This is the fifth in a series of spring-training reports from Florida's Grapefruit League. Tomorrow: Florida Marlins.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Sammy Sosa answered a question yesterday by referring to "that other team I was on in Chicago."

He couldn't bring himself to even say "Cubs." It was an ugly divorce, complete with hidden-camera surveillance, endless rounds of he-said/he-said accusations, and one shattered boom box, which used to blare his Salsa music in the Wrigley Field clubhouse.

When Sosa infamously ducked out on the team last year during their final game — left early and lied about it, until the Cubs produced timed footage from their security camera that showed him leaving — an unnamed teammate took a bat to his boom box, shattering it to smithereens.

The music had become an irritant, just like Sosa himself, who went from being maybe the most popular player in Cubs history to one who, when he was traded to the Orioles last month, was regarded as selfish, fraudulent and no longer worth the effort.

You wouldn't know it now. Sosa is very happy, a week into his first Baltimore spring training. He loves it here, and they seem to love him right back — the fans who have been worshiping him daily, and teammates who have been soaking up his still-raging aura, without (yet) attaching it to a diva's craving for special attention.

"Ah, he's exciting," said infielder/outfielder David Newhan. "I liken him to a rock star, a movie-star type personality. He transcends everyone — the fans, even everyone playing alongside him. It's just fun to have that energy."

Sosa showed up a day early to camp, and declared that Baltimore manager Lee Mazzilli doesn't lie to him — a judgment made in the first 24 hours of their association, seemingly spoken for the sole purpose of contrasting his new skipper with Dusty Baker, who managed him on the other team he was on in Chicago.

Sosa has been launching tape-measure home runs in batting practice on a daily basis, clanging them off jets at the executive airport that borders the field.

He seems to fit in beautifully, so far, in the clubhouse, where his locker is next to fellow Dominican Miguel Tejada, who no longer is the ranking baseball superstar in Baltimore.

Yesterday, in a bunting drill, Sosa dutifully ran the bases along with rookies and non-roster prospects. He smiles constantly, banters with reporters, and interacts easily with his teammates.

(Mazzilli, by the way, bans music in the Orioles' clubhouse, except players with headphones. No problem, says Sunshine Sammy.)

"Oh, yeah. I'm having a good time," Sosa said. "Everything is looking pretty good. I feel great. I like to be around the guys. Everyone is together. I feel great about it, the way it worked for me here. All these guys are great."

Mazzilli pulled a good one on Sosa at the end of Saturday's workout. The players gathered at home plate for the usual base-running drills, and Sosa was tabbed to go first. He put his head down and sprinted toward first. As he approached second, he heard a commotion and looked back to see the rest of the team walking back to the clubhouse, hooting with laughter.

Mazzilli had put them up to it, and Sosa laughed the hardest. When he trotted back in, he hugged Mazzilli and bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks, and seemed to revel in being one of the guys. The Orioles are ready to let him be just that.

Second baseman Brian Roberts, like the rest of the Orioles, has heard the negative spin coming from Chicago, but said, "I reserve judgment until I meet somebody. Everyone has bad things said about them by somebody. ... We're excited to have him here."

Sosa said he believes he's going to have a big, rebound year after hitting just .253, with 35 homers and 80 runs batted in last year — humbling numbers for the only player ever to exceed 60 homers three times.

Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro are the first teammates in history with 500 home runs. Melvin Mora may be the most unrecognized offensive force in baseball. Tejada led the majors in RBI last year, and Jay Gibbons, Larry Bigbie and Javy Lopez have all had recent productive seasons.

"Without a doubt, I think we match up with Boston and New York in offense," first baseman Gibbons said.

Not in pitching, ominously, which is why the Orioles lost 84 games and finished 23 games behind the Yankees.The Orioles hope Sosa is the X factor that puts them back on the divisional map. On his first day, Mazzilli told Sosa, "I don't want you to fit in. I'm looking for you to be Sammy."

So far, the Baltimore Sammy is a smash hit, unlike the version for his other team in Chicago.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com