The Importance of Soriano

Flacco4Prez

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ST. LOUIS -- Mention Alfonso Soriano's name to Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro, and he immediately smiles.

When Castro was called up to the Major Leagues in May 2010 at the age of 20, Soriano, then in his fourth year with the Cubs and his 12th in the big leagues, welcomed the infielder into his Chicago home. The invitation didn't come at the team's request or because both were from the Dominican Republic, but rather it came about because that's what some of the Yankees players did for Soriano when he first joined the team in 1999.

Soriano and Castro didn't just live together, they were inseparable. They trained together, hit together, ate together.

"He was kind of like my father," Castro said of his former teammate, who he will see on Tuesday when the Cubs play the Yanks in the first of a two-game Interleague set at Yankee Stadium.

"Not everybody can have people who, when you come to the big leagues the first time, take me to his home and let me live with him," Castro said. "I didn't pay a bill, I didn't pay for what I eat, I didn't pay nothing."

It wasn't just Castro, either. Soriano would take all the Cubs' Latino players out to dinner every road trip and always picked up the tab. He never let anyone else pay.

"He talked about good things, like things you can learn about the game," Castro said of the dinner conversations. "He's a smart guy. He talks about things that you have to listen to and learn. He's awesome. We miss him here."

Say Soriano's name to Cubs catcher Welington Castillo, and he smiles instantly.

"You want to have a guy like him close to you who can help you in everything -- in life, in games," Castillo said. "He was real special for all the Latin players."

This past offseason, Castillo, 26, and his family traveled to Soriano's house in the Dominican and vice versa.

"He called me the day before Opening Day and wished me a good season, be healthy, and told me to play hard and never give up," Castillo said. "We keep in touch."

Soriano reached out to Cubs outfielder Junior Lake, 24, before the season, as well.

"He told me to keep going, play hard every day, no matter what," Lake said, smiling. "I appreciated it, too."

Those smiles are genuine, and they reflect what Soriano meant to the young Latino players on the Cubs. He was their mentor, their inspiration, their role model and their friend.

"It's an honor for everybody to be a teammate with him, and the coaches, too," said Cubs coach Franklin Font. "He's a great person. I'll be happy to see him and thank him for the opportunity to work with him and opening a door for me in baseball to be around him."

Font was included in the dinners on the road, and he remembers Soriano's stories about his early days with the Yankees, how Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter took care of him and taught him how to be a professional, on and off the field.

"[Soriano's] a proud man, and [he] took pride in every game, every at-bat," Font said. "He tried to push the team to the best level it could be. The only time I ever heard him complain was when we lost. He didn't like losing."

Ask Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo about Soriano, and he recalls the days when the outfielder would bring his oldest son, Alfonso Jr., into the clubhouse. Rizzo and Soriano had lockers next to each other at Wrigley Field.

"His son would play with us and see his dad working out before the game and after the game, and he'd be kind of mimicking him," Rizzo said. "That type of thing gets to your heart.

"He'd smile if he was hitting four home runs in a game and making it look easy or making four outs a game. He was always having a good time."

In seven seasons with the Cubs, Soriano, 38, batted .264 with 181 home runs, 526 RBIs and 70 stolen bases. It never seemed enough for fans, who placed huge expectations on the outfielder because of the eight-year, $136 million contract the Cubs gave him after his 40-40 season with the Nationals in 2006. If Soriano was frustrated by the occasional boos when he didn't deliver at the plate or struggled in left, he never showed it.

"I think he did a really good job of not letting any of that [criticism] affect him," Rizzo said. "It's about being a professional. A lot of these contracts, you get paid for what you did, and I think Soriano has had a Hall of Fame career, in my opinion."

What his teammates remember is Soriano's professionalism, his love of the game and how hard he worked to keep his body in shape. Soriano said goodbye to the Cubs on July 25. He had been dealt to the Yankees for cash considerations and Minor League pitcher Corey Black, part of the team's rebuilding effort. The Cubs were at Chase Field to play the D-backs, and Soriano spoke briefly to the players, then caught a red-eye flight to New York.

"It was emotional for everyone, for our manager [Dale Sveum], for a lot of the Latin guys, for a lot of the American guys to say goodbye," Rizzo said of that night in Phoenix. "He's a superstar in this game. To play with him, to see him playing with the Yankees when I was growing up, it was surreal playing with him. To get to know him on a friendly basis was even better. I feel honored I got to play with him."

Three days later, the Cubs were more than 2,900 miles and two time zones away in San Francisco, watching the Yankees play the Rays. In his third game back with the Yanks on July 28, Soriano went 4-for-5, hit a home run and drove in three runs. And he flashed that megawatt smile on TV that his Cubs teammates loved to see.

Castro, 24, is trying to apply the lessons he learned from Soriano, and he is keeping an eye on the young players, such as top prospect Javier Baez.

"I want to do for [Baez] what [Soriano] did for me," Castro said. "If you have a question about something you don't know -- and not only on the field, but personal or whatever, not only in baseball -- and you talked to him, he listened to you like you were his son. He's awesome."

How close are they? Soriano is the godfather of Castro's 1-year-old son, Starlin Jr.

"I talked to him, and he said this might be his last year," Castro said of Soriano. "He told me if he feels good and his knee feels good, he'll play two more."

If Soriano does keep playing, it'll make a lot of people smile.

Still hate this move.
 

Flacco4Prez

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Well no, but from the Cubs perspective I hate the fact that we got rid of him. Especially when we are paying most of his salary. He was very important for some young players, and still has a good bat. Or at the very least better than what we currently have.
 

Flacco4Prez

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Yeah and there isn't anyone all that close to replacing him either. I mean I guess you can make an argument that it opened up room for Lake, but I bet Almora and Soler won't be up for at least a year.
 

czman

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Yeah and there isn't anyone all that close to replacing him either. I mean I guess you can make an argument that it opened up room for Lake, but I bet Almora and Soler won't be up for at least a year.

That is who they stated it opened up room for. I don't care at all that they traded Sori. I wish they would have avoided paying so much of his contract, but not my money. Even with Sori this team was going to blow. Don't think it makes much of a difference one way or another.
 

czman

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It might have taken some of the pressure off of Castro and Rizzo, having another bat in the lineup. JMO

It might have. Although it is hard to say that the Sori move had any impact on what Castro was doing last season. It is not like Castro was hitting 330 and then hit 200 after the move. Same can be said for Rizzo.

So well it might be true, there is no evidence to support the claim.
 

beckdawg

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Soriano is hitting .222/.271/.467 so far this year with 3 homers in 48 PAs. I don't get the angst some have. Lake who largely replaced him is hitting .265/.306/.559 with 2 homers in 37 PAs and more importantly he might play some role in the future. So far this year Lake has been the better player plain and simple. Even if you want to suggest Lake could play over Schierholtz, Nate is hitting .275/.286/.350. People don't understand that Soriano was ridiculous in several games last year and largely shit the rest of the year. Maybe he will repeat that this year but at this point you're expecting 38 year player to turn it.
 

SilenceS

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Soriano has been streaky his whole career. Their are similarites between him and Lake.
 

Bear Pride

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Still hate this move.

You've got to be kidding. We tried to dump his salary for years. Sori was the worst kind of player, imo. He's play great and put up big numbers, only to choke in the big games! No thanks!
 

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You've got to be kidding. We tried to dump his salary for years. Sori was the worst kind of player, imo. He's play great and put up big numbers, only to choke in the big games! No thanks!

Good thing we have good players like Edwin Jackson!
 

X

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Good thing we have good players like Edwin Jackson!

Whoops, that had nothing to do with this thread

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Flacco4Prez

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You've got to be kidding. We tried to dump his salary for years. Sori was the worst kind of player, imo. He's play great and put up big numbers, only to choke in the big games! No thanks!

LOL. Someone reads into the media too much. He was one of the best clubhouse guys the Cubs have had in years, put up solid numbers time and time again. Speaks volumes of the Cubs management in the past when Soriano never once was given defense lessons in the OF, or the fact that fans were dumb enough to think he would go 40/40 as he entered his late 30's.
 

theberserkfury

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I think he has one of the sweetest swings I've ever seen... it's poetic.
 

SilenceS

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Sorianos hands and wrist will allow him to hit 20 plus homers for another couple of years. People dont like to admit it, but this guy will put up a borderline hall of fame career before it is done.
 

nwfisch

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Whoops, that had nothing to do with this thread

Sent from my phone...in my pocket...with my mind.

:umad:

Bitching about Soriano is stupid, one he's gone and did his job for the better part of the contract. Edwin Jackson has been a turd and is "handicapping" the Cubs spending and will for the next 3 seasons.

It always amazes when people (not you X) that bash people as soon as they are gone from a Chicago team, and rejoice the new guy, no matter how bad he is.
 
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beckdawg

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Sorianos hands and wrist will allow him to hit 20 plus homers for another couple of years. People dont like to admit it, but this guy will put up a borderline hall of fame career before it is done.

That's probably fair. However my point has always been that the past several years he's been highly questionable. 4 of the past 6 years his OBP has been pretty horrible at sub .305. For a team like the cubs who are going to struggle to score runs and may have a low team OBP, having someone like Soriano who uses HRs to drive in a lot of his runs just isn't that productive which we clearly saw the past couple of years with the cubs. Honestly, it's a shame Soriano couldn't stick at 2B. Having him there would minimize a lot of the issues in that regard. However, LF obviously has a higher standard hitter wise.
 

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I'm glad he is able to play quality baseball again and has gotten off the fail boat.
 

Shawon0Meter

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Soriano would take all the Cubs' Latino players out to dinner every road trip and always picked up the tab. He never let anyone else pay.
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Boobaby1

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I didn't really understand the logic of getting rid of Soriano, either, unless they were being nice to him and letting him end his career on a contender. Its like somebody eating 90% of a cookie, then complaining "this tastes terrible!". Not only did they basically get stuck paying his entire contract anyways, they also had no replacement for him.

It was idiotic to let him go, and even more idiotic to pay most of his salary. If you want to let him go and be nice guy and let him try to win a WS, fine.

A team that eats most of his salary, then complains that every dollar is spent. WTF!

Guarantee a lot more of Soriano jersey's will be sold than Junior Lake, and the funny thing is, Lake could have played center field and spelled Soriano as defensive relief.

For a team having trouble scoring runs, I don't see the logic in this, and I don't care how streaky he is. He was flat out the Cubs best run producer during this administration. That is a fact.
 

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