Shut up, Sammy...

After Sammy Sosa seemingly fell off the face of the earth a year ago - at this point is anyone buying foot injuries from Sosa in the middle of a steroid witch hunt? - he's back again.

And bitching.

Oh, Sammy, we've missed you.

He's upset because someone stole his blankie... wait, no - he got left off the Hometown Hero list from MLB. As Chicagoist hit on the other day, the lists look pretty solid, with some questions on the White Sox finalists.

For the record, five people outside of the Sosa family saw the list and asked where Sammy was. One was Ronnie Woo in between incessant woo-wooing.

Two quick side notes:

* I loved a story a few months ago where some reporter tried to track down Sosa and got as far as the new folks in his old condo who still get his mail. Other than that, he'd disappeared without a trace.

* Sosa telling the steroid probe committee that he didn't speak too much English through his attorney. This isn't given enough credit for being the defining moment of the Sammy Sosa experience. Sure, it was pretty typical that he bugged out after his last game as a Cub, decided to lie about it and was sold out by Cubs security, but Smilin' Sammy clamming up and taking the "Yo no hablo English, much..." defense was pretty outstanding.

Sosa's English has improved by leaps and bounds in a few short months, speaking to the Chicago Tribune and crying about not making the final cut.

"The city of Chicago knows about baseball; I am not a bad player—no way, Jose," Sosa said with a laugh. "With all the respect for Mr. Cub, my numbers can compete with everybody. When I heard that I was not on the list, I said, 'Oh, my God.' I was shocked and surprised. The five best players? You have to calculate my numbers."

It was a hell of a ride, but to put Sosa as the top Cub of all time is a stretch.

According to the MLB.com release:

Major League Baseball (MLB) and DHL, the "Official Express Delivery and Logistics Provider" of Major League Baseball and MLB.com, today unveiled the five nominees for each of the 30 MLB Clubs for the "DHL Presents Major League Baseball Hometown Heroes" program. This multi-faceted program was created to recognize those players who most embody the legacy of Major League Baseball and each respective franchise's history.

Sosa wants us to remember the good times, the home run chase, the home run chase and the home run chase. The Cubs legacy boiling down to corked bats, checking out early and steroid suspicions? Well, actually that checking out early bit might have merit, but it's not really the Cubbie way to compete for an entire season. Drug-fueled or not.