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It's all on Sammy Sosa now. If he can't revive himself with the Orioles, he never will.

The fans in Baltimore are the most patient in the Northeast Corridor. Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli isn't nearly as imposing a personality as the Cubs' Dusty Baker. And Camden Yards, though not as much of a hitters park as Wrigley Field, is favorable to righthanded sluggers.

Baltimore still is two starting pitchers short of presentable, but the Orioles finished sixth in the American League in runs last season without Sosa, and their power-packed lineup should be even better with him in it. The A.L. East stage will be suitably grand for Sosa--the Orioles play nearly one-fourth of their games against the Yankees and Red Sox--but not oppressive. Put it all together, and Sosa, 36, couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

The Orioles were his No. 1 choice--yes, even ahead of the Mets, the team that showed the most early interest. The fan and media pressure in New York, combined with the demands of the city's Dominican community, would have been difficult for Sosa to bear. It's telling that he didn't require a contract extension to waive his no-trade clause for the Orioles. He almost certainly would have required one from the Mets.

Clearly, this isn't only about money; Sosa is forfeiting $22.5 million to escape Chicago, confident he'll restore his earning power with a big year. This is his chance to prove he's still Sammy. That he can slug even under more rigorous steroid testing. That he can subjugate his ego with a new team. That he is a better player--and person--than he was last season, when it all blew up with the Cubs.

Memo to Sammy: Turn down the boom box. Acknowledge that shortstop Miguel Tejada is the Orioles' leader. Shut up, show up, and play. Sosa's fall from grace has been so pronounced, few are even aware that he's just 26 homers shy of 600. Some of the criticism of Sosa is unjust, considering all he has accomplished over the past 16 seasons. But when you cork a bat, feud with a popular, charismatic manager and generally transform yourself into Sammy Diva, then walk out on your team on the final day of the season, you lose your right to a fair trial.

Not that it matters anymore. Sosa's divorce with the Cubs is official. Opening day--a packed house at Camden Yards, Barry Zito pitching for the A's--will be the first day of the rest of his career.

"I think Sammy will be one of the best pickups of the entire offseason," says one of Sosa's agents, Tom Reich. "He deserves better than this. He's determined, absolutely determined--determined to remind people that he has a lot of productive time left.

"Everyone is dwelling on everything (from last season). Everyone has forgotten about everything this man has accomplished. Everyone also is living on this idea that, 'If it's Tuesday, it must be steroids.'

"In my opinion, Sammy Sosa will be a very productive player, in 2005 and beyond."

Frankly, Sosa wasn't all that bad in '04, even though it was his third consecutive season of statistical decline. He missed more than a month with strained ligaments in his lower back, and his .849 on-base/slugging percentage was his lowest since 1997. That figure, however, was equal to the percentages of Jose Guillen and Brian Giles and higher than those of Chipper Jones, Jeff Bagwell, Andruw Jones and Steve Finley. For all of Sosa's troubles, his home run rate of one every 13.7 at-bats was the seventh-best in the N.L.

A motivated, liberated Sosa would seem a good bet to rebound, at least for one season. But unless Sosa regains his inherent Sammy-ness, questions will linger. Talk has persisted all winter that Sosa is notably slimmer--"He has lost at least 35 pounds," says one scout who bumped into Sosa in the Dominican. "I hardly recognized him." Sosa's associates scoff at talk of the Incredible Shrinking Sammy. Truth is, he probably could stand to lose a few pounds, anyway.

Sosa's body is one thing; his head is another. Proud as he is, he should be humbled by his experience in Chicago. The Cubs will pay a significant portion of his remaining salary for him to go away, and they received only Jerry Hairston and prospects in return. It's difficult to imagine that the Cubs will be better without Sosa and left fielder Moises Alou, who hit 74 home runs combined last season. Yet, they were as desperate to get rid of Sosa as he was to leave.

Hop to it, Sammy. No more excuses, no more time.

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