I’d give him a big o’ hug. Soriano started the year off great, but for some reason he just fell apart when Aramis went down. There is no doubt in my mind that Soriano is going to be a big part in future pennant runs for the Cubs, in the next couple of years. He just needs to get his knee better, play a little winter ball, and comeback in 2010 at full health.

Sure sounded like the same old stuff.

Clearly I really like Soriano and really want him to succeed here. I find it very interesting how his mind sometimes prevents him from living up to his potential all the time. I do think he will have a huge comeback season next year.

I like that his role is being defined. I think this takes a certain level of pressure off him—though it puts more RBI pressure on him. It means the Cubs recognize he is not a lead-off hitter and base stealing threat any more. Good move.

What about the defense and glove?

Seriously…. how is it that an MLB ballplayer can’t catch a fly ball without hopping? There are literally millions of boys in the USA who play a better fundamental OF than Sori.

He’s got the tools, but he really doesn’t know what to do with them. For the last 2 years, we’ve heard people joke that “if I was facing Soriano, I wouldn’t throw him a strike, no matter what!” And then, well, that exact thing happened.