Monday, April 16, 2007

Soriano, the missing big bat?

After every game, I hear the complaints, "Arte promised us a big bat." And he didn't deliver.

So I ask the same question, what was Arte supposed to do?

What was Bill Stoneman supposed to do?

I could write volumes on this, but today, I'm just going to address Alfonso Soriano.

The whole world knew that Soriano was the bat the Angels were targeting. Aramis Ramirez was also on the radar, as was Carlos Lee, but both were secondary priorities.

Soriano signed an eight year deal with the cubs for $138 million. That works out to over $17 million dollars per season until Soriano is 39 years old. The Angels offered him seven years and $118 million ($16.8 million annually) but he, like all athletes, went for the extra $20 million.

Did Angel fans really want to pay this guy more than $138 million? Arte didn't. Stoneman didn't. And neither did I. It was just too much money.

Suppose the Angels did pay him that much money. How much help would he have been against Boston? The Angels lost 10-1, 8-0 and 7-2. No player can make up 6-10 runs per game, not even Barry Bonds during his "superhuman" years.

Soriano has started all 11 games for the Cubs this year and what has his big bat brought? 1 rbi. That's right one run batted in. 47 at-bats, 0 home runs, a .234 avg and .642 ops.

So looking at Arte's move now, how can Angel fans be mad about not signing Soriano. He was the target this offseason. Can you imagine the fans response if we had signed Soriano for $118 million and all he had produced was 1 rbi?

Well you know where I stand, I'll comment on pitching, running, walks, trades, etc later.

3 comments:

TOPSTITCH said...

ONE RBI???? THATS AWFUL AND MAKES ME GLAD WE DIDNT SIGN HIM!

Chone Smith said...

What was he supposed to do?

Sign JD Drew. Simple as that. I agree Soriano at that price was not the answer. Drew is better and was cheaper.

27 said...

There is no doubt that JD Drew would have helped the Angels. At $70 million for 5 years, I personally would worry about his health - both physical and mental. In his 8 full major league seasons, he's missed at least 50 games in 4 of the 8 years. It would be nice to have someone (anyone) to show the Angels that taking a walk is a good thing.