Can Soriano Change?

Some suggestions on how to get some value out of the five years left on his contract.

over 2 years ago Al Yellon 26 comments 0 recs |

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1st Change..

I wanna see is a lighter bat! That thing is so heavy he has to start his swing early.

I would sleep with Blou if it meant the Cubs would win a WS. by Doggie Stalker on Aug 22, 2009 4:11 PM EDT

by cubsluver22 on Sep 10, 2009 5:38 PM CDT reply actions

Do NOT him play if he is not 100%

and don’t take his word for it. He is a hard worker and I expect a little extra off season work would be useful.

"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
Me either Jim

by Doggie Stalker on Sep 10, 2009 5:40 PM CDT reply actions

nice pic of Sori!

COOL BEANS!

by lexmarklover on Sep 10, 2009 5:59 PM CDT reply actions

that they team values him enough to sit him down and lay out this information, especially comparing him with Sosa (for the nice ego boost), and that he has the mental toughness as well as determination to understand the benefit of changing.

It never gets to be easy

by chitownhawkeye on Sep 10, 2009 6:06 PM CDT reply actions

Health???

Fonzie won’t ever be able to live up to his contract, but I have the faith he will come back and have a good season next year. He’ll work at it, and as long as he is healthy, he’ll do whatever he thinks he needs to do to be a success. I have no idea how big of an ego he has, but… I am sure his stats this year are not satisfactory to him.

He’ll never go 40-40 again, but I won’t be surprised if next season, he puts up his best season he’ll have with the Cubs. After that though, he’ll be going downhill…

by TheHawkRules on Sep 10, 2009 6:23 PM CDT reply actions

I think he can be better

but not how he was the last 2 seasons. He MIGHT be able to get back to his production from last year or the year before if he is 100% healthy, but I don’t see that happening (mostly because of his age). I don’t believe he can “change his ways,” so to speak. I don’t think he will ever be a hustler or make the “smart” plays because I truly believe he lacks those baseball instincts. He can be a very good and productive baseball player, but I don’t see him changing his ways to become the great offensive threat he once was, nor the solid defender he thrives to be.

by Gurbal on Sep 10, 2009 7:01 PM CDT reply actions

Swing changes

And what exactly makes anyone believe nobody has mentioned these things to Sori before? As he’s gone through extended slumps in the past, you don’t think any hitting coach has ever said “hey, why don’t you try to laying off breaking pitches that are never strikes at any point in their flight?”

by fsuapollo on Sep 10, 2009 7:45 PM CDT reply actions

Which is really a big issue

Hopefully this injury plagued season is humbling for Soriano because he really could use the reality check. You can’t sit dead red all the time when opposing pitchers know you’ll swing anyway. It’s a predictable pattern with Soriano and as much as I like what he brings to the team, he’s practically dead weight when he’s not on a hot streak.

And the eighth and final rule: if this is your first time at Fight Club, you have to fight.

by Ace Venom on Sep 11, 2009 9:51 AM CDT up reply actions

You'll never get the full value

We can probably get to a solid 30 hr hitter. More consistency, more hits to right field. If he is hurt, do the surgery now if needed. I don’t want to see him on the field again this year. I’d like to see him spend a lot of time in the offseason, and in spring training working on going the other way. He needs to make a concession to age.
One thing accomplished this year is he was successfully moved out of the leadoff spot. That is a start.
I refuse to accept the bad defense. With some demanding coaching he can become a much better fielder. Someone just needs to put the screws to him.

by Nibbles on Sep 10, 2009 9:23 PM CDT reply actions

great article, thanks for posting AL

One alt. might be to send him to the hitting coach ben zobrist went to that over hauled his swing (which is part of the problem), another is to have Lou sit one on one with him and go over his PA’s, where he swings at breaking pitch in the dirt again and again until he has (sorry for repeated Rays references) a Crawford like breakthrough where he realizes how much better he could be if he took a walk here and there, and a relatively piss poor season like this could break his ego enough to make him realize this . Also while he has been for the most part a plus in left he is on a steady decline to a negative attribute in LF, a move to 1b will have to be done when DLee’s contract is up, or the very least a year after that. These are all just suggestions to improve a player who has a lot of flaws, but has tremendous upside and a contract that forces the Cubs to stick with him and do everything they can to correct his flaws because they are stuck with him.

the ghost of stokes, camp, lugo strikes TB-sept 2009

by CubFanRaysaddict on Sep 11, 2009 1:15 AM CDT reply actions

I like the lighter bat concept and the hitting tutoring can't help.

I also want a batter who is a kind of threat behind him. If there is any merit to the “protection” theory of batting orders, Soriano is one guy who would benefit from having a decent hitter behind him to force pitchers to keep the ball over the plate rather than break stuff away.

Other than this, the only changes he can make as a cub are from away greys to batting practice to blue jerseys to batting practice to pin stripes.

if this was still new to me, i wouldn't understand

by N Oakley on Sep 11, 2009 8:15 AM CDT reply actions

There's merit to that

The problem is, the 3 and 4 slots are already taken by Lee and Ramirez. Splitting that up isn’t a good idea, especially since pitchers already know they can strike out Soriano by throwing him breaking pitches away. Soriano has to make adjustments or he’s simply going to get so bad that he’d be an overpaid bench player.

And the eighth and final rule: if this is your first time at Fight Club, you have to fight.

by Ace Venom on Sep 11, 2009 9:53 AM CDT up reply actions

The point about Soriano going to right field more rings true.

IIRC, this is something Lou has mentioned publicly at least a couple of times this year. And, yeah, a lighter bat would probably help.

I haven’t completely given up on Alfonso. In fact, I swear I read a comparison somewhere of Soriano to Vlad Guerrero – a guy who, as his speed drops, will maintain his power.

I’m really hoping the knee surgery will help Alfonso regain his focus. My general impression of him has been that he’s not lazy or selfish, as many have tried to argue, but that he’s simply very easily distracted. He’s a guy who simply struggles with his focus – and the nagging knee injury may have really exacerbated this unfortunate trait.

Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.

by daver on Sep 11, 2009 9:00 AM CDT reply actions

I agree he's not lazy, but I'm not too sure on the focus.

I’m guessing he was able to get by on his athletic ability. He was never a great second baseman, but his bat and stolen bases kept coaches off his back and helped overlook his fielding. He was an infielder and what defensive work he did was there.

He’s like many pro athetes who struggle as they age and can’t adjust as skills diminish. Hopefully, he’s motivated enough to work harder and develop methods to counter the loss of foot and bat speed.

I guess I’m agreeing with your take that Fonz has always done just enough to get by, but disagreeing that qualifies as lazy.

if this was still new to me, i wouldn't understand

by N Oakley on Sep 11, 2009 9:08 AM CDT up reply actions

Uh, well, I never said Soriano has always done just enough to get by.

And I said he does not qualify (IMHO) as lazy. Historically, Alfonso has been a great hitter – since 2002, he’s had five seasons of .850+ OPS. He’s been an above average hitter (per OPS+) every one of those seasons. He slugged well over .500 in his first two seasons as a Cub. I don’t think guys just getting by on their athletic ability put up those kind of numbers as consistently as Soriano has.

Clearly, he’s had a down year both offensively and defensively. So I, too, am hoping he learns from his 2009 season and comes back in 2010 ready to make the adjustments he needs to.

Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.

by daver on Sep 11, 2009 9:28 AM CDT up reply actions

Quote from the anonymous scout

"I don’t know how bright he is." I think the answer is, “not very,” at least as far as baseball is concerned. He can’t even be considered an idiot savant, because whatever success he’s had has been the result of sheer physical ability. He appears to have only the most rudimentary idea of how baseball is supposed to be played.

by Mike Vails Evil Twin on Sep 11, 2009 9:32 AM CDT reply actions

wow

I don’t even want to argue how wrong you are. That’s a pathetic take. Leave it at that.

by socalbob on Sep 11, 2009 9:35 AM CDT up reply actions

I'm always willing to change my mind

I’ll gladly retract the previous statement if someone could give me an example of when he’s ever displayed the least bit of baseball acumen. From what I’ve observed, he doesn’t have a clue about situational hitting, how to run the bases, or how to play a defensive position.

by Mike Vails Evil Twin on Sep 11, 2009 9:48 AM CDT up reply actions

if you think for a minute

that he came through the Yankees minor league system, played next to Derek Jeter, managed by Joe Torre, was a 40-40 man, throws to the right base, takes an extra base on poor OF throws, plays baseball the right way, and doens’t have “baseball acumen,” then that is an ignorant thought.

You cannot make the major lagues without having baseball smarts. Sorry.

by socalbob on Sep 11, 2009 6:39 PM CDT up reply actions

Are you referring to his actual intelligence or his "baseball smarts"?

And I would disagree that “whatever success he’s had has been the result of sheer physical ability.” Sorry, no, if physical ability alone allowed one to succeed at baseball to the degree that Alfonso Soriano has, there would be a legion of five-tool prospects (Corey Patterson, anyone?) putting up monster numbers on a regular basis.

Look, you can bitch and moan about Soriano all you want. He’s had an awful year, and his defensive mistakes and questionable approach at the plate regularly drive me crazy, too. But he has succeeded at the major league level in ways many, many athletes only dream of. That can’t be because of blind luck or the fact that he happens to be able to muscle a ball into the bleachers.

Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.

by daver on Sep 11, 2009 9:47 AM CDT up reply actions

I was talking about baseball smarts

I would never impugn his actual intelligence.

by Mike Vails Evil Twin on Sep 11, 2009 9:50 AM CDT up reply actions

you don't win the silver slugger

four times by being a bad baseball player. You simply don’t.

"I’m not going to allow Al Yellon to flush this thing down the crapper without a fight." (BLOU)
Forget all that other stuff. I gotta believe.

by drewishdrewid on Sep 11, 2009 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions

Without taking a stance on the baseball smarts issue

You can have the physical gifts necessary to win the silver slugger without having baseball smarts.

Moises Alou needed a GPS and signal flares to run the bases, but he was a hell of a hitter.

I'm singing, "GO CUBS GO! GO CUBS GO!" -- DrCrawdad on Jun 12, 2009 7:23 AM CDT

Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true! -- Homer J. Simpson

by Shanghai Badger on Sep 11, 2009 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions

This all starts

with Soriano himself, he’s got to do this. I hope he realizes that he must change, if not we will be talking about this next September.

by Grockcubs on Sep 11, 2009 2:56 PM CDT reply actions

this is the problem with scouts

oftentimes they don’t know shit. The so-called scout didn’t say anything remotely eye-opening or game-changing. This guys just spewed “baseball-isms” in his recap.

SORIANO ALREADY KNOWS ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And for him to insinuate that he’s not sure Sori would work hard because of all the money just shows his bias and lack of knowledge of professionals. Pride is an immense factor and even moreso in baseball because numbers mean more in this game than any other.

Oh, by the way, he’s fu**ing hurt and needs surgery. Maybe his legs are the cause of his problems? Wow, that’s a novel thought.

by socalbob on Sep 11, 2009 6:46 PM CDT reply actions

Yes, yes, yes .. I'm sure he's been told to lay off his hacks

.. when every blasted pitcher in the NL gets in their groove and figures out how he’ll flail away at anything coming close to his zone where he’ll cut loose.

What I just don’t get is what’s gone on with the Cubs zeroing in on his plate discipline a whole heck of a lot more then they have. Yes, yes, yes .. he’s the consummate slugger and he is who we thought he was and all of that, but man, why in the world can’t he just sit and think through AB’s just a bit more?? If he’s going to be making the kind of money he’s going to make the next few years, I would hope that whatever emphasis Lou and staff obviously must be making with him can’t be a bit more emphatic ..

Blue mountains high .. Blue valleys low
I don't know which way we will go ..
One summer dream .. one summer dream ..

coda

ELO, 1975

by cubnational on Sep 11, 2009 9:42 PM CDT reply actions