Ok, who owes Soriano an apology?

[Tyrant]

I still think the man is way overpaid for the type of offensive player he is

 

It's not Soriano's fault that Hendry chased him around with a dump truck full of cash.

[Derwood]

Hendry owes Soriano an apology. He just sent his BFF down to AAA, so now Soriano will hit another super-slump as he mopes about without his lil' buddy

[jersey cubs fan]

I still think the man is way overpaid for the type of offensive player he is...impatient, free swinging, and streaky. I knew he would come out of his slump...but soon enough, he'll be back swinging at everything in the world....and missing.

 

Your description "impatient, free swinging, and streaky" fits most power hitters. Your description "way overpaid" fits 98% of major leaguers.

 

What?

 

Most power hitters are patient, only a handful are free swingers, and very few of them come close to the streakiness of Soriano.

 

Soriano's overpaidness blows away 98% of all other overpaidness.

[javy knows my name]

Your description "way overpaid" fits 98% of major leaguers.

Relative to what, exactly?

[Backtobanks]

Your description "way overpaid" fits 98% of major leaguers.

Relative to what, exactly?

 

When the "average" salary is well over $3 million per year and you look at what the "average" player produces, I would say 98% are very overpaid. Mediocre starting pitchers sign for $10 million per year. Teams are locking up their young players who have 1 good year with contracts for $7-$8 million per year for multiple years.

[Backtobanks]

I still think the man is way overpaid for the type of offensive player he is...impatient, free swinging, and streaky. I knew he would come out of his slump...but soon enough, he'll be back swinging at everything in the world....and missing.

 

Your description "impatient, free swinging, and streaky" fits most power hitters. Your description "way overpaid" fits 98% of major leaguers.

 

What?

 

Most power hitters are patient, only a handful are free swingers, and very few of them come close to the streakiness of Soriano.

 

Soriano's overpaidness blows away 98% of all other overpaidness.

 

While Soriano may be one of the most overpaid players, power hitters are always at the top when it comes to strikeouts. I will agree that Soriano is more streaky than most, but other HR hitters will slump for a month and then hit 15-18 the next month.

[BigSlick]

I was right. That is all.

Yeah seriously he's doing exactly what I thought he would, be very cold and get extraordinarily hot.

 

He still has a terrible approach at the plate, unfortunately.

[Anomalied]

Every CP/AS at bat ever goes:

Pitch - Location - Result

First pitch - heart of the plate - Called Strike

Second pitch - Outside Low/in Dirt - Swinging Strike

Third Pitch - High Outside - Foul/Fly Out

Fourth Pitch - High Inside - Swinging Strike/HR

that is eerily accurate.

[TruffleShuffle]

I still think the man is way overpaid for the type of offensive player he is...impatient, free swinging, and streaky. I knew he would come out of his slump...but soon enough, he'll be back swinging at everything in the world....and missing.

 

Your description "impatient, free swinging, and streaky" fits most power hitters.

 

it does???? impatient and free swinging?

 

Top 5 home run hitters in the NL last year: Fielder, Howard, Dunn, Holliday, (t) Berkman, Braun, Cabrera

Top 5 home run hitters in the AL last year: A-Rod, Carlos Pena, Ortiz, Thome, (t) Konerko, Morneau

 

of those 13 names, ONE (Braun) can be somewhat accurately described as impatient and free swinging.

[XZero771679666304]

I was right. That is all.

Yeah seriously he's doing exactly what I thought he would, be very cold and get extraordinarily hot.

 

He still has a terrible approach at the plate, unfortunately.

 

But no one was arguing that.

 

Some people seemed to be of the opinion that because Soriano was slumping to start the season, he was done. Obviously, this was ridiculous.

 

The rest of us realize that Sori is streaky, and that while his approach sucks, the net results do not.

[Amazing_Grace]

I still think the man is way overpaid for the type of offensive player he is...impatient, free swinging, and streaky. I knew he would come out of his slump...but soon enough, he'll be back swinging at everything in the world....and missing.

 

Your description "impatient, free swinging, and streaky" fits most power hitters. Your description "way overpaid" fits 98% of major leaguers.

 

What?

 

Most power hitters are patient, only a handful are free swingers, and very few of them come close to the streakiness of Soriano.

 

Soriano's overpaidness blows away 98% of all other overpaidness.

 

Did you know that there's a 90% chance that 50% of all stats are made up on the spot and 75% of all people believe them anyway.

[Backtobanks]

I still think the man is way overpaid for the type of offensive player he is...impatient, free swinging, and streaky. I knew he would come out of his slump...but soon enough, he'll be back swinging at everything in the world....and missing.

 

Your description "impatient, free swinging, and streaky" fits most power hitters.

 

it does???? impatient and free swinging?

 

Top 5 home run hitters in the NL last year: Fielder, Howard, Dunn, Holliday, (t) Berkman, Braun, Cabrera

Top 5 home run hitters in the AL last year: A-Rod, Carlos Pena, Ortiz, Thome, (t) Konerko, Morneau

 

of those 13 names, ONE (Braun) can be somewhat accurately described as impatient and free swinging.

 

If "free swinging" means a lot of swings and misses, I stand by my statement. Those 10 hitters have a ton of strikeouts.

[inari]

#7 + #8

[Clem Fandango]

#7 + #8

 

On May 16th, 2007 Soriano had 4 total home runs. I think he's got a good chance to smack 40 out this year. That'd be nice

[bhogg]

That last homerun was a waste --- typical of a player like soriano.

 

Only hitting useless homers that won't matter in the out come of the game.

 

 

 

Green text, please?

[jaydee]

What is wrong with overpaying a player if you have the money? I understand it sucks for teams that have pretty big constraints on their budget but who cares of a team like the Cubs, Mets, Yankees, or Red Sox does it. Doesn't really hurt them much. They will still bring in a ton of profit.

[JonnyRed]

I'll ask the questions and then duck....

 

Should we really care how much Soriano is making?

 

Would beer prices be cheaper at the Friendly Confines if we didn't sign Alf?

 

Has his contract prevented the Cubs from signing Fukudome or any other FA targets?

 

Could the $18M he will be receiving at the end of the contract be considered somewhat reasonable given the escalating contracts we are seeing?

 

Won't we all trade the $126M in a heartbeat if Soriano helps led the Cubs to a World Series title?

[fromthestretch]

What is wrong with overpaying a player if you have the money? I understand it sucks for teams that have pretty big constraints on their budget but who cares of a team like the Cubs, Mets, Yankees, or Red Sox does it. Doesn't really hurt them much. They will still bring in a ton of profit.

 

While the Cubs can afford a higher payroll than a lot of teams, that doesn't mean they have an unlimited budget. Regardless of how much you can afford to spend, you always want to get the most for your dollar. You also want to make sure you have the necessary resources to improve the team during the season and future offseasons. Most teams are going to overpay for a player at some point. You just don't want to make a habit of it. You also want to try to control the degree to which you overpay. Keep in mind that teams can not only overpay in money but also in years.

[JimSorgi]

Oh yeah, Soriano really deserves an apology. He struck out twice today! He doesn't have any patience. Get him off this team.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

While Soriano may be one of the most overpaid players, power hitters are always at the top when it comes to strikeouts. I will agree that Soriano is more streaky than most, but other HR hitters will slump for a month and then hit 15-18 the next month.

 

Striking out a lot doesn't make you a freeswinger. Freeswingers come in all varieties, and many of them strike out very little.

[David]

While Soriano may be one of the most overpaid players, power hitters are always at the top when it comes to strikeouts. I will agree that Soriano is more streaky than most, but other HR hitters will slump for a month and then hit 15-18 the next month.

 

Striking out a lot doesn't make you a freeswinger. Freeswingers come in all varieties, and many of them strike out very little.

 

This.

 

 

Most of the most patient hitters are going to strike out a lot. They're routinely in deep counts.

[TruffleShuffle]

I still think the man is way overpaid for the type of offensive player he is...impatient, free swinging, and streaky. I knew he would come out of his slump...but soon enough, he'll be back swinging at everything in the world....and missing.

 

Your description "impatient, free swinging, and streaky" fits most power hitters.

 

it does???? impatient and free swinging?

 

Top 5 home run hitters in the NL last year: Fielder, Howard, Dunn, Holliday, (t) Berkman, Braun, Cabrera

Top 5 home run hitters in the AL last year: A-Rod, Carlos Pena, Ortiz, Thome, (t) Konerko, Morneau

 

of those 13 names, ONE (Braun) can be somewhat accurately described as impatient and free swinging.

 

If "free swinging" means a lot of swings and misses, I stand by my statement. Those 10 hitters have a ton of strikeouts.

 

they also have a lot of walks. nobody defines "free swinging" as "strikes out a lot." Free swinging players are soriano, juan pierre, corey patterson. regardless of whether they strike out a lot, they swing at a lot of balls outside the strike zone and don't get deep into counts. calling adam dunn or ryan howard "free swinging" would be about as wrong as you can get.

[Derwood]

he missed 15 games and has more RBI than Kosuke

[mcgoobs]

There's been two large knocks on Soriano when he was struggling: 1) a rehash that he's overpaid, and 2) that Johnson should start over him, or that the Cubs should try to trade him.

 

Knock #1 is pointless to argue over, and doesn't relate to a decision of whether he should start or not.

 

Knock #2 overlooks how Johnson's lack of power and ability to hit right-handed pitchers make him a fourth outfielder at best. It also overlooks the fact that Soriano is untradeable given his contract (point #1).

[dew1679666265]

There's been two large knocks on Soriano when he was struggling: 1) a rehash that he's overpaid, and 2) that Johnson should start over him, or that the Cubs should try to trade him.

 

Knock #1 is pointless to argue over, and doesn't relate to a decision of whether he should start or not.

 

Knock #2 overlooks how Johnson's lack of power and ability to hit right-handed pitchers make him a fourth outfielder at best. It also overlooks the fact that Soriano is untradeable given his contract (point #1).

 

He's got a monster contract, but I don't think he's untradeable. There are GMs out there who would give up something to see if a player like Soriano had anything left in a couple of years - especially if he's dealt during a hot streak.

 

The Cubs may have to eat some money, but it could happen.