Soriano Situation
Posted on | March 27, 2006 | No Comments
If you have been following the MLB exhibition season at all, you have probably heard about the situation in Washington with Alfonso Soriano (WAS). The Nationals need him to play in the outfield and he’s not too happy about it. The other day it was evident that Soriano has a lot of work to do if he wants to be at least a decent outfielder. However, sources from the Nationals say that Soriano is not trying hard to get up to pay in the outfield. He’s mad as heck that he can’t play second base and he probably figures that poor outfield play will land him back at his old position.
Many are quick to point out his lack of team spirit and self-centeredness, but is there more at stake here? Think about this for a moment. What do you call a second baseman who can hit in the upper .200’s and go yard 36 times? You call him a superstar and that player is worth a truckload of cash. Now, what do you call a left or right outfielder who can hit upper .200s and go yard 36 times? You call him decent to good. How many outfielders in MLB can you name that have similar stats (or perhaps less homers, but higher average) or better? You should have a list of many. On the flip side, how many second baseman can you name with those stats? Not too many, right?
The Washington Nationals are not just asking Soriano to play a different position; they are asking him to greatly reduce his value. Rather than blaming Soriano, we can blame MLB, the lack of a salary cap and the way things work.
Related posts: