FOR NOW, SOSA'S SEASON DOESN'T HAVE THAT '98 BUZZ.

Byline: MATT McHALE Baseball

When Sammy Sosa hit 66 home runs and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award last season, he enjoyed his place behind Mark McGwire in the chase for Roger Maris' home run record and the overall resurrection of baseball.

His smile and enthusiasm breathed life into the game, but he always deferred to McGwire by calling him ``the man'' and saying that the most important thing was reaching the playoffs, which the Cubs did as the wild card.

This year is no different, although neither McGwire nor Sosa is on last year's home-run pace. But while McGwire, who hit 70 homers in 1998, still draws a crush of fan and media attention for every swing, Sosa no longer seems part of the phenomenon. The Cubs are 11th in the National League in road attendance.

When McGwire and the St. Louis Cardinals played last month at Dodger Stadium, two of the three games drew crowds of nearly 54,000. But the advance sale for the Cubs' three-game series that begins here Monday night is barely 30,000.

Granted it is a weekday series and the Cardinals played on a weekend. And the Cubs, with many fans in Los Angeles, usually pull in an excellent walk-up crowd.

The Dodgers will be opening the gates a half-hour early to let fans watch Sosa take batting practice. But the buzz is not the same.

``I won't say the fans have forgotten, but they seem to follow McGwire more,'' said Dodgers right fielder Raul Mondesi. ``In the Dominican, though, you can't believe what Sammy means to everyone. But things have quieted down.''

The Cubs have been competitive this season despite a lack of overall power. Sosa hit his seventh home run Saturday. He isn't even the top home run hitter in his own country - that honor going to the Cardinals' Fernando Tatis, who is tied for the major-league lead with 11.

But one should remember that Sosa didn't get rolling last year until June, when he hit a record 20 homers. The ivy on the outfield walls of Wrigley Field is just starting to turn green.

The club also is in a power shortage. After hitting a club-record 212 last year, the team is ranked 11th in the National League, even after hitting five in Tuesday's 13-12 win over Colorado.

That game was memorable for Cubs first baseman Mark Grace, who hit his first grand slam in his 1,630th big-league game. But there is another drought as well.

Before that game, the Cubs had failed to homer in eight consecutive games (April 25-Monday). No other major-league team has gone more than six games without a homer this year.

During those eight games, however, the Cubs went 6-2 and remain close to Houston and St. Louis in the National League Central.

``Sure, we went eight games without a home run, but we got six wins,'' Sosa said. ``Sometimes you don't need a home run to win a game.''