If Soriano bats down in the order?

[terry14420]

And the fact that he will be playing half his games in a hitter friendly ball
park, would it be out of the realm of possibility that he will out-homer and out-RBI A-Rod? Batting leadoff he only finished 28 rbis behind. How many more runs would Sori have produced from the number 4 spot? I hate to spoil the party here, and I don't want to seem negative but looking at this trade a few days after, I'm not that convinced that this trade is the lead-pipe cinch everyone else does. Sometimes you have to wait until these things play themselves out. The big positive here, I believe, is defensively. Getting Soriano out of the infield is a plus no matter how you look at it.

[NJASDJDH]

Originally posted by terry14420
And the fact that he will be playing half his games in a hitter friendly ball
park, would it be out of the realm of possibility that he will out-homer and out-RBI A-Rod? Batting leadoff he only finished 28 rbis behind. How many more runs would Sori have produced from the number 4 spot? I hate to spoil the party here, and I don't want to seem negative but looking at this trade a few days after, I'm not that convinced that this trade is the lead-pipe cinch everyone else does. Sometimes you have to wait until these things play themselves out. The big positive here, I believe, is defensively. Getting Soriano out of the infield is a plus no matter how you look at it.

He will be hitting 3rd or 4th I think, and I fully expect him to have better stats than A-Rod.

[TripleG23]

Originally posted by NJASDJDH


He will be hitting 3rd or 4th I think, and I fully expect him to have better stats than A-Rod.

I wonder if he will lay off that outside pitch. Man, after the postseason last year they are going to be feeding him a heavy dose of those pitches. On the other hand, if they start him out with a first pitch fastball it'll be a whole different story

-Triple G

[joltinjo]

It will be interesting to see if Sori can adjust. The better pitchers found his weaknesses and got the better of him late in the season.
We will pick up so much more defensively, too. A-Rod's increased range at third will help Jeter as well.

Still... Sori was a lot of fun to watch.

[Bub]

I'm not familar with the Rangers lineup, but he'll need good protection if he's going to hit well. Otherwise, why give him anything to hit at all when he doesn't walk and swings at pitches way outside the zone? What will be most interesting is how the Yankees pitch to him.

[Mattinglyrules]

You guys are really reaching for stuff to talk about...

ARod has already proven he's not phased by the postseason. Soriano has proven twice already that he's not (the homer off Schilling in '01 notwithstanding). That alone seals it for me.

I'm really just so happy that I won't have to watch him swing at every outside breaking ball that he gets. I'm so happy that I won't have to see as much of him pounding mediocre to poor pitching and getting lauded for it.

This is huge for the Yankees. Their defense will improve dramatically, and I don't really care at all whether Soriano has better stats than ARod. We got the superior player (and I really can't believe anyone is doubting that).

[-tz]

Originally posted by Bub
What will be most interesting is how the Yankees pitch to him.

Of course, most of the Yankees' starters have never watched him hit ...

[silverdsl]

Since this is about how Soriano is going to do as a Ranger I'm going to move it to "Around the Majors."

Personally, I think Soriano might put up nice numbers as a Ranger but over the long-term I highly doubt that he will either make the necessary adjustments at the plate that he needs to or outproduce A-Rod.

-Deborah

[terry14420]

I'm not saying the Yankees didn't get the better player. I'm just saying these things don't always translate into automatic 110 win seasons. In case you haven't noticed ARod has never been in a World Series. Not because of him, but this doesn't automatically put the Yanks back in again, either. I was just making an observation that offensively things will look very strange at the end of this season. If Soriano hammers only weak pitching, pull up the rosters of most American League teams. There's alot of weak pitching out there. Sori was exposed in the post season where pitching is so much better.

[NJASDJDH]

Originally posted by joltinjo
It will be interesting to see if Sori can adjust. The better pitchers found his weaknesses and got the better of him late in the season.
We will pick up so much more defensively, too. A-Rod's increased range at third will help Jeter as well.

Still... Sori was a lot of fun to watch.

Once again, I am forced to say, EVERYONE already knew he could not hit that pitch, Sori did not have a new hole discovered, it was an old hole that can be exploited by top flight pitchers or pitchers on the top of their game, that is what happened in the postseason. A-Rod is also about an average maybe slightly better defensive SS and Sori was an average defensive 2B IMO, that is not that big of a change when you factor in that A-Rod will not even play SS for us because our management is catering to Derek Jeter.

[Soriambi]

Originally posted by NJASDJDH


Once again, I am forced to say, EVERYONE already knew he could not hit that pitch, Sori did not have a new hole discovered, it was an old hole that can be exploited by top flight pitchers or pitchers on the top of their game, that is what happened in the postseason. A-Rod is also about an average maybe slightly better defensive SS and Sori was an average defensive 2B IMO, that is not that big of a change when you factor in that A-Rod will not even play SS for us because our management is catering to Derek Jeter.

You think A-rod is only slightly better than Soriano defensively??

[KLJ]

Originally posted by NJASDJDH
A-Rod is also about an average maybe slightly better defensive SS and Sori was an average defensive 2B IMO, that is not that big of a change when you factor in that A-Rod will not even play SS for us because our management is catering to Derek Jeter.

let's just disagree on this.. arod is the best defensive shortstop in the a.l. while soriano is arguably the worst defensive 2nd baseman in the a.l. so bad in fact that texas will move him to centerfield instead of moving a good fielding 2nd baseman to accommodate soriano

[terry14420]

Blalock, Soriano, Tiexiera, etc. This is the nucleus of a great young team offensively but if the money saved from Arod's contract is not spent on pitching this entire move is useless for Texas.

[dlaurito]

Originally posted by Mattinglyrules
You guys are really reaching for stuff to talk about...

ARod has already proven he's not phased by the postseason.

Do you remember the 2000 ALCS when Clemens planted Rodriguez on his butt? You can throw out the numbers, Rodriguez and the Mariners were finished right at that moment.

[NJASDJDH]

Originally posted by KLJ

let's just disagree on this.. arod is the best defensive shortstop in the a.l. while soriano is arguably the worst defensive 2nd baseman in the a.l. so bad in fact that texas will move him to centerfield instead of moving a good fielding 2nd baseman to accommodate soriano

No, he is not the best, he is above average not the best, in addition Soriano is average, I will explain all of this in depth in the future, but I don't have much time now.

[Babe Rules]

Originally posted by NJASDJDH


He will be hitting 3rd or 4th I think, and I fully expect him to have better stats than A-Rod.

Not sure, he K's too much. Maybe 6th

[Bluesexy's daddy]

It's a valid question. Naturaly if there was no possability of Soriano puitting up huge numbers then the Rangers would not have traded him. The Rangers are betting on Soriano improving. That is a reasonable bet.

This trade is win-win. It makes great sense for both teams.

[NJOBP36]

Originally posted by Babe Rules


Not sure, he K's too much. Maybe 6th

He only struck out a little more than A-Rod.

[Sixty one]

His upside is tremendous! I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years he has numbers as great as any slugger in the majors. He will probably be playing centerfield and people will be comparing him to Aaron. I also think that with the experience he gains playing the outfield he'll be ready to return to the Yanks when he is eligible for free agency! Think of him in a few years when he is in his prime roaming centerfield for the pinstripers.

[Babe Rules]

Originally posted by Sixty one
His upside is tremendous! I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years he has numbers as great as any slugger in the majors. He will probably be playing centerfield and people will be comparing him to Aaron. I also think that with the experience he gains playing the outfield he'll be ready to return to the Yanks when he is eligible for free agency! Think of him in a few years when he is in his prime roaming centerfield for the pinstripers.

Agreed about the upside, but I think that if he wants to have those leading numbers, or even keep his number in the same level, he needs to learn how to control his bat.
Everyone saw the postseason, and it was very clear the way how to get Soriano out: those low-outside pitch, sometimes fastball but usually a curve.
If he doesn't control his bat everybody will keep pitching like that and Soriano wont have much chance