Soriano fading at the worst possible time?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Alfonso Soriano has been fading. He just came out of an 0 for 13 slump with a HR, but his BA is now under .300.

Soriano's season has been amazing, but he has needed all those HRs and all those steals to be a valuble player because he never walks.

Have pitchers finally caught on to him, and know not to throw him strikes? Has Soriano got 40-40-itis and is trying for the long ball too much?

Neither of these things bode well for a guy with HR power and a poor K-BB ratio. I wonder if the habits Soriano has gotten into lately, of swinging for the fences, coupled with his tendency to strike out AND his lack of plate discipline, will be the start of offensive bad habits resulting in problems that will be hard to correct.

Soriano is practicing, even for him, bad offensive habits. Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent!

[JamesI]

I think Soriano is gunning for 40-40. He's not a player that can afford to swing for the fences every pitch.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Originally posted by JamesI
I think Soriano is gunning for 40-40. He's not a player that can afford to swing for the fences every pitch.

Do you think that this will get him into bad habits that will take a year or more to break?

[JamesI]

I dunno. Despite his power this year, I don't see Soriano being a great player for years to come. I expect a quick fade from him, although if he can learn some discipline he can probably survive.

[VNV Nation]

You guys crack me up.

Did anyone post anything when Giambi hit .224 in August?

Bernie Williams hit .236 in April.

John Olerud hit under .250 for two months this year. In fact, he has two months just about every year where he doesn't hit anything.

Jeff Bagwell hit .200, slugged .316 in June.

Gary Sheffield hit .227 in April, and is just 5-for-26 this month. Maybe the pitchers are catching up to him.

A-Rod's hitting just .224 this month...maybe all that MVP pressure is getting to him.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
You guys crack me up.

Did anyone post anything when Giambi hit .224 in August?

Bernie Williams hit .236 in April.

John Olerud hit under .250 for two months this year. In fact, he has two months just about every year where he doesn't hit anything.

Jeff Bagwell hit .200, slugged .316 in June.

Gary Sheffield hit .227 in April, and is just 5-for-26 this month. Maybe the pitchers are catching up to him.

If I crack you up, you need to post one of these:

The difference between Soriano and the guys you mentioned is twofold:

(A) Soriano's season this year is SOOOOOOO far above any previously established level of ability AND;

(B) Soriano's lack of plate discipline sets him apart from the guys you mentioned. Those guys can use their patience to ride out a slump somewhat. A hacker like Soriano who whiffs a lot and never walks is, IMO, in trouble when he gets into habits that exacerbates those problems.

[JamesI]

Sorry VNV not trying to crack you up.

Soriano is having a year that reminds me of Brett Boone last year without the batting average. He's not going to threaten 40-40 or even 30-30 next year and without a lot of power, his lack of plate discipline will catch up to him.

[VNV Nation]

Maybe you're just making a big deal out of nothing.

[VNV Nation]

Originally posted by JamesI
Sorry VNV not trying to crack you up.

Soriano is having a year that reminds me of Brett Boone last year without the batting average. He's not going to threaten 40-40 or even 30-30 next year and without a lot of power, his lack of plate discipline will catch up to him.

E-mail me if you'd like to put money on this.

[JamesI]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
Maybe you're just making a big deal out of nothing.

Maybe. We have different opinions of him as a player. No big deal.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Originally posted by JamesI
Soriano is having a year that reminds me of Brett Boone last year without the batting average. He's not going to threaten 40-40 or even 30-30 next year and without a lot of power, his lack of plate discipline will catch up to him.

Boone was also a guy who was playing far beyond any established level. What's frightening is that Boone, while somewhat impatient, has almost twice the patience at the plate as Soriano.

[JamesI]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
E-mail me if you'd like to put money on this.

After 4 Buffalo Super Bowls I don't put money on anything.

[RichG]

Originally posted by Fuzzy Bear
Alfonso Soriano has been fading. He just came out of an 0 for 13 slump with a HR, but his BA is now under .300.

Soriano's season has been amazing, but he has needed all those HRs and all those steals to be a valuble player because he never walks.

You seem to be looking at a small time slice. As you said, he's coming out of a 0-13 slump. What's that, 3 or 4 games? If he turns out to be a 25 homer, 100 run guy in the future is that so bad? When it gets to the point he's keeping a better player on the bench then he'll be a detriment.

He'd be a slight improvement over Pokey Reese. :-)

No one's ever as good as they look when they're going well, just as they're never as bad as they look when things aren't going as well.

[Fuzzy Bear]

My concern about Soriano is that he is having a big offensive year, but he is not good at hitting the ball, as evidenced by his strikeout totals. Plate discipline is the first act of remediation in this area, but he's terrible there as well.

Nomar and Ichiro aren't much in the walk department, but they can put the bat on the ball. Sammy Sosa and Julio Franco struck out a lot, but developed increased plate discipline.

Soriano, on the other hand, is now in wild swinging mode that reflects a departure from his approach to hitting that helped him succeed this year. If you had a teenager with asthma and they started smoking, it would be a big deal as to their future physical well being; a habit hard to break. Soriano's swing-for-the-fences approach now is different than his approach at the start of the year. It's an approach that will ruin him.

I predict that Soriano will not hit 20 HRs next year, and will not hit .270. How low he goes, we'll see. But he's a messed up hitter right now.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Originally posted by RichG


He'd be a slight improvement over Pokey Reese. :-)

He'd be a BIG improvement over Pokey Reese. I'd be a SLIGHT improvement over Pokey Reese!