With the Cubs making their only visit of the season to the Bank for a three-game series starting tomorrow night, you're bound to hear a lot about Alfonso Soriano, the player the Phillies most coveted last winter. Of course, nobody expected the Cubs to go all Vito Corleone and give Soriano an offer he couldn't refuse -- eight years, $136 million! But, just for kicks (and since the Phillies are off today), let's discuss what the lineup may have looked like had Soriano landed here. You tell me if you think it would be better or worse.For starters, either Pat Burrell or Aaron Rowand would've been traded. Since there was absolutely no market for Burrell, Rowand probably would be batting .360 somewhere else right now. Maybe that deal with San Diego for eighth-inning specialist Scott Linebrink would've materialized, and lord knows, the Phillies could use Linebrink. Shane Victorino would be patrolling center field, with Soriano in right and Burrell in left. Also, Soriano prefers to bat leadoff, even though the Phillies envisioned him in the No. 5 spot, behind Ryan Howard. And, with Jimmy Rollins' early-season power surge, we'd probably be debating whether Rollins or Soriano should be at the top of the lineup.
Anyway, Soriano wound up in the Windy City, where he didn't hit a home run in April. In fact, he began the season in an 8-for-39 slump (.205). But he's batting .370 since April 13 and coming to Philly with a career-high 18-game hitting streak. Check out Soriano's numbers against Cole Hamels, tonight's starter.
***
Leftovers from while I was traveling home last night ...
-Curt Schilling made a fool of himself ... again. Then, he apologized on his blog. You know, if Barry Bonds has a chance to break Hank Aaron's record against Schilling next month, I may actually root for Bonds.
-Bonds hit No. 745, and once again, he didn't speak to reports afterward. Only 10 more homers before he ties Aaron, and 19 more games until the Giants come to Philly on June 1. Can't wait for the circus to arrive.
8 comments:
i would of taken soriano, but not at the cost of losing burrell. which probably is what would have happened. i think burrel is a better hitter than soriano and probably about the same defensively.
Jamie,
You can't possibly be serious. Are we both talking about the same Pat Burrell?
You gotta examine the stats because they don't lie:
Season Batting Avg by Date
4/6/07 - .364
4/10/07 - .385
4/15/07 - .333
4/25/07 - .339
5/4/07 - .268
5/11/07 - .237
So basically he had a good April when the team couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. He is 2 for his last 34. He had his good month and will now come home tonight to a "booing" of epic proportions and will hear it for all 10 games in their homestand. And deservedly so.
To compare Soriano and Burrell is flat out egregious. Soriano and Burrell the same defensively? I mean you're not even in the same ballpark here. Soriano had 20 outfield assists last year becoming the first player in MLB history to have 40 dongs, 30 stolen bags, and 20 outfield assists. Your boy Burrell had 8 assists last year which I guess is decent for a guy who can barely get around out there. So, you have a guy who can barely cover the easiest position to cover in the game versus a guy who can play 2 outfield spots and has 30 stolen bases a year type speed. Tough choice.
I don't quite see how Schilling embarrassed himself. The embarassment is Bonds.
When Soriano was with the Nats, he hit something like 40 homers from the leadoff position. Stats like that tell me he should've been lower in the order, forget the amount of steals he has. Rollins at one and Soriano ANYWHERE else would have been pretty sweet. Spending that kind of money was outrageous, however hindsight is telling us we shouldve done just that in the bullpen.
BTW - Matt's right. By far. So too is BH. Bonds deserves all the scrutiny and slander he gets. Im hoping he gets to 754 and promptly retires.
He had 40 "dongs" last year? I didn't realize he batted from that side of the plate. I hope he was wearing protection.
Jamie,
Are you on Burrell's payroll? Sure, Burrell's walking a lot this season and on pace for only 121 Ks, but last I checked he has 1 home run, which he hit on April 6. That's 35 days ago.
Pat Gillick basically called Burrell and Wes Helms (and Howard) out in today's Philly papers, pointing out that the middle of the lineup has been underachieving, to put it kindly.
Burrell's adequate defensively, but he covers less ground than a 2 lb. bag of fertilizer. Soriano never played the outfield before last year and he's much better already.
Sorry, but you can give me Soriano and his dongs any day.
I'd also like to know how Schilling embarassed himself. Of everything he said, name one thing that wasn't true. You can't. Bonds is a joke and a cheater, plain and simple. Schilling just had the guts to say what everyone's already thinking.
soriano only had one year that was better than burrell's and that was last year when he had a 'CAREER YEAR.' aka, something he probably won't ever duplicate again. i'm not saying he's a bad player, but i think pat does what soriano does just as well if not better. and for a lot cheaper price.
here's a GREAT video analyzing the two hitters.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oD7Ai-psHVw
oh, and what did burrell do tonight? hit two dingers and went 3 for 4.
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