Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Defending Soriano

I'm loath to do this, because i really can't stand what the miserable SOB is doing, but I can also sort of see where he's coming from -- even if I don't completely agree with it.

Soriano is being asked to move to an unfamiliar position in an unfamiliar league on an unfamiliar team. And he's balking at it. While his refusal is certainly precedent setting, is it completely unrealistic?

If the Nationals had moved Brad Wilkerson to second base, he likely would have complained, and we would have sided with Wilkerson, most likely. If the Nationals wanted Soriano to catch or to pitch, we'd likely agree with him, too. Is asking him to move from second to left materially different? While left field is an easier position than second, it's still a completely different position -- one he doesn't know, and one he doesn't have much of a desire to play. Where's the line between asking him to move to left and catcher? Is it because of the difficulty of the new position? Would it change if Soriano were a Gold Glover?

I have answers to most of those questions, but I'm not confident that they'd be right -- especially from a legal/arbitration sense.

While it's easy to say he should just move, and to compare the situation to you being transferred to another position at work, it doesn't really work that way. Because of the CBA and his lack of service time, Soriano has very little control over his work environment. Soriano last had input into his career in 1998. He can't just up and quit if he didn't like the department he was transferred to like you or I could. Bowden even said the uncomfortable truth: "He would still be our property." Needless to say, the connotation of that last word isn't helping anything.

And that's Soriano's problem. That's the same problem he had when he was in Japan. When he signed a contract with the Carp as a teenager, he went to their training academy. When he blossomed and showed promise he had a chance to play in Japan, but was miserable. He also saw dollar signs, and the restrictive Japanese system gives players even less control over their contracts than MLB's does. As a result, he found a loophole. He simply retired from Japanese baseball. In doing so, he sat out an entire season, and was officially free from the Japanese League's reserve clause. He then declared himself a free agent, and set sail for America, where the Yankees swooped in and made him a millionaire.

Seeing any parallels?

And, if I had to bet, I think that that same sort of scenario is going to play out here. Even if Soriano sits on the DQ list and doesn't accrue service time this year, are the Nats really going to go to salary arbitration with him next year? It's likely that they'd non-tender him, making him a free agent one way or another. You're not going to tender a $10 million contract out of spite! Soriano's showed a willigness to sit out a year. Why would this season be any different, especially with as little respect that Jim Bowden has shown him (not saying that he deserves respect, but I suspect we'd feel differently if we were Alf!)

There has to be a middle ground in there somewhere, but with the stunts that have been played so far, I think the bridges may have been napalmed back into the stoneage.

Admit it though.... there's a part of you that hopes he's still around just so that you can boo, right?

  • Needless to say, other Nats bloggers have their say:
    --Nats Blog says that Soriano's a jerk and that Bowden's a laughingstock
    --Federal Baseball says it's a tale of lust.
    --Oleanders thinks Soriano's a jerk, but that Bowden's ultimately at fault.
    --Nasty Nats wants to get rid of Soriano.
    --Curly W brings the bitterness and the swears!
    --Triple Play hates Soriano for making him side with Bowden.
    --Beltway Boys reluctantly supports Bowden's actions.
    --Just A Nats Fan has a first-hand account from a reader about how it actually played out at the game last night.

  • 17 Comments:

    • I agree to an extent, and have tried to put myself in his shoes. Of course, I couldn't afford his shoes ...

      I understand the Wilkerson analogy but no one would ask him to play second base because he would fail. Soriano is failing now, and must know he is tied for the lowest career fielding percentage at second base in the last 50 years. Things could only get better for him.

      I don't blame Soriano, I blame Bowden. That said, now that he's in the situation, he has to follow the footsteps of Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson, Lou Brock and Nomar Garciaparra -- to do what the club asks.

      Good article!
      Farid
      Beltway Boys

      By Blogger Farid Rushdi, at 3/21/2006 10:42 AM  

    • Is whether the position is easier the standard? What would happen if they moved Livan to the bullpen. Would he be right to refuse?

      For what it's worth, the MLBPA and MLB recognize that there's a difference between 2B and the outfield. When they compile their player rankings for free agent compensation at the end of the year, 2B are in a separate category as OF/1B/DH and catchers.

      Would it be different if the Nats asked Vidro to move to short? Could they force him to play there? What if they moved him to third?

      The problem is that there's no clear line. Soriano's exploiting that. It's uncharted territory, which means it's headed to arbitration, no doubt -- assuming that Soriano doesn't relent or just decide to sit out the year.

      By Blogger Chris Needham, at 3/21/2006 11:24 AM  

    • When he signed a contract with the Karp as a teenager, he went to their training academy.

      Did the Hiroshima team change their name to honor Josh Karp?

      By Blogger Ryan, at 3/21/2006 11:38 AM  

    • Don't make me hate you anymore than I already do, Ryan! ;)

      Fixed, dammit.

      By Blogger Chris Needham, at 3/21/2006 11:41 AM  

    • I gotta agree with Zaronow. Am I the only person who remembers Babe Ruth's original position?

      (If I am, he was a pitcher. Boston moved him to the outfield so that his bat would be available every game.)

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3/21/2006 11:54 AM  

    • Right on. It's not at all surprising/unrealistic that Soriano is balking at the move. Sure, I wish he'd just cave in and play ball, but if this is what he believes then I guess he has to go to the mat.

      This falls squarely on Bowden's shoulders. Bowden knew that this would happen but needed to make a big name deal so that he could get the Boston GM job. This was always about Bowden and never about the team or Soriano. Hopefully this is the end of Bowden's baseball career.

      By Blogger Brandon, at 3/21/2006 11:57 AM  

    • Babe Ruth WANTED to be a hitter!

      The only reason this is an issue is because Bowden stupidly forced it. Joe Torre knew that if he had forced Jeter off short that there would've been a problem. And how many other cases are there where a team sticks with a vet at something long past the point of expiration just because of his sensibilities?

      Hell, look at Jose Guillen's insistence in being in the lineup every game last year to the detriment of the team. Frank HAD to put him in because it would've been a problem had he not.

      It's just here the bc Soriano is a new player to the team that we feel we can crap all over him.

      He's certainly not blameless in this whole mess, but he's not the monster we think either. And the stunt they pulled last night is helping to deflect the attention from what the real source of the problem is: Jim Bowden's ego, which caused him to make a trade for a player HE KNEW would not want to move. Fix it, Frank!

      By Blogger Chris Needham, at 3/21/2006 11:59 AM  

    • It's not about Soriano, it is all about Jim. It's the Jim Bowden show, how dare anyone take focus of off Jim Bowden. Jim Bowden has to have his name in the news all the time. Negative publicity is still publicity. I think we should change the name to Washington Bowdens and put his face as the logo and make him the mascot.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3/21/2006 12:30 PM  

    • If Wilkerson was by far the worst defensive LF in baseball, yet at the same time capable of going 30-30, with a .290 batting average, then yes, I would side with putting him somewhere his gloves could cause less problems while still keeping his bat in the lineup. Soriano's about 10 years too old to still be hanging onto this high school mentality of the best players play middle infield (actually SS, but he couldn't handle that either.) Look at all the stud prospects being turned out to the OF as their bats develop and gloves don't: Joel Guzman (LAD) from SS to OF, Upton would be if Tampa didn't have 50 ML ready OF, Willingham in Florida, unless they chance giving him the catcher spot. Swisher's headed to the infield at some point. Half the corner OF in baseball were originally CF, the list goes on and on. Bottom line, Bowden and Soriano are at fault here, which I find unfortunate, because as a Yanks fan transplanted to DC, I was looking forward to watching Soriano's power in the same lineup as my boy Nick Johnson.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3/21/2006 1:30 PM  

    • Considering that Soriano is 30 and at the end of his peak years, I would be surprised to see him sit out a full season.

      As I wrote at my blog today, everyone is to blame here. Sori needs to be a professional and switch positions FOR NOW while exploring potential avenues of redress. Bowden shouldn't be making trades like this. No one wins.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3/21/2006 1:41 PM  

    • Let's be frank here:

      Soriano is a contracted worker with a company, the Washingon Nationals (c/o MLB).

      His bosses - Jim Bowden and Frank Robinson - asked him to take the field in the outfield.

      Soriano said "I'm not doing that job" and got all pissy and petulant.

      In most of our day-to-day jobs, refusing to do work is often cause for penalty: probation, suspension or dismissal. And while it's the norm in professional sports for big egos of rich playground brats to take command, it shouldn't be any different that what you or I are expected to do at our jobs: do our jobs to collect our pay.

      Frankly, I'm glad that Robinson and Bowden are standing firm about where they want Soriano to play. It's about time that baseball players realize that they are workers, that they are responsible to higher-ups, etc.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3/21/2006 1:54 PM  

    • Rudi,

      I certainly agree with your sentiment. The one thing to keep in mind though, is that that's a bit of an apples and oranges comparison. He's not comparable to your or I directly because you or I could just go find another job that would let us do what we wanted to. He can't until he's eligible for free agency. He's at the team's mercy til then.

      It's hard to feel sympathy for a multi-millionaire playing a kid's game -- especially one who isn't doing what other players did before him -- but it's the "property" aspect that's troubling.

      Where does the club's right to him as property end? I'm not really sure. And no one's challenged this sort of thing before, so I'm interested to find out.

      By Blogger Chris Needham, at 3/21/2006 1:59 PM  

    • Wrong, yeah, probably. My problem with it is that Bowden shouldn't have put him in this position in the first place. Like I said, players refuse to do certain things all the time (batting order, days off,etc) and managers just decide to let it slide. The struggle with the player isn't worth the fight. Here, Bowden showed no care for the player, treating him as if he's property -- which he technically is under the terms of the CBA.

      I just am saying that we should be mindful of Soriano's position, and that what he's doing, while probably wrong, isn't the act of a complete jerk. He has reasons for doing what he's doing -- chief among them the lack of respect shown to him by a club which has no long-term commitment to him. sometimes you have to look out for yourself.

      That's not to say that there's not an absolute right or wrong in this situation. (Relativism isn't one of my favorite philosophies!) But I view much of the team's efforts yesterday as an attempt to paint Soriano in a negative light, and to obscure some of the blame they should be feeling. It's probably more Bowden's fault than it is Soriano's.

      As it is, I'd string them both up! ;)

      By Blogger Chris Needham, at 3/21/2006 2:34 PM  

    • There's a reason it's called "spring training." If they were asking Soriano to move to an unfamiliar position in the middle of the season, I could see your point. But they are giving him the rest of spring training to figure out how to play left field, and he's killing himself by not at least giving it a try. I have no sympathy for a "professional" baseball player who can't field a fly ball or three a game.

      By Blogger Unknown, at 3/21/2006 2:41 PM  

    • Chris, your analysis and comments are right on the money.

      For all the people who say "he is playing a kid's game" need to realize that if it was kid's game these guys wouldn't be paid millions of dollars. If playing ML Baseball was as easy as chewing gum, lot more people would be doing it and probably won't be getting paid as much (supply-demand).

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3/21/2006 6:26 PM  

    • Why not move Sorryohno to Shortstop and see if he wants to fill in for Guzman while he's out. His glove work may be terrible, but his hitting would hopefully make up for this? After all, you could appeal to him that his Dominican hometown has produced many shortstops for the majors. Dana

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3/21/2006 9:46 PM  

    • I understand Alfonso's plight, for I have faced a similar situation.

      A year ago the company I worked for was involved in a takeover. My department relocated to the headquarters of the company who initiated the takeover. 2 weeks after relocating I was then given a completely new job, one that I was unfamiliar with, that required me to train 'on the job'.

      I quit 2 months later. I hated my job, I hated the people I worked with and I hated the company I worked for.

      Soriano, I feel for you. Good luck dude. Too bad you don't have the option to quit...without retiring from baseball.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3/22/2006 6:57 AM  

    Post a Comment

    << Home