The SB800 is not exactly a "small" flash! heheh. it is quite powerful. What is more important is getting the shot not how ugly it (your equipment) look or what ever. heh. You think this is bad looking wait till you get into the subject of placing special flash diffuser over your flash head to soften the flash effect. There are some that make your flash look like you put a Tupperware container over it hahahah....But laugh as you might, the results can be superd.
A typical Metz hammer-like flash may come with an L bracket to let you mount it to your DSLRs or SLRs. But they also have L brack mount for you to place your SB800 or something similar to it as well!. IN the older days the syn cord might be a simple trigger cord thus it just trigger the flash but no TTL but auto mode ( set to certain F stops setting) or manual setting. But with those TTL cord like Nikon's for the modern flash, for example, it is able to not just trigger but compute how much flash power you need. So even while firing your flash off from the side, you are still getting a reliable degree of propoer exposure for your shots. I don't use a syn cord anymore since I stop shooting SLRs and sold off all my equipment. I guess one day I would but for now you might have to rely on your own or some other folks her to give you a demo shot to compare.
Seriously, if I want a good shot and even if I have to hand hold the flash further away from me to get a good shot..I will do just that. I know have my share of being radicule before when I do all kind of weird stuff but when the result came out, I shut their mouth. about it. Example, I use a Circular polariser for night shoot. You try to figure out why I did that heheh..
Actually some of the best event photographers I do see something during my work or events I attend, they still have their flash mounted on the side or are using those hammer flash like Metz. For one thing, it is powerful so the can shot from further back if they can not get up to the front in time and the slightly side flashing does give better looking "depth".