Alfonso Soriano

by scarymonsters85 on Oct 25, 2008 2:08 AM CDT

I've noticed there has been a lot of hate for him in these boards. I've been told it is because he, "is mediocre against good pitching, and stellar against bad pitching".

I am 23 years old, I have been playing baseball since before I was able to tie my own shoes. I've played in every competitive league available to me up to and including college ball. I am a pitcher, and a decent hitter as well.

When I started a game, I tried my best to avoid the good hitters, and make sure I didn't walk and try to challenge the bad hitters. Care to guess the results? The good hitters got more hits off of me than the poor hitters.

This translates well into professional baseball, as Soriano posted a

.245  .314  .432 line against Power pitchers and a 
.294  .334  .534 against finesse pitchers. 

His career line is 

.282  .329  .518

The argument holds true, but it isn't revolutionary. Good hitters will hit better against 
good pitchers than bad hitters will.  The problem isn't so much he can't good pitchers well, 
it's more of along the lines that he can't hit well enough to justify his contract. 

.289  .403  .554 that's Pujols' line against power pitchers, which is 45 percentage points lower than his career batting average.

Soriano's is only .37 points. 

Pujols however, is an exception, because he is in the top tier of baseball players, and for all intents and purposes and automatic hall of famer. 

Nonetheless, Soriano is not the superstar people thought he was, in fact he never really was. 

He doesn't walk enough to justify his low batting average, even though he can hit a slew of home runs. 

As long as his OBP doesn't dip below .330 he won't be a liability to the team. However, in about two years, his batting average will drop, and so will his power numbers,
slightly, but it will have an affect nonetheless. 

Drop him down in the order (4th, 5th or 6th), let him pad his stats (specifically useless ones like RBI) and use him as trade bait
once his salary becomes equal to his market value. 

After next season, dump him and start building the team around Soto.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Comments

Hey, look!

The dreaded pirate graybar is back!

Anyway, your suggestion to “dump him”? With five years left on his contract? Just what are you going to do with that (approximately) $90 million? Just eat it?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Oct 25, 2008 4:16 AM CDT reply actions

I was wondering the same exact thing.

by dakoose on Oct 25, 2008 11:48 AM CDT up reply actions

soriano

i,m sure somewhere there,s a team that would take soriano.you have to admit when this guy,s on he,s an exciting player.he,s like a-rod.he,ll get you there but then you,re on your own.

by NOMAR on Oct 25, 2008 4:29 AM CDT reply actions

Soriano

can help you get there………….but he’s a far far cry from A Rod! Pretty hard to “dump” that money unless you’re willing to eat a big chunk of it and take on someone elses bad contract. I’ve always thought 8 years would come back to haunt them but…………………….I don’t agree with the opinion that we can’t win with him……he’s only one guy………..postseason failure or not there are others that can pick him up when he’s struggling. Like him or hate him…………it’s ridiculous to think he can be traded IMO given his contract. The Cubs need to focus on other areas to improve

by plenz on Oct 25, 2008 8:51 AM CDT up reply actions

glad somebody did the research

I think you throw in Sori’s streakiness, and his postseason struggles really make sense.

I don’t hate Sori, but signing him to an 8-year deal was a serious mistake. I was a fan of signing Carlos Lee at the time. And, yeah, I know he wanted to play in Texas.

by elgato on Oct 25, 2008 7:17 AM CDT reply actions

his contract won't be that high

this time next season relative to the market and the type of numbers he puts up.

by scarymonsters85 on Oct 25, 2008 10:38 AM CDT reply actions

Yeah, it probably still will be.

Remember, he’s not getting any younger.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Oct 25, 2008 1:15 PM CDT up reply actions

How did you define power pitcher vs finesse pitcher?

Do all pitchers fall into one of those two categories in this system? Or do some pitchers fall in between and aren’t represented here?

And what exactly does “let him pad his stats” mean? You know that everything someone does to “pad their stats” helps the team…. right? I’ve never understood that criticism of him, it just defies reason.

by Wreckard on Oct 25, 2008 11:51 AM CDT reply actions

He probably just used the splits on Baseball Reference.

I has a blog. | Ask a sabermagician!

by cwyers on Oct 25, 2008 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions

Since I think you're quoting me

Let me throw in my two cents.

To me, Soriano does fall into a certain “genre” of hitter, the type who is merely average against the top talent of the league. This doesn’t make him a terrible ballplayer, because, as it’s been stated, he does go on incredibly hot streaks and seems to carry a team on his back.

That said, the odds of Soriano timing a streak exactly during the heart of the postseason are rather low. For a player who’s paid like an elite hitter, he so often loses his mojo under the spotlight.

We’re no longer in the days of mediocre Cubs baseball here. That said, we should no longer be in the days of mediocre postseason players.

"Hey! If the moon were made of ribs, wouldja eat it? I know I would!"

by cubs0505 on Oct 25, 2008 4:08 PM CDT reply actions

Soriano is untradeable

I hate Alfonso Soriano enormously. I groaned the day he was signed and a wince every time he is at the plate. Soriano is the type of player that the ignorant baseball fan loves because at the end of the year his personal statistics end up sexy. But he is nothing more than a hack who goes into sub-artic cold spells and is nowhere to be found come the playoffs. Plus he has to be coddled and handled with kid gloves.

"Not that I don't feel like I'm part of the team, by no means, but when you get that nice celebration coming into the dugout and you're getting your ass hammered by guys, it's no better feeling than to have that done.'' -- Matt Stairs (aka The Professional Hitter)

by MDBNIU on Oct 25, 2008 8:20 PM CDT reply actions

Blunt

but for the most part true… He is a cooler, and in the lead off spot it makes it worse for the team as a whole when he is in one of his “sub-arctic cold spells”

by StevenABQ on Oct 26, 2008 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions

OK, we know that you don't like Sori, but how little is he worth?

Would you do any of the following trades in an effort to replace Sori?

1. Sori for Juan Pierre, Cubs agree to pay Dodgers $9M each of the last two years of Sori’s contract. Pierre becomes Cubs’ LF (or CF) and leadoff man.

2. Sori for Luis Castillo, even up, no money changes hands. DeRo moves to LF (or RF if Dunn or Ibañez is signed), Castillo becomes the leadoff man. That means the Cubs are playing three MI bats.

3. Sori for Barry Zito, even up, no money changes hands. The Cubs trade Marquis to make room in the rotation.

4. Sori, DeRo, and Z for A-Rod. All contracts are traded even-up, no money changes hands.

The only one I would be tempted to take (but probably wouldn’t) is #4. Like him or not, Sori will be a Cub for at least the next four years (he will be more tradable the last two) unless the Cubs are willing to take someone else’s albatross. In the above scenarios, Sori is Albatross-Lite.

"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007

by DeRoMyHero on Oct 26, 2008 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions

who called the gray pirate?

and just in time for halloween

HARR HARR!

Ramlee Zamfukusoridero

by hiphopgamer26 on Oct 26, 2008 11:51 PM CDT reply actions

I thought the SBN technogeeks eliminated the Dread Pirate Graybar?

There is a way to

conjure him intentionally

but that doesn’t appear to be the case here. I tell ya, just when I thought fanposts couldn’t get any harder to read, this one ups the ante.

"I see I'm not the only one around here who can't hold his water." - Last words of the leaky pipe in the visiting team dugout, Dodger Stadium, October 4, 2008.

by daver on Oct 27, 2008 11:57 AM CDT reply actions