The Chicago Cubs have been nothing but a disappointment. Their anemic offense has gotten little to no production from nearly every position on the field. As usual, the only player who has done his job all season is Sammy Sosa.

	Sammy Sosa Outfielder Chicago Cubs Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI AVG OBP SLG 114 40 91 .307 .419 .643

And now Sosa is voicing his frustration, saying he might consider leaving Chicago as a free agent after the 2003 season. It appears to him -- and to me -- that the Cubs aren't getting any better, and Sosa wants a World Series ring before his career ends.

Although some in Chicago are questioning Sosa's comments -- and at least one columnist wrote that he should leave town -- Sosa deserves to be applauded, not criticized. Before the 2001 season, he accepted a contract that was below market value to stay in Chicago. At the time he felt the Cubs were improving. Under Don Baylor, the Cubs appeared to be on the right track.

Heading into this season, they added Moises Alou, looked forward to a full season with Fred McGriff and expected a resurgence from Kerry Wood. Yet most of the Cubs have underperformed -- but not Sosa.

Before the season is over, Sosa will be the only player in major-league history to ever hit 50 home runs in five straight seasons. Babe Ruth never did it. Hank Aaron never did it. Willie Mays never did it. Barry Bonds will never do it. Only Sammy.

Doing the right thing

I was very pleased to see that the players did not set a strike date Monday. It shows the fans that they are really trying to work out an agreement. The owners had come out earlier in the year and said there would not be a lockout, which was positive on their side. At the time it was called a propaganda move by the players' union. Whether it was or not, it still had the same effect, telling the fans they would not lock the players out. If the players had set a strike date, it would have looked callous. By not setting a strike date but reserving the right to wait until Friday, they showed some sensitivity to the fans and to the public. On Sunday, I told a player that the players needed to show genuine remorse for what they were doing, and he promised to make sure it would happen. If the players had been more matter-of-fact in announcing a strike date, it would have been detrimental to what they are trying to do. I'm happy with the way the players handled things, yet they can still set a strike date. Nothing has changed, except they have given themselves and the owners four more days to work out an agreement. Whether you call it a publicity stunt or not, it still works for me. I'm optimistic that there will be a deal done before there is a strike or lockout. -- Joe Morgan

Yet Sosa has come to realize that individual accomplishments are no longer fun when his team continues to lose. Baseball is still a team game; after a while, individual numbers -- no matter how great they are -- begin to lose some of their luster.

If anyone in the Cubs organization or the Chicago media reacts negatively to Sosa's frustration, they have the problem, not Sosa. The organization is responsible for building a great team around Sosa. The media's job is to follow and report on the team; the reporters have no right to be upset with Sosa. They should consider how dull it would be in Chicago without Sosa around.

I live in the Bay Area, and two years ago the San Francisco media was trying to run Bonds out of town. Some were writing columns saying the Giants should let Bonds go, save money and get two hitters and a pitcher for the same price. But no two hitters could make up for Bonds' production and presence in the lineup.

I view Sosa the same way I do Bonds. It amazes me that two years ago the Cubs tried to work out a trade with the Yankees and other teams because they were reluctant to pay him fair market value. Like Bonds, Sosa makes everyone around him better.

When a team has a superstar, the organization, the fans and the media have to deal with his frustrations as well as his greatness. At the same time, they have to understand that there are only a few superstars in the game, maybe four or five at the most. Sosa is one of them.

Even before Sosa hit 66 home runs in 1998, I said he was the most underrated superstar in the game. What I like about Sosa is that he has made himself into a better player. Six years ago, Sosa was a free swinger, a strikeout waiting to happen. Now he is a more patient, disciplined hitter; his walks have risen every year, from 34 in 1996 to a career-high 116 in 2001. Along with being a great slugger, Sosa has developed into a good hitter, one who hits over .300.

Some may say Sosa is all about Sosa and not a team player. But why would he be frustrated over the Cubs' losing if he didn't care? Plus, how can someone drive in 138, 141, 158 and 160 runs in successive years for himself only and not help his team? Not all of those RBIs came when the Cubs were behind. Anyone who says Sosa doesn't hit in the clutch or drive in meaningful runs doesn't understand the game.

In addition, how could anyone question a player who never misses a game, never gets hurt and plays with such intensity every day? I dare someone to find a player who hustles as much as Sosa does or plays to the fans as much as he does.

Is there a better ambassador for baseball than Sosa? He runs out to the outfield everyday for the fans. It may seem like a little thing, but how many other players do that? Other superstars go at their own pace; Sosa goes at the Cubs fans' pace -- hard all the time.

The fans love him. At the Home Run Derby in Milwaukee, the fans went crazy when Sosa walked out of the dugout. They knew he was happy to be in Milwaukee and would put on a show for them. Isn't that what the All-Star Game is all about anyway, playing for the fans? Sosa may not be the media's player, but he's the fan's player -- and my kind of player too.

Statistically, he will reach 500 home runs this season -- and he is only 33. No one knows if Sosa will be able to perform like Bonds has at age 38, but if he keeps hitting home runs at the same rate, he will certainly pass 600 home runs in two more seasons and have a shot at Hank Aaron's all-time home-run record.

Sosa has put on the greatest five-year display of home-run hitting ever. Even though Bonds and Mark McGwire received the adulation for breaking the single-season home-run record, Sosa was the one who pushed them.

Remembering Enos

The Hall of Fame lost a great friend in Enos Slaughter, someone I had become friends with the last few years. In reading about Jackie Robinson, I initially wasn't fond of Enos. But after meeting him and seeing the change he made not only in his perception of Jackie but also of other African-American players, we struck up a friendship. He became one of the first people I'd look up when I got to Cooperstown. The great thing about Enos was that he was really enjoying his life. He always had a smile on his face at the Hall of Fame, and he was very talkative. He was a joy to be around for me and everyone else. His nickname, "Country," fit him perfectly. He had a great, down-home personality. Because of his "Mad Dash," when he scored from first base on a double in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series, he became the symbol for what hustle was all about. -- Joe Morgan

Still, writers want to take shots at Sosa. The media has a fraternity, just like the baseball players do, and some of them are friends of Rick Reilly. Even though they know Reilly was wrong for his ill-advised attempt to get Sosa to submit to a drug test, maybe some writers are lashing out at Sosa because Reilly got knocked around for it.

Whatever reasons they have for criticizing Sosa, he has been on a home-run binge since airing his frustrations. When a great player is challenged, his greatness comes out even more. The same thing happened to Bonds; when people were saying he was finished, he hit 49 home runs in 2000 and then 73 last year.

Sosa is a tough competitor. When Baylor told Sosa he couldn't play defense, Sosa practiced hard and made himself into a better defensive player, making diving catches he never made before. Recently, Sosa's average had dropped below .300 and he wasn't hitting home runs at the same rate. But then, with his latest tear, he showed everyone who Sammy Sosa really is.

I just hope the Chicago media doesn't compel Sosa to turn his back on the Cubs after next season. Bonds was nearly run out of San Francisco, but now he is glorified during every at-bat at Pac Bell Park. And over the last three years, he hasn't done more than Sosa has.

Remember, no one is perfect. Sosa has shortcomings, but we all do, even the writers.

Just take it from his manager, Bruce Kimm, after Sosa hit his league-leading 40th home run Monday night: "He's a joy to watch and he's a joy to manage because all he does is come to play. And he comes to win.''

Need I say more?

Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan is the analyst on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and contributes a weekly column to ESPN.com.