Alfonso Soriano hit 10 home runs and slugged .613 in April. Over the remaining five months he hit 16 home runs and slugged .435. Although he had a very good April, his OBP was only .278. It was only .292 the rest of the season and finished just below .290.
Soriano has always been a guy who can carry a team when he gets hot and look terrible when he’s not. But these days those stretches when he’s not hot seem to be getting worse and worse. He is in his 30s now so there’s nothing surprising about that, but it is concerning.
So much has been written about Soriano on the interwebz and here at Obstructed View that it seems like we’d just be going over the same stuff if we did it again. Instead of that, let’s look at Soriano’s best game measured by WPA each of his 5 years with the Cubs.
He literally saved his best for last. Soriano had only two games in 2011 with a WPA higher than .274. Both of those occurred in the second half of the season and were over .400. The best game of his season was the final game he played. On September 27th Soriano went 2-3 with a home run, a walk and 3 RBI (.498 WPA). With the Cubs trailing 2-1 in the 8th and 2 men on, Soriano hit a home run to CF to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead. They’d add 2 more in the 9th and win 6-2.
April 30th, 2010: .492 WPA. Soriano went 2-3 with a home run, walk and 4 RBI. Soriano’s 3-run home run eliminated a 4-2 deficit and after the 6th they had a lead of 6-4.
April 11th, 2009: .714 WPA. Cubs trailing 5-4 in the top of the 9th with a runner on 2nd, the Brewers Carlos Villanueva on the mound. Cubs win expectancy is 17%. Cubs WE after the home run, scoring Joey Gathright too, was 82%.
May 17th, 2008: .586 WPA. Soriano was 5-5 with a couple home runs, a double and 3 RBI. The Cubs lost this one. They were leading 6-5 entering the 9th, but thanks a Carlos Marmol blown save the Cubs fell to the Pirates 7-6.
June 25th, 2007: Any Cubs fan who has forgotten this game should probably turn their Cubs Fan Card in. the Cubs were still fighting to get back to .500 after that awful start. They were still way behind the Brewers. The Cubs were beating the Rockies 6-1, and then 8-3 before the 9th inning, which was one of the worst 9th inning I’ve ever seen. The Cubs couldn’t afford to lose and entering the 9th there was almost no chance of it happening. The Rockies scored 6 and took a 9-8 lead. The Cubs had the bases loaded with 2 outs and Soriano at the plate. He singled to CF and the Cubs won the game. This has been, in my opinion, the most overlooked game in the 2007 season. Everybody points to the Zambrano/Barrett fight or to the Ramirez home run in the 9th off of Cordero. This was the whackiest of them all. This was the game in which some idiot fan jumped onto the field and charged at Bob Howry. Yeah, you remember that.
At the time, I had this to say:
The Cubs had just blown a 5-run lead and it wasn’t the first time they’d done that in the 9th inning this year. But the Cubs came back in the 9th and put together what was, in my opinion, the most exciting game I’ve seen since 1989. Some of you may remember this game from August 29th, 1989. After the 5th inning the Astros were beating the Cubs 9-0 at Wrigley Field. The Cubs eventually tied the game up and won it in extra innings.
Just four days later Ramirez would take Cordero yard to win that game. That was an awesome game too, but the Cubs/Rockies game beats it. It is, to this day, the second best Cubs game I’ve ever seen. It’s right there with that ’89 game against the Astros. The week of the Cubs blowing the Rockies game and then coming back and then Ramirez hitting that home run was the most exciting week of Cubs baseball in my life. Had the Cubs finished off the Marlins in 2003 I would easily put that ahead of that week, but they blew it.
Comments
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Cubdom’s collective head will explode if this drags out another ten days…
http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/cubs-talk/post/Cubs-not-concerned-with-Theo-timetable?blockID=578868&feedID=661
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
So, whenever the Cubs finally get a new GM, do you think said GM (let’s just call him Theo) would release Soriano outright? I guess the better question is whether Ricketts would let him do so.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Oh good. Jon Lester apologized for his beer-drinking. http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7114689/boston-red-sox-jon-lester-admits-beer-drinking-wrong
ACTQuote Reply
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
(sigh) *still* no fucking Theo deal? Get on with it, people. As a fan of the New Regime Cubs, I demand constant good news.
fang2415Quote Reply
Incidentally: fucking Cardinals. Am I the only one haunted by the notion that they wouldn’t have even made the playoffs if Marmol hadn’t walked the fucking world home in the ninth inning?
fang2415Quote Reply
[quote name=fang2415]Incidentally: fucking Cardinals. Am I the only one haunted by the notion that they wouldn’t have even made the playoffs if Marmol hadn’t walked the fucking world home in the ninth inning?[/quote]I’m looking forward to constant bullpen implosions making this a WS full of hilarious TLR faces.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=fang2415]Incidentally: fucking Cardinals. Am I the only one haunted by the notion that they wouldn’t have even made the playoffs if Marmol hadn’t walked the fucking world home in the ninth inning?[/quote]If it’s just one game you spoke of, the Cards would have made it to the play-in game anyway.
/just saying
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Smokestack Lightning]Cubdom’s collective head will explode if this drags out another ten days…
http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/cubs-talk/post/Cubs-not-concerned-with-Theo-timetable?blockID=578868&feedID=661%5B/quote%5DI'll give Tommy one thing: he doesn’t let himself be rushed. He gave Hendry plenty of time to play out whatever he had; he took his time on that trading platform thing when he was on Wall Street; and now he’s prepared to wait as long as it takes to get a fair deal from the Sox. As frustrating as it is, I’m not sure it’s such a bad thing to take things slow and get them right, rather than be pushed by the media cycle into making dumb moves quickly.
fang2415Quote Reply
Agreed, Fang. There’s no reason to rush here and just get it done. What exactly is a Cubs GM going to do over the next week anyway? Take a vacation?
mb21Quote Reply
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]If it’s just one game you spoke of, the Cards would have made it to the play-in game anyway.
/just saying[/quote]I am confident that they would have withered under the superior character of the Braves.
fang2415Quote Reply
[quote name=fang2415]I am confident that they would have withered under the superior character of the Braves.[/quote]I can’t argue with your intangibles.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]
[/quote]Why do I feel like I’m missing a joke in all the images today?
fang2415Quote Reply
I was really hoping that I’d never see the name Joey Gathright again. Thanks for shitting all over an old man’s dreams.
uncle daveQuote Reply
[quote name=uncle dave]I was really hoping that I’d never see the name Joey Gathright again. Thanks for shitting all over an old man’s dreams.[/quote]Well, Joey Gathright is no Felix Heredia.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Well, Joey Gathright is no Felix Heredia.[/quote]Which reminds me of an ethical question I once faced in 2003: if you cut off one of Antonio Alfonseca’s fingers, leaving him with five, is that wrong? I always thought it would be OK since he had extras.
uncle daveQuote Reply
[quote name=uncle dave]Which reminds me of an ethical question I once faced in 2003: if you cut off one of Antonio Alfonseca’s fingers, leaving him with five, is that wrong? I always thought it would be OK since he had extras.[/quote]I suppose that depends on which finger you’re cutting off.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]I suppose that depends on which finger you’re cutting off.[/quote]Shut me right up.
uncle daveQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]
[/quote]Forgive my ignorance, but what is the significance of this picture?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Forgive my ignorance, but what is the significance of this picture?[/quote]That’s Tony Soprano on the right. He’s still alive.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Forgive my ignorance, but what is the significance of this picture?[/quote]That’s I believe Gabby Hartnett signing a baseball for one Alfonse Capone.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]That’s Tony Soprano on the right. He’s still alive.[/quote](dying laughing) Nice snark.
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]That’s I believe Gabby Hartnett signing a baseball for one Alfonse Capone.[/quote]Thanks, I sometimes have trouble with old pictures pinpointing folks.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
There’s actually a funny story that goes with that pic. When Kenesaw Mountain Landis, famous racist asswipe and commish of MLB, saw the photo, he told Hartnett not to take pictures with Capone, to which Hartnett is said to have replied, “Ok, I won’t take anymore, but if you want him to stop taking pictures with me, you tell him.”
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Yeah, MO, it’s Capone and Hartnett. Here’s another one
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]There’s actually a funny story that goes with that pic. When Kenesaw Mountain Landis, famous racist asswipe and commish of MLB, saw the photo, he told Hartnett not to take pictures with Capone, to which Hartnett is said to have replied, “Ok, I won’t take anymore, but if you want him to stop taking pictures with me, you tell him.”[/quote](dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
By reputation, at least, Capone was a huge baseball fan.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Adventures in misreporting, Hobbiton edition:
The commish has no specific authority to arbitrate, but the commish has very broad leeway to “act in the interest of the game,” a power of the office that Selig has always been willing to employ or use as a threat. But, you know, it’s only like, you know, Paul Sullivan’s job to know and report such things. What. A. Fucking. Hack.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Yeah, MO, it’s Capone and Hartnett. Here’s another one
cdwQuote Reply
[quote name=cdw]The guy with the cigar looks like a caricature of a mobster, see. Also, wtf is up with that shop job above him?[/quote]Thats Vanilla Ice bitches!
Recalcitrant Blogger NateQuote Reply
There are a lot of photos of mob guys that you see and they don’t look so bad. But Capone always looks completely terrifying. Like a guy who would shake your hand, smile at you and then cut your fucking tongue out of your head.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
All this Al Capone talk reminded me of Town Talk.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]By reputation, at least, Capone was a huge baseball fan.[/quote]
Irresponsible rumor. I highly doubt he ever viewed a game from the back row of the left field bleachers.
melissaQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]
All this Al Capone talk reminded me of Town Talk.[/quote]
(dying laughing), I haven’t watched that movie in a long time. Amazed by how much I remember.
BerseliusQuote Reply
That was a pretty memorably game. For me the game that really stuck out was the one against the Rockies where they trailed something like 9-1 going into the 8th or 9th and came all the way back to win it. I’m thinking it was in 2008, and after that it felt like they were invincible. No lead seemed safe. The Cubs were firing on all cylinders.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]I’m thinking it was in 2008, and after that it felt like they were invincible. No lead seemed safe. The Cubs were firing on all cylinders.[/quote]
Until they got into the playoffs and the engine siezed up and wouldn’t start again.
WaLiQuote Reply
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]I’m looking forward to constant bullpen implosions making this a WS full of hilarious TLR faces.[/quote]I thought TLR only had one face.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
[quote name=Suburban kid]I thought TLR only had one face.[/quote]
This one?
WaLiQuote Reply
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2011/10/18/time_to_play_ball/
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=WaLi]
This one?[/quote]I stand corrected. (dying laughing)
(Is that when he had shingles, or did someone just kick his ass?)
Suburban kidQuote Reply
[quote name=Suburban kid]I stand corrected. (dying laughing)
(Is that when he had shingles, or did someone just kick his ass?)[/quote]Shingles. I forgot that happened this year
WaLiQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2011/10/18/time_to_play_ball/[/quote]
Is that a chicago byline on the article, or am I misreading the opening sentence?
GWQuote Reply
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/8272985-573/theo-epstein-deal-a-go-but-it-might-miss-deadline.html
GWQuote Reply
I’m kinda hoping the Cubs do give up McNutt for Theo just for headlines like this one:
“Cubs Would Give Right(y) (Mc)Nutt for Epstein”
I’m sure there are others, I just haven’t had coffee yet.
AndCountingQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2011/10/18/time_to_play_ball/[/quote]I love the bald honesty of the Cubs scout in his quote
.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
That’s just false. LaHair, Colvin, Wells, Baker… take your pick.
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=Suburban kid].[/quote](dying laughing) that’s what stood out to me in all of that.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=GBTS]That’s just false. LaHair, Colvin, Wells, Baker., DeWitt, Campana, Hill, Samardzija, Montanez.. take your pick.[/quote].
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=GW]Is that a chicago byline on the article, or am I misreading the opening sentence?[/quote]I think Nick has been in Chicago the past week or so.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=AndCounting]I’m kinda hoping the Cubs do give up McNutt for Theo just for headlines like this one:
“Cubs Would Give Right(y) (Mc)Nutt for Epstein”
I’m sure there are others, I just haven’t had coffee yet.[/quote]I’ll guarantee at least one of the headlines is going to be “Cubs Give up Righty McNutt for Epstein.”
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I think Nick has been in Chicago the past week or so.[/quote]
wow, the daily herald won’t even send bruce miles to that starbucks.
GWQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I’ll guarantee at least one of the headlines is going to be “Cubs Give up Righty McNutt for Epstein.”[/quote]
“The Future Is Bright for McNutt in Sox (Org)”
GWQuote Reply
[quote name=GW]wow, the daily herald won’t even send bruce miles to that starbucks.[/quote]At those prices, can you blame them?
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=GW]wow, the daily herald won’t even send bruce miles to that starbucks.[/quote]That’s because they only have 3 subscribers. Bruce is making one-third of that per month.
mb21Quote Reply
Red Sox Finally Play McBall, Grab Cubs’ McNutt.
AndCountingQuote Reply
[quote name=WaLi]
This one?[/quote]Is that mb’s avatar?
AndCountingQuote Reply
[quote name=AndCounting]Is that mb’s avatar?[/quote]
why do you think he’s rooting for the cards? Larussa reminds him of himself.
GWQuote Reply
[quote name=AndCounting]Red Sox Finally Play McBall, Grab Cubs’ McNutt.[/quote]This wins the internets.
fang2415Quote Reply
Still hoping that the Cubs put their thumb in Selig’s eye by announcing the Theo deal during the WS.
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Still hoping that the Cubs put their thumb in Selig’s eye by announcing the Theo deal during the WS.[/quote]Why? All the blame would be on Aramis. (dying laughing)
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Still hoping that the Cubs put their thumb in Selig’s eye by announcing the Theo deal during the WS.[/quote]I actually want Theo parachuted into center field seconds before the first pitch of game one.
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=GBTS]I actually want Theo parachuted into center field seconds before the first pitch of game one.[/quote]Obviously wearing a Cubs hat.
WaLiQuote Reply
I think they should turn this into The Decision and air it at the same time as Game 1 of the WS.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=GBTS]I actually want Theo parachuted into center field seconds before the first pitch of game one.[/quote]As long as he then walks up to Pujols and signs a contract with him right in front of first base.
fang2415Quote Reply
http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/tony-la-russa-proving-that-you-can-win-with-an-ins,26368/
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I think they should turn this into The Decision and air it at the same time as Game 1 of the WS.[/quote]
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I
‘llguarantee [/quote]Suburban kidQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/articles/relax-cubs-fans.html
mb21Quote Reply