With all of the good feelings flying around the North Side, the biggest Cubs related news should not be focused on Alfonso Soriano, but with the way things are being run on Clark and Addision, it is difficult to find anything in which Alfonso Soriano is not it's epicenter. The Cubs are off to a superb, if not almost unprecedented start to the season, owners of the top spot in the central and tied with the Diamondbacks with the third best record in all of baseball. Gone under the radar are Aramis Ramirez's superb start, Carlos Zambrano's unbelievable start and Derrek Lee's return to stardom. Ryan Theriot's hot start and Mark Derosa's excellent play have also not been given proper attention. Why? Because Alfonso Soriano and his extreme highs and lows have not just grabbed the headlines, but have surely given Lou Piniella many sleepless nights and have now necessitated stadium ejections for excessive jeering in the left field bleachers.
This morning, on ESPN 1000, an old interview with baseball insider Buster Olney was replayed in which he "revealed" that a ninth inning replacement of Alfonso Soriano might put him down for the next two weeks. It's not that Soriano's over the top sensitivity is a secret or anything, it's just that it is strange to actually hear those sentiments from any baseball insider with knowledge of the situation. Judging from what Cubs players and management have said about Soriano, it seems like Soriano is as sensitive as Lou Piniella is subtle, which needless to say is not in the least bit. What makes all of this tough to stomach is that Soriano is no spring chicken. He is a veteran and is completely set in his ways. He will never be consistent, will not learn how to work the count and wait for his pitch and to top it all off, has already peaked, and that peak most likely was reached before he came to the Cubs. From the looks of things, the Cubs are now stick with five and a half more injury riddled seasons from a player who in a year or two will most likely have worn out his welcome. So all this begs the question: Is Alfonso Soriano and all of the accompanying baggage worth it?
I definately don't think he is worth what we are paying for him. Especially for the next 5 years. But I do think his bat is important for us this year. In a game where the team isn't hitting well, he can take over an offense. He's shown us that a couple of times this year. After this year I dont know what we do with him. I know there are a lot of Soriano haters out there but we do really need his bat this year. Especially when we play the better teams late in the season.
chitowns'
Both Piniella and Soriano have prickly psyches. But that does tend to happen when you've got the sort of personalities that's encapsulated within the Cubs' locker room.
For the moment there are remnants of success there but God forbid that there's a tailspin into mediocrity. 'cause then everything'll most certainly change overnight.
Thanks for checking in Rampant, although I am not entirely sure what you mean when you say both Piniella and Soriano have "prickly" psyches. Piniella is pretty irritable, but no matter what his reaction is, it never feels like he ever gets down on himself. Soriano definitely has a sensitive psyche, but prickly, I don't know about that. Either way, it's just semantics, and I agree with you for the most part.
Furthermore, I don't see a tailspin into mediocrity, partly because of the low level of competition in the central and the high level of talent on the team itself.
Sho_nuff, my main problem with your defense of Soriano is that true, he can carry an offense, but what's to say that his random bursts of greatness coincide with a Cubs offensive slump? Can he carry a team, yes, but I don't know if ever see the Cubs offense in need of a savior. Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee have both been outstanding, and similar superlatives can be used in regards to Geovany Soto. Fukudome has brought an unprecedented amount of plate patience to the team and both Mark DeRosa and Ryan Theriot have also contributed heavily to the Cubs offense. My point is that I would much rather have a more consistent offensive and defensive force in left field, even if that player is not as talented as Soriano. Soriano is a good player, but he is no superstar, and has already cost the Cubs a number of games with both his bat and his glove.
Another little nugget on Soriano's ability to carry the Cubs. Even with his recent little hot streak, six of his nine home runs in May have come in either Cub losses or victories which were blowouts, so a little over half of his dingers have been of the meaningless variety. Not much of a stat, but just pointing it out.
Chitown, I'm not a big fan of Soriano either, but you can't fault him for hitting "meaningless" home runs. A homer is a homer. It still counts toward the final score. If the rest of the team doesn't produce enough to win or produces more than enough to win it's not his fault. He's only one batter out of nine.
Of course, if he would stop being a baby and agree to bat somewhere other than leadoff he could really help the team. A guy with a .319 OBP shouldn't be leading off.
Ian, I am by no means faulting Soriano for meaningless homers. My point is that for all those that believe that his worth is that he can carry a team, theres no saying that his homer ability will translate to wins, and that the Cubs would be just fine with a less talented but more complete and consistent left fielder.
In response to your second comment, I agree with you that it would be better if his production would come out of say, the five or six hole, but the problem is that the production we see out of him as a leadoff guy doesn't translate outside of said spot. He handcuffs Lou in that he can only hit well in a spot that he is ill-suited to hit in.
chitowns'
That remains to be seen as we all know how contentious the division is. It only takes a small slide for things to begin to shift southward. And then when the situation becomes irretrievable that's when all hell breaks loose .
As to Soriano any criticism that he tends to receive he somewhat tends to act as a petulant child. It's often reflected in his demeanor.
See my most recent baseball post and let me know what you think as to the merits of the piece ? I'll look forward to reading your comments. The piece is titled It's A Long Season But Willie Randolph Must Be Wishing That He'd Stayed At Home !
Me and my friend have often talked about this and if nothing else we know Soriano should not be leading off. It's nice that he's finally out of his early season slump, but he belongs somewhere else in the lineup. Reed Johnson is obviously the perfect man for the lead off position. Gets on base, can steal a base if needed. Sure he's and he can even FIELD too. Something Soriano doesn't seem capable of doing. Let's see, has it been 2 or 3 games lost because of Soriano's fielding? My friend and me joked around about going to a cubs game and brining a sign that reads, "Lou, Defensive replacemnt in Left field ASAP". LOL.
chitowns'
Well if things do become rather sensitive one can always either call in Oprah or Dr Phil to sort things out between the two. We all know how much Oprah loves everything in the city of Chicago.
And as to Dr Phil if he's been rejected by the Spears' family then there's no reason to believe that he'll be rejected by either Piniella or Soriano at this juncture.
Lou and Alfonso take a leaf out of Oprah's magazine and Live your best life as the city of Chicago needs you. And remember Oprah loves you both dearly !
Come on guys I know you both better than you know yourselves.
I am college kid out of chicago and love Chicago sports aka a huge homer. My writing may contradict this, but i do care and know about sports outside of Chicago, although I may never blog about it.
