Leading The Way: Alfonso Soriano
By Sarah Spain
Alfonso Soriano started the 2008 season batting .192 with 2 homers and 5 RBI. The Cubs leadoff man lunged at pitches that were miles outside the strike zone and struggled to make routine plays in the outfield. The media hammered Lou Piniella with questions about the lineup and many wondered whether Soriano would end up being a spectacularly expensive bust. Just when it seemed as though things couldn’t possibly get any worse, on April 15th, exactly halfway through one of the most disappointing opening months of his career, Soriano injured his calf and was forced onto the 15-day DL.
Turns out, all ‘Fonsie needed was a little paid vacation. He returned to the starting lineup May 1st and with the new month came the old Soriano. In the first half of May, the dazzling Domincan batted .339 with 4 homers and 13 RBI. The hot streak looks to get even hotter as the month wears on. Friday afternoon against the Pirates, ‘Fonsie started off the second half of May with a bang: he hit his third leadoff jack in four games then added a three-run bomb two innings later. He followed this up with two more home runs on Saturday!
If the whole “Clark Kent disappears, Superman returns” theme sounds familiar to you, it’s not because you’ve watched too many episodes of Smallville. Last season also saw Soriano turn insult into injury into success. In July of 2007 the Cubs slugger hit .265 with just 3 homers and 12 RBI. The Cubs saw their playoff chances dwindling and the fans accused their superstar of slacking. Then, just 5 games into August, Soriano tore his right quad and was forced to miss the next 19 games.
The month that followed was one for the ages. Soriano batted .320, hit 14 dingers (a new club record for September), drove in 27 runs and led the Northsiders in a late surge to overtake the Brewers. September Soriano was truly worth the hype (and the paycheck).
So what’s the secret? Why does the slender slugger come off the DL playing and acting like a new man? Well, maybe he comes back sharper because he spends his time on the DL perfecting his swing and working on his eye. Maybe he just feels less pressure coming back from an injury. Or maybe he feels stronger because Mama Soriano flies in and feeds her baby lots of Campbell’s Extra Chunky Soup. Whatever it is, Cubs fan can hope to see one spectacular month of May.
Let’s just hope that Soriano only needs one mid-season injury to get back on track. With the way he’s playing now, the Cubs can’t afford to lose him—even if he will come back even better.
I knew the Pirates were going to get the Cubs eventually. there was no way they could go perfect against them the whole season. Soriano is probably my second favorite Cubs player. Kerry Wood is #1. Lilly and Dempster are up there too.
As amazing as Soriano has been these last few weeks, however, Derrek Lee has been alarming. He started off hot, but has been ice cold in May, hitting below the Mendoza line for the month. In fact, with Soriano going 5-for-5 and Lee going 0-for-5, guess who’s now got the higher batting average…
We can’t rely on Soriano continuing his hot streak indefinitely… Lee’s got to get his groove back — hopefully without injury — and fast!
“how Derrek got his groove back” would be a good sequel to “how stella got her groove back”
Soriano is out of his mind right now… about time…
He is NO Tuffy Rhodes!!!
What about Randall Simon? anyone who swings his bat at a racing sausage passing by is a legend.
Soriano is a dynamite, if streaky player. Liked him even when he was a yankee…
He totally pulled a Brant Brown today! just an awful drop when it mattered most!