Questioning the Commitment of Alfonso Soriano
January 30th 2012
Alfonso Soriano of the Chicago Cubs poses for a photo during Spring Training Media Photo Day at Fitch Park on March 1, 2010 in Mesa, Arizona. (February 28, 2010 - Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images North America)
Early reports are saying that Darwin Barney has undergone an extensive weight lifting regimen and has put on a solid 18 pounds of muscle. Marlon Byrd shed an amazing 40 pounds this off season and is mixing in Muay Thai currently as he is in the last year of his contract.
I remember a year or two back when Tyler Colvin put on a lot of muscle in the "Camp Colvin" program that was designed by Tim Buss. This is a program that Geovany Soto, Starlin Castro, Josh Vitters, and other notable players have went through to get into better physical condition.
Keep in mind that Darwin Barney made $417,000 in 2011. Marlon Byrd made just a shade under $6 million dollars. How much money did Alfonso Soriano make in 2011?
$19,000,000.
That is not a typo. Alfonso Soriano is getting paid mega-superstar money. And, he is getting paid that same amount, each year, for the years of 2012, 2013, and 2014 to a tune of 57 million dollars of unpaid production at the time of this article.
I openly question the commitment and drive of Alfonso Soriano.
I remember working with a satellite retailership over 10 years ago. One of our salespeople had been lobbying for us to pay him $100 per sale instead of the normal $50 per sale. As an experiment, he was granted his request. His production declined rapidly. In fact, it fell off a cliff. His incentive to earn had been diminished because he already had it fostered in his mind that he could simply do as he did before with less effort.
Is this the case with Alfonso? Or is he simply too old? Too broken down?
(Some) fans were excited in 2010 when Rudy Jaramillo came on board with the task of helping Alfonso get his groove back. Afterall, Alfonso had some of his best years under Rudy when he was a player for the Texas Rangers.
Here are Alfonso Soriano's statistics from 2010 and 2011 under Rudy Jaramillo:
2010 - .258/.322/.496 - 24 HR's & 79 RBI's - 45BB to 123 SO's
2011 - .244/.298/.467 - 26 HR's & 88 RBI's - 27BB to 113 SO's
Read: From 2010 - Can Rudy Jaramillo fix Alfonso Soriano
It's pathetic. There is nothing worse than one of those ball players who thinks they must swing for the fence on every single one of their at bats. I would be willing to bet that if Darwin Barney tried to swing for the fence every single time like Soriano........he would have more home runs AND a better average.
Not only is Soriano's offense pathetic, but so is his defense. He made 7 errors in 2010, and 7 errors in 2011, and that's not counting all the hits that got by him that were not counted as errors. UZR has been kind to him because of his strong throwing arm, but I still believe he provides negative value as an outfielder compared to replacements.
Fangraph's list Soriano's value with a WAR of 3.1 in 2010 and 1.3 in 2011. This projects to an estimated market value of $12.5 million dollars for his overall performance in 2010 and only a $5.9 million dollar performance in 2011.
Considering that Alfonso made $19 million in 2010 and $19 million in 2011 it could be opined that the Cubs were overpaying him to the tune of 19.6 million dollars over the years of 2010 and 2011.
That is a staggering discrepancy between the anticipated value and the actual return. It's something so drastic that smaller teams could have been sent to their knees by a deal like this. In fact, a recent article at Fangraphs suggests that Alfonso would make a fabulous platoon player for a lot of teams looking for a guy who can handle lefties and possibly play decent defense. However, this is such a far cry from the 19 million dollars we are paying this man per year.
Is this mega-investment impossible to salvage?
Alfonso will generally talk to the media when it comes to trading him or his massive contract. He generally gives the standard line that he will waive his no trade clause, if it's to a winner, and if it's good for his family.
What I have not heard Alfonso say is that he is working hard in the off-season to work on his discipline. I have not heard Alfonso say he has called Marlon Byrd up to work with him on his flexibility and Muay Thai program.
Considering that Alfonso Soriano is set financially for life, (a big reason for that is the generosity of Jim Hendry and the Chicago Cubs) you would think Alfonso would do everything in his heart and mind possible to become the best player to ever wear a Chicago Cubs uniform.
Afterall, he is the highest paid.
Ever.
But, I don't see reports coming out like that. I don't see news reports where Soriano states that he is going to work hard on his defense and his hand to eye coordination. What I am seeing are the standard reports of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, new manager/skipper Dale Sveum and newly installed President of Operations Theo Epstein pumping the fans up with the hope that Alfonso Soriano is going to have a better year and be an important asset.
(or maybe convince another team that Alfonso is worth trading for. Reports claim the Cubs would be willing to eat up to 95 percent of Alfonso's contract to move him.)
Like Theo, like Rudy, like Dale..........all of us Cub fans wish the same. We would love to see the Soriano they are dreaming about. Will it happen? Doubtful. Very, very, very doubtful in my humble opinion.
What is your Opinion?
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and his commitment level in the comments box below.
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