It seems like all of these huge deals never pan out and the team always ends up trading the player while still paying half the player's salary. I think Soriano is a great player but has too many holes in his game to get that kind of money.
2007-02-05 02:40:16 · 21 answers · asked by wise_guy_81 2 in Sports ➔ Baseball
They're going to regret it big time in two years, if not sooner. A big part of the value in his contract is his stolen bases. He is age 31 in the 2007 season, age 31 or 32 is the beginning of a major decline in stolen bases. 99 of the top 100 players in career stolen bases have had their success rate and SB attempts per year decline dramatically after either age 31 or 32.
And do I even need to mention his defense? From 2001 to 2005, when he was a full time 2B, he was by far the worst fielding 2B in baseball. In 2006, if it were not for Adam Dunn, he would have been the worst fielding LFer in the game. What makes anyone believe that he will succeed in CF?
2007-02-06 05:00:49 · answer #1 · answered by itsr13 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Soriano is a very good ballplayer and he'll do very well in the NL Central. However, let's be honest about this. We're talking about the Cubs here. If any team can screw up a good thing, it's the Cubs. I agree with another person here that it takes more than one player to make a team great. The Cubs are going to finish third, maybe fourth if the Brewers turn it up this season. Either way you look at, the Cubbies will be watching the Cards take the NL Central and the 'Stros fighting for the wild card again.
2007-02-05 08:25:07 · answer #2 · answered by kenrayf 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Could be both. If he helps the Cubs to the playoffs sometime in the next 3 years, maybe even a WS ring, but then tanks in the latter half of the contract due to age and/or injury. His only real weaknesses are his strike out rate and defense. Hopefully the Cubs can get a legitimate leadoff man next offseason, Ichiro will be a free agent next year, and move Soriano to a more fitting place batting 3rd in the order. But it is extremely likely that he will not be worth $18 million a year when he's 38 in the last year of the contract.
2007-02-05 10:28:23 · answer #3 · answered by badgerlicious03 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its gona be a hit or miss kind of situation. i think soriano can improve in the fuzzy areas. first people say that he is not a great fielder. i dont believe that is true. soriano got a ton of criticism last year when he switched over to left field and people said he was a horrendous outfielder. i disagree. looking at his stats, in 2006, Soriano lead all left fielders with 22 assists, 326 put outs, and 9 double plays...and that was his first year playing left field. He did have 11 errors but glove handling is easier to fix than throwing. soriano obviously is a great hitter, he just needs to build up better patience to lower the strike out total. i think his patience will improve because he is probably gona be batting leadoff and hes gona have to take a lot of pitches. all in all, it was a huge sign and with all of the other resources around soriano, the cubs should be a solid team this year and the next years to come
2007-02-05 03:13:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is a great athelete and the Cubbies record might show different from last year after adding a player like Soriano. I agree that the money is way too high but that's just the way baseball is going right now.
2007-02-05 07:30:13 · answer #5 · answered by Michael 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I like that the Cubs signed Soriano, he is fast, and strong. His defense is ok, nothing great, but nothing really bad either. The only problem I see in Soriano's game is his strike outs. The Cubs are going to use him as a lead off hitter, he is going to hit big home runs in that spot, but he is also going to strike out a lot in that spot. We'll have to see how the season works out for him. GO CUBBIES!
2007-02-05 05:32:06 · answer #6 · answered by 7 Words You Can't Say On T.V 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
His batting average and patience at the plate has improved some and the Cubs look to help him prove on that this year. His
fielding is suspect at times but hopefully that can improve with time as well. If he can fix these two elements of his game he will be worth the money.
His power and steal numbers should be around the same if not higher. He should score a lot more runs with the batters he has behind him as opposed to the ones that he had batting behind him in Washington.
2007-02-05 05:29:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Soriano playing 80 games at Wrigley will hit probably 70 plus home runs, he will be the next Sammy Sosa for the Cubbies, but to win it all you need more than one great player.
2007-02-05 02:49:16 · answer #8 · answered by notaxpert 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Soriano, will be awesome for the Cubs. Playing in that ballpark. He will hit 45 to 50 hr's every year. Not to mention he is gonna steal 30 plus every year. The only thing I would worry about is his outfield play. I would move him back to 2nd base.
2007-02-05 07:16:07 · answer #9 · answered by Crazy Cat 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's gonna be a bad contract in a few years, maybe even this year. Soriano has never had a great OBP (career .325), and as he gets older, he's gonna slow down. He's already 31, so he'll become an old overpaid slugger with mediocre OBP, less speed (he's already had a serious leg injury), and no true position. Ick.
2007-02-05 06:46:54 · answer #10 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋