He thinks he is too good to back up the third baseman or catcher. His signing irked teammates and cost the team its first round draft choice.

Nats fans may be stuck with him for another year. He has an option for a third year if he finishes 120 games over the two years. He is on pace to do it. Scott Boras has the Nats over a barrel and will make sure that Soriano gets every chance to hit that benchmark. Soren should have pitched the 9th yesterday, but Williams will keep using Soriano in save situations.
http://www.captainsblog.info/2013/01/16/did-rafael-soriano-and-scott-boras-get-the-last-laugh/18905/

I don't understand why he wasn't pulled yesterday. What's up with that Matt Williams?

The Big Marine blew that one!......Storen should have the started the ninth anyway. He faced one batter in the eight and its a 3 run game!
Also, Blevins should have been removed after he did his job, and Stammen brought in to face the righty.
The Big Marine was overwhelmed last night and couldn't think ahead!

branch rickey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He thinks he is too good to back up the third
> baseman or catcher. His signing irked teammates
> and cost the team its first round draft choice.

2013 was a thin draft year and that first-round pick would have been 31st overall. There were well-placed doubts that Storen (or the team in general) could rebound from the Game-5 debacle. Bringing in a proven and baggage-free closer from outside the organization was a good move. Obviously, he stunk last night, but it's just one bad game. Everyone has bad games eventually. It took Soriano longer than most.

That said, he'd pitched two days out of three, and Storen had finished off the 8th on four pitches. With a three run lead, I'd have let Storen start the 9th and kept Soriano as the backup in case of trouble, hoping not to use him and have him fresh for today.

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.

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.

He does sound like a jerk:

Quote

After his first meltdown as a Yankee, which led to a 5-4 Minnesota triumph in 10 innings last night, Soriano vanished. He never came to his locker. A flustered Yankees media relations official conceded Soriano probably dressed quickly and departed, leaving others to explain his ineffectiveness.

This would not be quite as big a deal if Soriano’s reputation were closer to pristine. But in previous stops in Atlanta and Tampa Bay, he was known for being prickly, reclusive, determined not to be used in any way, but how he thought fit. Last year he expected, for example, to be deployed only for a full inning in save situations.

...Thus, when his attention and fastball seem off, there is natural wonder if Soriano does not think 4-0 in the eighth inning is worth his full attention. That would have been among the questions asked had he handled last night with professionalism. Instead, he fled, leaving uncertainty if this was a singular poor effort for a talented pitcher or a bad omen for a bad actor.

...But really, this game was lost in the eighth. Was it because of the cold that Soriano faltered? Pitching the day before? Unfamiliarity with the role? Or anger at being asked to take the ball at 4-0 in the eighth? Soriano played to the worst of his reputation and was not around to answer.

He took a bribe to come here for a role he did not really want. Maybe money really can’t buy happiness.

http://nypost.com/2011/04/06/sorianos-silent-treatment-speaks-volumes/

Soriano is unlikely to reach 62 GF's this season. He may or may not be back with the Nationals next year. That's a matter that has not yet been decided. I have already explained why he was signed to come here and the deprecated value of the draft pick surrendered. Otherwise, I will leave the gossip-pages banter to you all.

Scott Boras is neither a god nor some three-headed hydra. He is an agent, and just like all other agents, his job is to represent his client. That's what he does. He and Rizzo have had a good working relationship over the years. Clubs whose GM's refuse to draft Boras clients should fire their GM''s.