Tarasco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> brian cashman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nats fans may be stuck with him for another
> year.
>
> That's like being stuck with chateaubriand for
> two.
>
> > He has an option for a third year if he
> finishes
> > 120 games over the two years. He is on pace to
> do
> > it.
>
> He had 58 GF's last year, so he needs 62 this
> year. Nobody passed that mark last year, and only
> Cishek reached it. Soriano has 34 GF's so far in
> the team's 103 games played. That would be on
> pace for 54 for the full season. 54 is not 62.
>
> > Scott Boras has the Nats over a barrel and
> > will make sure that Soriano gets every chance
> to
> > hit that benchmark.
>
> Scott Boras is an agent. He resides in Newport
> Beach, CA, not on Mount Olympus.
Perhaps it is like having Chateaubriand for two at Clyde’s while paying Inn at Little Washington prices. Closers tent to be overpaid, and Soriano certainly is. Here is what the polite Jonah Keri wrote:
Quote
Given how most teams have become more conservative about breaking the bank for relievers, and especially about sacrificing draft picks given the new bonus-pool rules, it’s entirely possible that the Nationals were bidding against themselves here.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/soriano-goes-from-baseballs-capital-to-nations-capital/
And here is what Jeff Sullivan wrote on fangraphs:
Quote
Now, Soriano is a reliever. We can probably agree that he’s a non-elite reliever, and he’s 33 years old with an injury history. … Still, I think we have to conclude that Soriano probably won’t be worth this contract. No matter how you figure reliever valuation, Soriano’s getting $14 million a year for two years. He’d have to be incredible to be worth that, and then there’s also the matter of the lost draft pick.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/boras-finds-rafael-soriano-a-home-in-d-c/
There are many others, but you get the point. Soriano is also simply not a good guy. Remember what he said when he felt that Harper cost him a save: “With two outs, I could tell my 4-year-old son, ‘You know where you need to play,’ and he would have positioned himself better.” You don’t ever throw teammates under the bus like that.
Calling a teammate out for positioning is ironic given the catatonic state Soriano was in every time a Marlin got a hit last night. Backing up teammates was asking too much.
Jayson Werth remains popular despite being overpaid because he is a good teammate. You cannot say the same for Soriano.
As for Boras, if you think that the Nats handle each player without regard to who the agent is, I would have to disagree. That is the reality of hitching your wagon to Boras.