, toward the end of Sosa’s time in Chicago, controversy started sticking to Sosa like Daryl Ward’s ass sticks to a leather couch on a hot day. The corking. The steroid rumors. The early exit at the end of the 2004 season. The boom box incident. Either Sosa ran into a string of incredibly bad luck, or maybe he really was a “me-first” headcase. Whatever the case may be, it hurt to see one of the best sluggers of my time get devalued to the level of Jerry Hairston, Jr. It was depressing that the Cubs felt better off with Jeromy Burnitz in right field than Sosa. It was even more depressing that the numbers supported their stance.

Maybe Sosa is back because he truly loves the game and couldn’t stand being away from it. I hope that’s the case. I don’t want my last thoughts of Sosa to be of him flailing away in Baltimore, no longer able to catch up to a high fastball. As maddening as Sosa’s ego could be, he made baseball great again in 1998, and he made a horrible 2001 Cubs team (Ricky Gutierrez was your #2 run producer? Really?) fun to watch. And I know people will argue that he wasn’t clutch. But “clutch” is really such a bullshit word, anyhow. When a guy gets hits 3 times out of every 10, it’s a matter of luck as to when he gets those 3. And was there a more electrifying example of one of those three than the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 2003 NLCS? In my years of watching Cubs baseball, I don’t think I’ve screamed more loudly than I did as I watched that ball clear the bleachers and tie the game.

On the other hand, maybe it’s not the baseball Sosa misses, but the spotlight. He’s 12 homeruns away from 600 in his career, and it would be awfully hard for the Hall of Fame Committee not to vote in a guy with the numbers Sosa has and with no proven connection to illegal substances.

I hope it’s the former. I like that the meth heads have their own “Brock-for-Broglio” in “Sosa-for-Bell.” I like the fact that even when the Cubs were awful in the 90’s and early 00’s, people would still tune in to watch Sosa, and 9 times out of 10, it was worth it. If it’s what he wants, I hope he gets his 12 home runs and his Hall of Fame plaque. He has certainly worked hard enough in his career to generate Hall-worthy numbers.

Come on, Sammy. End this thing with a bang, not a whimper.