Alfonso Ribeiro Is Cooler

A few thoughts on the Soriano story, a matter worthy of a separate post.

1. In a perfect world, Bowden could fall back on the "he's a professional being paid $10M, he should act like it," but just ask Steve Spurrier how that stance worked out for him. Everyone saw this trade pretty much working out exactly like it has so far.

2. That Brad Wilkerson went in the deal is doubly damning. A clubhouse guy, team player, and versatile fielder goes away and a selfish, me-first, guy who can't field at any position comes in. This team ran completely on heart and the fans' exuberance last year -- without Frank Robinson, the inaugural year vibe, and a lot of no-name overachievers playing as a TEAM, this club wins fewer than 70 games. Well, at least they still have Frank. For now.

3. Tim Kurkjian was hilarious talking about this. He basically called out both Bowden and Soriano. A few that stuck with me: "we knew it was a stuuupid trade"; "a terrrrible second baseman, by the way"; "incredulous at the chilidsh behavior". He went on to other topics, calling the Reds' rotation "indescriiiibably bad" and the current Red Sox' outfield defense as "interesting".

4. It will please me greatly if Soriano refuses to play again today and goes on the DQ list (where he won't get that overpriced salary), but that would require his ignorance to supersede his selfishness. They're neck-and-neck, but greed usually prevails.

5. What do you think Soriano is most afraid of in his contract year: playing left-field where his lack of fielding skills will be on display; playing in RFK, where his inflated stats from The ballpark will shrink, perhaps substantially; hitting in a lineup that has little to no protection for a free-swinging, low OBP guy that was extremely well-fortified in Texas; playing on a team that needs a leader with character when his recent actions have indicated a complete void of the stuff? He doesn't just want out of LF, he wants out of DC. But though stride after stride has been made since the days of Curt Flood and Marvin Miller, there is still a minor stipulation that indicates that a player must play for the team that owns his contract. Tough times for players, indeed.

6. Jose Vidro should say, "You know what, Nats? I'll be the bigger man and step aside and let Soriano play 2B. Just trade me to the Mets for Jorge Julio and I will defuse this situation that way."

7. Somewhere, Billy Packer sighs in relief at not being the Dick of the Week any more.