As we all expect, Alfonso Soriano will not be wearing a Washington Nationals uniform next year. Despite our biggest hopes that the Lerners will fufill our desires, and seats in the stadium, by signing one of the most dynamic players out there, the reality is that #12 for the Nationals will not be Alfonso Soriano. It appears that we will be able to see him play next year. MLB.com is reporting that Alfonso Soriano will be a Chicago Cub next year. An announcement is expected Monday that he has been inked to an 8 year, $135 million contract. This comes after the Cubs re-signed Aramis Ramirez, Kerry Wood, Henry Blanco, signed Mark DeRosa and traded for Neal Cotts. I know the African Queen will be greatly disappointed by this, however I hope to still see her at games nest season. As you all know the regulars of section 320 make the games as much fun as the Nats do (and sometimes more fun depending on how the team is playing).
5 comments:
SeyHey--It was good thing that NatsDelNegro and I were on the phone talking about this when you posted up the notice. I went ahead, proof read, corrected and republished your blog.
The bright spot is that I see few Nats fans---even those who felt the Lerners should have offered him $17 million or more per year---who believe we should have signed him for as LONG as the Cubs did. Best of luck Fonzie, but we can use the money to rebuild our farm system. I'm happy that if he HAD to go, he's not going to be a Yankee, Red Sock, Dodger, Oriole, or any one of our NL East rivals.
There is no way that Washington needs to pay anyone that amount of money right now. Granted, they still need to choose wisely on their 2007 Draft Picks. But, that's why the Nats have hired so many talented scouts. I agree with Eddie, that its great that Alfonso is not going to The O's, Yanks, Sox or Dodgers. It would be awful for a few seasons to see him play in our division games. Now, we only see him at home 3 times per season. Its not as bad as many my think. The Farm System has to come first. Lets find our own Soriano's.
Once we do develop our own Sorianos, we will have to sign and KEEP them. That's why this franchise (when they were the Expos) could not be a contender even when they were developing loads of talent---nobody was willing to sign a long term deal to remain Expos. That's why they called the team the "University of Montreal." (Players would "graduate" in four years.)
The acid test of this franchise will be whether we can sign long-term deals with the players we develop. This will go a long way toward turning around the perception of this franchise amongst fans and players. But acting stupid won't help. If the Cubs win the World Series in a few years with Fonzie, this will be a good deal, but if his skills start to deteriorate quickly and it turns out 2006 was a "career year", this could be a bonehead move on their part. For now, wave Fonzie good-bye and gut out the tough years until we get better.
BTW, I went to the White Flint store that you did and bought a souveneir Louisville Slugger. The place is small, but I like the looks of it. Thanks for profiling it on your blog!
The fact that the Nats only get a sandwich draft pick and a second round pick for Soriano because he signed with the lowly Cubs, makes Bowden's failure to trade him in July look even dumber.
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