Soriano Speaks (Again)

Alfonso Soriano has once again shared his thoughts about this season and his hopes for the next. Maybe his agent should just tell him to keep his thoughts to himself. Anyway, he has met his modest goals for the season, which, apparently, consisted only in staying off the DL and had nothing to do with performing well or winning ball games. Who knew?

One hopes no one in Cubs management pays any attention to this blather. Or maybe they should. If they did, they would be looking to dump this hopeless mope on some unsuspecting AL team that needs a DH. Otherwise we are stuck with not only his miserable performance, but his "thoughts" as well for four more years at $18 million per. Four more years!

For what it is worth, you have to wonder whether Alfonso is actually paying any attention to the games he is playing in right now. According to him, the Cubs offense is OK and they can build around him, Ramirez, and Byrd. They need to go out and get some pitchers. Now I guess the observation that the Cubs starters had allowed only three earned runs on the road trip until tonight (and only six including tonight) was lost on him like a flyball in the twilight.

The Cubs are 7-1 on the trip, largely due to the pitching. They are not exactly blasting the ball all over the field, but maybe they are learning that you don't need to do this to win consistently. It's nice, sure, but if you get a few guys on base every now and again and get a few hits and actually catch the ball more often than not, well, you start to win more games than you lose.

As old Lou would say, look in the mirror. Not only is Soriano a genuinely wretched outfielder, but since the glory days of spring, his monthly numbers for BA, OBP, and SLG are .234/.310/.268, .225/.271/.450, .245/.273/.457, and .205/.311/.333 respectively. These numbers also do not take into account that a great many of his hits that are not home runs are weakly hit bloopers or the result of misplays by the opposition. So, honestly, if we are relying on Alfonso for next year, God help us.

Soriano confides that we can also count on Ramirez and Byrd to carry the load along with him. I won't say anything against Ramirez, who, since recovering from his thumb injury and whatever other funk he was in, has returned to form. Ramirez is a consistent and exceptional hitter who is and has been the foundation of the Cubs offense since he was acquired in 2003.

Byrd is actually another story. He has had a pretty good year for sure, better than I expected, but he is starting to show signs of returning to his career form, which is a pretty solid .280 hitter who doesn't walk a lot and doesn't work the count, hustles on the bases, and plays above his natural talents in center field. His numbers this season are so skewed in his favor against lefties that they almost suggest his role as he plays out his contract may become more that of a platoon player. A nice guy to have around, but compare his numbers to the numbers put up by the platoon of Edmunds and Johnson in 2008, and you will see what I mean.

Baseball players aren't always the brightest bulbs, so it is not surprising that they don't always know why it is they win or lose. Even if Soriano were right in supposing the Cubs could rely on these three bats next season, the problem is that these guys are all aggressive, really overly aggressive, right-handed hitters who attack the ball early in the count and share some of the same weaknesses. Coupled with Lee before he was traded they usually batted in tandem. That was and is really the problem. Forget about pitching unless you are going to make a play for Cliff Lee. This team will never produce a solid consistent offense until they get more left-handed.

Actually, I am beginning to think they will never become a really good team until they either dump Soriano or just make him a platoon player. He does kill mediocre left-handed pitching.