Panzram
03-15-2006, 04:09 PM
Alfonso Soriano, Nationals
The experts, along with anyone else who follows baseball, are all over this one like stink on a monkey. But I suppose it bears repeating, since the stars appear to be aligning against Soriano. First, there is the move from Ameriquest Field, where pitchers go to die, to RFK Stadium, where fly balls rest in peace. In fairness, Soriano did club 16 of his 28 homers away from home in 2004, but the Fonz hit just .224 with 11 homers, 31 RBI, and a meager .639 OPS outside of Arlington a year ago (compared to .315-25-1.011 at Ameriquest), and RFK was one of the worst hitters ballparks in the majors a year ago. Second, after three consecutive seasons of declining batting averages, it's clear Soriano will likely never see .300 again. Finally, Alfonso has never exactly been known as a clubhouse leader, and he's not making any friends by refusing to move away from second base moments after the trade to the Nationals was announced. Noted hothead Jose Guillen has already indicated he won't stand for a distraction related to the position issue, while Soriano refuses to agree to disagree. Sounds like a good situation. Soriano clearly still has a tantalizing combo of speed and power, but he's already been usurped by Chase Utley atop Fanball's second basemen rankings, and he is clearly no longer a mainstay in the first round of fantasy drafts.
Robinson Cano, Yankees
Who knew the Yankees could develop a prospect instead of buying them? Cano proved the Yanks can manufacture talent with a brilliant rookie campaign, but I have doubts about him repeating. Aside from the fact that pitchers have now had nearly a full season to adjust to Cano, he'll likely be making a drastic, fantasy-killing move down the Bronx Bombers' lineup. Robinson did much of his work batting second in 2005, but the addition of leadoff man Johnny Damon likely drops him all the way down to eighth or even ninth in the order. With an on base percentage of just .320 and a not-so-disciplined approach at the plate, batting down in the order probably suits Cano better, but it certainly won't do anything for his statistics. At No. 2, Cano would have been a candidate to score 100 runs batting in front of A-Rod, Sheffield, Giambi, and friends, but at No. 8 it's tough to predict any improvement whatsoever on his 2005 digits.
Kazuo Matsui NYM 2B Has done very little the past two seasons and the Mets are trying to dump him. Some still like his potential. Two years in the league with no success, he is injury prone, and plays his home games in pitchers park. Avoid at all cost.
The experts, along with anyone else who follows baseball, are all over this one like stink on a monkey. But I suppose it bears repeating, since the stars appear to be aligning against Soriano. First, there is the move from Ameriquest Field, where pitchers go to die, to RFK Stadium, where fly balls rest in peace. In fairness, Soriano did club 16 of his 28 homers away from home in 2004, but the Fonz hit just .224 with 11 homers, 31 RBI, and a meager .639 OPS outside of Arlington a year ago (compared to .315-25-1.011 at Ameriquest), and RFK was one of the worst hitters ballparks in the majors a year ago. Second, after three consecutive seasons of declining batting averages, it's clear Soriano will likely never see .300 again. Finally, Alfonso has never exactly been known as a clubhouse leader, and he's not making any friends by refusing to move away from second base moments after the trade to the Nationals was announced. Noted hothead Jose Guillen has already indicated he won't stand for a distraction related to the position issue, while Soriano refuses to agree to disagree. Sounds like a good situation. Soriano clearly still has a tantalizing combo of speed and power, but he's already been usurped by Chase Utley atop Fanball's second basemen rankings, and he is clearly no longer a mainstay in the first round of fantasy drafts.
Robinson Cano, Yankees
Who knew the Yankees could develop a prospect instead of buying them? Cano proved the Yanks can manufacture talent with a brilliant rookie campaign, but I have doubts about him repeating. Aside from the fact that pitchers have now had nearly a full season to adjust to Cano, he'll likely be making a drastic, fantasy-killing move down the Bronx Bombers' lineup. Robinson did much of his work batting second in 2005, but the addition of leadoff man Johnny Damon likely drops him all the way down to eighth or even ninth in the order. With an on base percentage of just .320 and a not-so-disciplined approach at the plate, batting down in the order probably suits Cano better, but it certainly won't do anything for his statistics. At No. 2, Cano would have been a candidate to score 100 runs batting in front of A-Rod, Sheffield, Giambi, and friends, but at No. 8 it's tough to predict any improvement whatsoever on his 2005 digits.
Kazuo Matsui NYM 2B Has done very little the past two seasons and the Mets are trying to dump him. Some still like his potential. Two years in the league with no success, he is injury prone, and plays his home games in pitchers park. Avoid at all cost.