Comments on: When You’re Hot….You’re Hot

By: rob

rob — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:12:55 +0000

maddog,
please hear this…I am not referring to how Soriano gets along with his teammates. I should not have used “team player.” that was a bad term because I am talking about his play as lead off hitter, and fielder and not personality or compatibility with the team.
I dont think Theriot and Fontenot are amazing either. I dont want Theriot to lead off and it is possible that all things considered Soriano might need to lead off. But I just dont think we can win in the playoffs with him leading off.

By: rob

rob — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:08:38 +0000

I’ll take A-Rod.

By: rob

rob — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:08:20 +0000

I would repeat that I am not calling Soriano a bad teammate. I am not talking about something psychological and unmeasurable. I am saying that I think he views himself as a leadoff hitter and that he doesnt fit well in that role.

By: ddave

ddave — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:53:28 +0000

Ha… I still cannot believe that someone would not want Alex Rodriguez, one of the best players to EVER play the game, on their team.

Unbelievable.

And I still cannot believe that someone would say that Alex Rodriguez does not do well in “the clutch.”

We need more Theriots!!!!

By: ddave

ddave — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:46:52 +0000

Outfield assists are not the only measure of a good outfielder…but they are one of the only measurables and not surprisingly people fall in love with them.

Except Soriano ranked as one of the best LF in almost every other defensive metric also.

You also need a guy at the top of the order who sets the tone, gets on base, and plays smart. Not just a guy who hits home runs.

Heh. I would rather have a leadoff home run than a leadoff walk/single.

That’s why I would never want a guy like A-Rod. Sure he puts up spectacular numbers but how is he in the clutch? How many game winning RBI’s and HR’s does he hit? And what are his numbers in the playoffs? Not so good.

Are you kidding me? You wouldn’t want A-Rod on your team? Lets look at his career splits:

RISP: .305/.402/.558
Post Season: .279/.361/.483

Yea… he really sucks. Are you kidding me?

Sorry… but I have to question any person’s baseball acumen who would say that they wouldn’t be interested in A-Rod.

By the way… do people realize that last year, Soriano had a higher OBP than Theriot? And saw more pitches per at-bat?

By: Maddog

Maddog — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:51:59 +0000

Sorry, Rob, but saying that Soriano is one of the best left fielders in the game is in no way, shape or form a psychiatric diagnosis. Nowhere did I say anything at all about his mental state. I stated a fact that can be backed up by a heck of a lot more than you can produce to back up your argument, which is only based on opinion, which is based on your ability or inability to make psychiatric diagnosis without ever having met the player, spent time with him, or been around him while he’s working out with this team.

I’m fine if one wants to speculate what might be going on, but passing this off as if it’s true is simply unacceptable to me. The fact is that you do not know anything more about his personality than I do and I am in no position to make statements of fact about anything relating to the mental issues with regards to Soriano, or any other player in the history of baseball. Neither are you.

I don’t mean to sound like an asshole, but it’s really irritating to continue reading Cubs fans bashing one of their better players and providing not one single piece of evidence to support what they’re saying. And in the next breath they’ll argue why Ryan Theriot or Mike Fontenot are great players. I’m sorry. I really am, but this Soriano bashing nonsense is about as enlightening as a talk show and about as fact based as one as well.

Last year it was the psychiatrists who showed up offering Zambrano boos and some online bashing. Now it’s Soriano. Ramirez will get his turn when he fails to run out a grounder. Theriot is exempt.

I’m done with this. It just pisses me off that people who root for the team that I do act in his way. It’s embarrassing.

By: Maddog

Maddog — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:44:51 +0000

Rob, what are the necessary attributes of a leadoff hitter? You say he doesn’t fulfill his role. I say nonsense. The goal of a leadoff hitter is to create runs. Alfonso Soriano creates a lot of runs and that is the singular goal of the leadoff hitter. The Cubs had more first inning leads than any team in baseball I believe and although Soriano isn’t responsible for all of them, he bats first and is responsible in some way to many of those so how has he not done his job?

The idea that a leadoff hitter be speedy, steal bases, etc is an antiquated belief. The leadoff hitter should create runs. I don’t care how he does it. Neither should you.

By: Maddog

Maddog — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:41:43 +0000

Find me a series of comments where the Cubs implied Soriano was going to continue being a 40/40 player even though he had only done it once. Besides, in order to be sold something, you have to buy it. If the Cubs did try to sell it, it’s your mistake for buying it because organizations talk up everybody they sign. It’s up to us, as fans, to look at the facts and determine what’s right and what isn’t.

By: Adam__

Adam__ — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:08:42 +0000

What did Baltimore want for Roberts? Anyone know why that deal was killed?

By: randall

randall — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:00:55 +0000

Ok, for those that want to get rid of Sori let me ask one question to you. Who is going to take him? Better question, who will take the contract. Tom Hicks is not running this team. We will not pay another team $15 million a year to take him. We have him and are not getting rid of him. Let’s use him like we should. Left field and batting #5 or #6. Leadoff is out of the question. He needs to understand that as long as he free swings he has to bat later in the order. If he doesnt like it….tough. If he wants to be a team player then do what is right for the team, get himself well, bat 5th or 6th and play his butt off. That is what the rest of the team is doing!