December 8, 2005
Soriano News is Good News
In the crush of stories about stadium financing, team ownership, and MLB's general level of Scrooge McDuck miserliness, it's been easy to forget that, had the Nats been able to put a few more runs on the board last year, Washington's inaugural baseball season would likely have included a playoff run. Washington's patchwork starting staff and heroic bullpen were ninth in the league in runs allowed, but the Nats were dead last in runs scored, a stat that has more to do with the signing limitations of the league owned Nationals than the cavernous confines of RFK. Given uncertainty about who would end up holding the deed to the team, it has been widely assumed that the Nats would be forced to sit on their hands this offseason, watching free agents fly by as they prepare for a sophomore slump. The offseason moves made to date, acquisitions of bicycle wheel baseball card players Marlon Anderson and Brian Lawrence, hadn't exactly set the fans' hair on fire.
But the Washington front office pulled the trigger on a doozie this week, bringing in former Yankee and Texas Ranger Alfonso Soriano, in a move that makes the Nats' lineup much more dangerous and much faster on the basepaths. In Soriano's five full years as a major leaguer, he's averaged over 30 homers and 30 steals a year as an infielder, where he's shown great ability and range. The knocks on him are his penchant for swinging at high fastballs, breaking balls away, passing blimps, and anything else that catches his eye while he's in the batter's box, and he's known for dogging it in the field when he gets tired, but Frank Robinson is a motivator who's sure to get the most out of his new plaything. It's likely that Alfonso will spend time in the outfield anyway, given All-Star Jose Vidro's status as an elite second baseman.
In getting Soriano, the Nats traded away Termel Sledge and Brad Wilkerson, who was a fan favorite and Chevy Chase Bank spokesperson, but who struggled with his hitting down the stretch. The deal also includes a Washington minor leaguer to be named later. Welcome to the Nationals, Alfonso. We hope you enjoy your stay.
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Come now, Ryan. Soriano is going to be downright awful in RFK. Look at his home/road splits from last year. He hit 25 home runs in the cozy confines of Texas and 11 on the road. His slugging was nearly .300 points lower on the road than at home. Now, he's in a crappy lineup in a HUGE stadium that deadens home runs. He's going to be awful.
I wrote more about this at my blog: Soriano-to-Washington trade a big whiff for Nats
Well, his homer production will definitely fall, but for a fast guy, a big park will give him the opportunity to stretch a lot of hits for extra bases. His being in the lineup will be a big help to Guillen and Johnson, and at any rate, he's an improvement over Wilkie. The Nats offense was dead last year, and Soriano is a guy who can make things happen. And hey, Guillen couldn't hit it out at RFK last year, either, but he was hardly worthless at the plate.
I would care about DC Professional Baseball, Football or any other professional sports for that matter, if the players were actually from D.C.
But as this article states, this guy came from the Yankees and Texas Rangers...so why should anyone in D.C. have loyalty to him or the Nats?
as a Rangers/Nationals fan (makes no sense, but I digress), I've seen Soriano's horrible play on tv the past few years. At least now I'll be able to boo him in person. Everyone that watches him play on a consistent basis hates him, and everyone that doesn't love him. Prepare to be educated DC. If they stay injury free, I think both Wilkerson and Sledge will have better offensive seasons than Sori.
I'm not convinced this is such a good deal. Soriano, in addition to being a bit of a pouter, has put up lackluster numbers in the bandbox they have in Texas. How will he do in the vortex-where-homers-die that we have at RFK?
But we'll see. the PTBNL is Andres Gallaraga, who was doing alright down in Class A.
"I would care...if the players were actually from DC." Miles, welcome to the sports world, post-1985. No team in any professional sport -- heck, and even few at the college level -- field a roster of local hires. Want to watch an all-DC team: Go to a high school game.
Ryan: Your argument would make sense but Soriano isn't a gap/line-drive hitter. He one the lowest line drive percentages among AL hitters last year. His pop ups in Arlington went out. His pop ups in RFK will be long outs.
Also, it's Armando Galarraga, the 25-year-old. Andres, the 44-year-old, retired after the 2004 season.
One other point... what made Soriano such a stud (relatively speaking) was that he played middle infield where power is a luxury. When he's moved to OF he'll be just an average guy. 30/30 is nice, but in the OF it's not going to get him a bunch of All-Star appearances (assuming his power stats stay up).
With that said, I loved Soriano when he was with the Yankees. Since he went to the Rangers he's not impressed me.
You guys make some good points, and it's definitely possible that Soriano will be a disappointment. I think I viewed this news as positive, though, because 1)last year's offense was so moribund, and I think that had a lot to do with Wilkie being the lead-off man and poor team base running, and 2)if the Nats are going to think about contending this year, they need to make moves. I was concerned that ownership uncertainties would paralyze the front office, and that seems not to be the case.
I like the move too, if, and only if, Soriano can get on base and steal some bases too. We'll need more than 30 SBs from him. We don't have to hit tons of HRs. Just get on base and get timely hits. I'll watch him play until he pisses me off!
One other point:
2005
Wilkerson road OPS = .751
Soriano road OPS = .639
2004
Wilkerson road OPS = .857
Soriano road OPS = .735
I think this a win for the rangers if it was only Wilkerson being traded. Wilkerson can at least blame his drop on injuries and the new home park. Let's also not forget that Wilkerson is a year younger, will be making half as much this year, and won't be a FA for a year longer. I didn't even have to bring up defense (i guess i just did).
I guess I'd like to know why people people on here have loyalty to the Nats or any professional team?
DCist is supposed to be about Washington D.C. and besides the fact that they play a few games here and their stadium is wasting taxpayers' money...what does this guy or the Nats have to do with D.C.?
Soriano's on-base percentage last year was .309, so don't count on him getting on base particularly often.
Wilkerson-for-Soriano straight up might have been an OK deal (although Soriano is going to be twice as expensive as Wilkerson next year), but the inclusion of Sledge and Galarraga makes this deal a loss for the Nats.
The Nats needed some positive PR to get everyone's mind off of the stadium and ownership debacles. This move accomplishes that. To the casual Nats fan, Soriano is a big name and he will likely generate some ticket sales just by being on the roster.
Correct you are Ben, it's Armando! Jeez, teach me to comment before coffee.
this miles guy doesn't sound like he really grasps the concept of professional sports. as for soriano, i like his speed on the basepaths, we'll just have to see how he hits the ball in RFK. i don't know about having as a leadoff man though, his walk to strikeout ratio doesn't seem favorable.
Per Miles's logic I propose that DCist stop talking about anything on Capitol Hill. Stupid bunch of out-of-town representatives... what do they have to do with DC? For that matter, DCist should also not discuss a great number of the residents here since it's so transitory. I'm from KY, herego I will be first to abide by this new policy and stop commenting here.
While we're at it, please stop covering most concerts and art exhibits. Stop covering tourists. Stop covering Butterstick... it'll be gone soon.
What will DCist cover now?
Oh, and it's obvious... stop covering the Caps, Wizards, United, etc...
That should be everything... what did I miss?
"DCist is supposed to be about Washington D.C. and besides the fact that they play a few games here and their stadium is wasting taxpayers' money...what does this guy or the Nats have to do with D.C.?"
then would you make the same arguement on the wizards, redskins, & capitals? aren't the "hometown" teams a part of being a resident of the district?
Soriano is not a leadoff hitter. Slot him at the 5-hole at best, maybe 4 on a week hitting club. He'll drive runs but is too erattic & impatient for the lead-off spot.
I gotta agree with J here. Sorry, JT Kirkland, but I don't think you should expect Sori to get on base. First, he's never had much luck there, and his OBP of .309 last season was the WORST among all second basemen. Second, he'll be moving to a new league with a new set of pitchers. You'll see a lot of three-pitch or four-pitch strike outs. I think Soriano is a player who's abilities match up well with certain stadiums (hitter's parks) and certain lineups (lot of protection, lot of other guys on base). The Nats don't fulfill any of those qualities.
Finally, I don't think, Ryan, the Nats are going to contend this year. The Mets are way better. The Phillies are way better. Even the Braves are better. The Nats allowed more runs than they scored last year and were lucky to finish at .500. They "should" (in the sabermetric meaning of the term) have finished at around 77-85. As much as I liked watching him play in New York, I just don't think Sori's going to help a team that needs high-OBP, line-drive hitters to win in that park. This move shows a firm misunderstanding of his team's parameters by Bowden.
A lot of people don't think the Nats will contend next year. Of course, a lot of people thought the Nats wouldn't contend last year. The Mets are the team to beat, but if we've learned anything the past few years, it's that bringing a bunch of all-star free agents to New York isn't a sure fire way to win a World Series. The Nats have a decent team, and RFK helps even the odds a bit. They could easily be below .500 this year, but I'm not about to rule out a wild card spot, not the way they played last year.
ESPN is running an online poll right now, 71% think the Nationals "won" this trade.
So, really, what this is is a bad baseball move but a good PR one (as Kyle said above). The question is, will we get anything for Soriano in the long run? We're guaranteed 2006, as he's arbitration-eligible, but after that I expect him to go to the free agent market.
The best case is probably a strong first half for a losing team, so we can flip him for some prospects.
Ben,
I don't expect Soriano to get on base!
Miles, you can still be a pro-dc-stateist, pro-dc-whatever and be a sports fan. The two aren't mutually exclusive. If anything, having a professional baseball team (the iconographic 'american' game) can only raise national awareness of dc as legitimate city worthy of the rights, privileges and respect that other cities enjoy.
That said, I’m not sure if we’re ready to handle a big-namer just yet. I feel like the locker-room will suffer with one national superstar and a handful of hard working low-spotlight players. We’d be better off building long term prospects and holding onto our minor leaguers.
fantasy baseball has warped people's sense of who's a valuable player and who isn't. soriano is worth having around, but not at the price of two guys like wilky and sledge and at $10 million, especially when he will be forced to play out of position. season ticket deposits are due in less than a week -- i have to think this played into the deal. if soriano stays healthy, he's likely to lead the majors in one category next year -- outs.
woaha. i read the comments expecting love, not analysis. it is true though that fantasy ball warps peoples perspectives, but, soriano was the #1 rank fantasy second basemen and a top 10 preseason ranking.
many valid points have been made about him moving to the outfield and his numbers v. wilkerson, but they just got one star. we'll see if he puts up numbers, i think he will, but like someone said, the season tickets are due and this is a face for the team.
Earl: Soriano may have been the number 1 ranking fantasy baseball second baseman, but the Nationals do not play fantasy baseball. They play real baseball. And in real baseball, you have to consider more than just R/HR/RBI/SB/AVG. Soriano, while a good face, just isn't a good fit for the Nats. I'm sure the 2006 season will show that.
And he won't be one of the top ranked left-fielders by a long shot.
Why would we give "love" for such a bad trade?
I'm still hoping somebody fails his physical so it's voided.
Remarkable to read a piece that, frankly, overlooks a massive amount of facts to make its points.
First off, I have to pick myself up off the floor from laughing at the assertion that Soriano shows "great ability and range." Soriano has a reputation as possibly one of very worst 2B in MLB in the field, perhaps ahead of only our own Jose Vidro. I've been an NYY fan my whole life - other than the massive amount of strikeouts (we'll get to that), the knock against Sori was always that he was a disaster in the field. I don't mean to put it so bluntly, but what you posted was just outright wrong.
On the offensive side, I think your article falls into a shortsighted trap of looking at the name and a few topline numbers, and failing to acknowledge a lot of other factors. First, it's not necessarily right to say that Soriano's presence automatically means we score more runs. His strikeout numbers are frighteningly high - over 120 average for the past three or four years - while his walk totals are frighteningly low, around 30 per year. Compare that to Wilkerson, who strikes out more (about 30 avg. per year more) but walks WAY more (about 90 walks average, so 60 walks more per year). That doesn't necessarily seem like an offensive upgrade. That works out to a difference of about 60 points in OBP, in Wilkerson's favor. Hard to score lots more runs when you are getting on base a lot less.
Okay, so we can say, but he hits so many HRs, he hits so many RBIs! But again that ignores a critical fact, the home/road splits that were already points out. Soriano hit more than 70% of his RBIs at home this past year, about 66% of his HRs at home this past year. His average was almost 100 POINTS higher at home this past year than on the road. This guy has taken advantage of the small park in Arlington (Texas, that is, not our close-by just-as-good-as-DC county) and really got killed on the road, where he hit just .224! I'm tempted to believe that his numebrs will look a lot more like those away numbers in spacious RFK.
There is a LOT of evidence to indicate that Soriano, who hits pop fly balls that will fall for outs in RFK, is going to take a serious hit to his numbers this year. So we got a marginal upgrade in hitter quality, for a cost of at least $5mil more per year. Which is great, because that's about how much additional budget Jim Bowden just received from MLB - but it's already blown, before we addressed our real need, the fact that we have two quality starters, and then a whole big fecking mess at 3-4-5 pitchers.
So after all that, you also failed to acknowledge that Sledge was a good 4th OFer who was worth something, and that the player to be named later, whose name was released within an hour or two of the deal, was our #5 overall prospect, and a guy considered one of our two best pitching prospects. Still sound like a smart deal?
And you didn't even address the fact that Soriano has insisted over and over that he refused to play OF. This is a guy who told his hometown paper, I am in control, I will play where I want to be. Great move, Jim Bowden, bringing in a malcontent who gets off to that type of start with the new fans and city.
I have no problem with people having differing opinions, but you've got to at least try to use facts to back them up. You failed to look at the overwhelming evidence that indicates this was a really bad deal for the Nationals, and that it will hardly improve the team as much as those people caught up in the "name" of Soriano seem to assume.
Prediction: if he's even here for a full season, Sori hits about .270, about 70 RBI, 23 HR (16 on the road), and is getting booed by July 4th for the lack of production, the horrible defense and the bad attitude. Great job, Jim Bowden, great job. There's a reason that before us, Cold Pizza was the only job calling your name.
So, according to your prediction, Soriano would represent a marked improvement over Wilkerson in every major statistical category, especially considering Wilkie was a slug in the field and on the basepaths, and a wretched lead-off man. Yeah, I think you're right, it was a good trade.
DCist Ryan:
The walks, man! Ignore batting average, Soriano will be at least 50 points lower than Wilkerson in on-base percentage.
Wilkerson was, in fact, an above-average center fielder and an excellent left fielder. He was fine as a lead-off man (he got on base, which is what a leadoff hitter is supposed to do).
His big problem was the caught stealings, but most of those were because Frank called for ill-advised hit-and-runs -- the worst play in baseball.
This really leads me into a question -- and don't take this as an attack -- but why does DCist even bother to cover sports? The analysis ranges from fatuous and sophomoric to well-meaning but wrong, items are generally posted in a manner that can best be described as "not timely" and most of the readers seem to be either uninterested or downright hostile to the idea of sports.
I mean, ultimately, post what you guys want, but, really, the sports posts are awful.
J, who is clearly Yuda,
Why are you such an obsessive reader of DCist's sports coverage if it's so shite? Feel free to send Rob or myself any and all criticisms you have of our work, but -- and don't take this as an attack -- it seems unhealthy for you to keep reading things you find so painfully bad.
Ryan, I came over here when Ryan of Distinguished Senators absolutely eviscerated your shitty "analysis."
But, I'm curious, why is it my comments get deleted when I mention unnamed DCist posters' links to unnamed shady South American despots, but people who "work" for DCist are allowed to reveal my identity?
Also, somebody needs to fact-check your posts, since "editor" Rob clearly can't be bothered.
Our writers have their faces, names, and email addresses posted on this site. If you want to whine from behind a pseudonym, then fine, but don't cry when our technology allows us to place your comments in context.
If your comments have been deleted in the past, I'm sure it was for good reason. Perhaps it was the raving paranoia you displayed, or maybe just the inability to take lightly a short blog post on how one of MLB's superstars has been signed to the local team.
It's kinda like a car wreck, you don't want to look, but it can be so grotesquely fascinating that you can't help yourself.
As J pointed out, you've yet again shown a total lack of knowledge about the Nats, and the players involved in this deal. Have you been to a Nats game? It would help your attempts at "sports writing."
Wilkerson was considered a solid CF, and would've been a very strong LF on defense - he was hurt defensively this past year in CF because prior to the season he was told he would be a LF, so he focused on adding some muscle to be a better hitter, as opposed to cutting down to gain speed for CF.
What made Wilkerson a "bad" lead-off guy was that he was caught stealing a lot - which all of the Nationals were stuck with, in part because Frank and Co. NEVER figured out how to effectively manage a hit-and-run. The team's management was obsessed with his strikeouts, but they ignored the fact that he walked like crazy - consider that he averages SIXTY MORE WALKS PER YEAR than Soriano, who is entirely lacking in discipline at the plate. The goal is to get on base, which Wilkerson has historically done at a much higher rate than Soriano, regardless of where Sori was slotted in the batting order. If this team had a GM who knew how to craft a fecking roster, we never would've had this problem, because Wilkerson could've been moved down in the order.
I don't know your background in baseball, maybe you've never done much more than read Tom Boswell columns, but if you want to truly understand the sport, you'll find that quality players are determined by more than just AVG, HR and RBI. Was Wilk a great, great player? No. Was Wilk a better player than he showed this year, a year in which he was hampered by injury all season long? Yes. Is Soriano a great talent, and do I wish him the best? Sure thing. Is Soriano for Wilk/Sledge/Galarraga a good deal for a Nats team that has its hands tied on budget, plays in a cavernous ballpark, already has a 2B, has no farm system whatsoever, and hardly needed to add another malcontent after dealing Jose "Headcase" Guillen all year long? Well, if you can reasonably argue that it is a good deal, more power to you. But thus far, given that you've ignored an overwhelming amount of evidence, fact, history, etc., I think you've pretty much failed miserably.
Here's the thing, Ryan. Your analysis is terrible. If you're going to post crap, you need to be prepared for people to call it out as crap.
I note that your "title" is "Music Editor." Maybe you should stick to that.
dcist ryan
i'm not not sure what your definition of a superstar is, but i think you'd be hard pressed to put soriano in that category.
he is a better than average player. unfortunately, as others have pointed out above, the nats gave up too much to get him. the club now has a glut of second baseman, most of whom can't field the position. soriano has already made clear to his old employers that he won't play the outfield.
i hope. i really hope soriano pokes 40 hr. but, on paper this is a bad deal.
oh, and it's not a great deal for texas either as wilky is a free agent after 06 and thanks to his agent, scott boras, will be looking to cash in.
Since it didn't turn up as a trackback, those who want to read Distinguished Senators on this topic should point their browsers to this link.
DCist Ryan said: ...or maybe just the inability to take lightly a short blog post on how one of MLB's superstars has been signed to the local team...
I just have to say, to this comment by DCist Ryan -- one of the biggest problems with the entire blog world is that it offers the opportunity for anyone - with a background or knowledge about something - to say whatever the heck they want about it. No offense, but your "short blog post" was riddled with misinformation, factual inaccuracies, critical omissions and unfounded assertions. The only thing that legitimizes a forum like this is the opportunity for readers to call out writers when they, frankly, make stuff up because they aren't smart enough to do their research or because they think they are smart enough that they don't have to.
Your pieces are all "opinion" ones, but that doesn't mean that you escape the need to write with facts. Sorry, bro, but you are going to have to be accountable for what you say, whether it's a short blog post or a daily newspaper. More importantly, I'd think as an internet journalist you'd WANT to be held accountable, that you'd want to be confident enough in your facts that you'd stand behind your work. But I guess you can't be if you don't actually use facts.
But that Pulitzer is right around the corner, I'm sure!
I think if you both go back and look at the piece, you'll find that it wasn't meant to be a sabermetric takedown of the trade. It was a heads up to those who'd just rolled into the office that the Nats had made one of the bigger deals in their history. I said he'd hit a lot of homers and had a lot of steals, and I said he strikes out a lot and dogs it sometimes in the field. As a Nats season ticket holder, I'm happy he's going to be on the team.
If you had the expectation that this was going to be a Bill James baseball thesis, well, I'm sorry, that's not what we do here. Congrats, though, on deciding to be an anonymous dick in the comments section. That takes some real courage.
Attention Angry Commenters: You may wish to remove your heads from your asses and notice that this is not a sports blog. This is a general interest blog that includes a lot of posts about a whole shitload of topics and issues connected (sometimes tenuously, to be sure) to the DC area. Few, if any, of the writers here are "experts" or obsessives about the areas they choose (or have been assigned) to cover, and most of the readers seem to understand that and accept it. Vehemently attacking a general interest blog for not being as knowledgeable about baseball as a stat-obsessed fan or a blog focused specifically on the Nationals just strikes me as silly.
You might also want to note that (despite the evidence of my opening sentence) it is possible to disagree with someone's opinion without resorting to insults and personal attacks.
It's never easy to be criticized, and some of the criticism is harsh, but the thin skin displayed on the comments here is a bit silly.
If you think they're trolls, make a grand summation of your case and be done with it. To keep debating with people who disagree with you (and in this case have facts on their side) accomplishes little, but it does make the initial writer look like a weenie.
Nate --
I don't write stuff about women's basketball, or Chinese politics, or environmental degradation of rainforests in South America, or atmospheric chemistry, because I don't know much about that stuff. My point is, if you are going to write something, try to know enough about it to accurately capture the issue. Just because this is not a sports blog doesn't mean that it's okay to write sports-related articles that don't present the facts and then consider that okay.
As for anonymous comments, well, y'all run a blog, how else am I supposed to communicate with you? I'll go toe-to-toe, that's fine, on baseball knowledge in person. But you are hiding behind the 'net too!
Here's the thing: if they're not going to bother to get facts straight on sports posts, they shouldn't make them.
Note this sentence:
In Soriano's five full years as a major leaguer, he's averaged over 30 homers and 30 steals a year as an infielder, where he's shown great ability and range.
Even casual fans (except, apparantly, Ryan) know that Soriano is widely considered to be an awful infielder defensively. The Yankees wanted to move him to the outfield, but he refused. Then the Rangers wanted to move him there, and he again refused.
If you're just going to make shit up and post it as fact about Soriano both (a) making the lineup better (he won't) and (b) being good defensively (he isn't), you're going to be called on it.
MikeMidd: No, Ryan's not hiding. There's a photo of him in which you can't see his face in the shadows and a basically anonymous (and probably never checked) Yahoo email address available to you!
I realize at this point that I'm feeding the trolls, but I will note that the email address is quite valid, and I do my best to reply to reader responses. Yuda, you can, of course, make use of it.
It's also worth noting that we frequently have DCist happy hours, which we advertise on the site, and which you all are more than welcome to attend, and where you can walk right up to us and tell us how you feel in person.
J, here's a little tutorial on the distinction between "facts" and "opinion":
When Ryan says Soriano "has averaged 30 homers and 30 steals a year" over five years, that is a fact. It represents clear statistics that can be checked and confirmed in any number of online and offline sources. If it's not accurate, then you'd be right to take DCist to task for posting it.
When Ryan uses a phrase like "great ability and range" he's stating an opinion. Maybe he's implying that it's more of a consensus opinion than it actually is, but it's still a statement of opinion rather than fact. Stating that Soriano will "make the lineup better" is also an opinion. They may be 100% wrong, but they're not statements of fact they're statements that reflect value judgements on the part of the speaker. Unless you've got some kind of time travel device, your conviction that Soriano will not make the lineup better is also an opinion. Possibly better informed, maybe more in line with the conventional wisdowm, but no more of a "fact" than the opposite belief.
I certainly don't think DCist, or any general interest blog, should wantonly post inaccurate or untrue entries, but I do think that it's fair to have a lower threshold for one's expectations of insight and expert knowledge. I'll say it again: it's possible to disagree with someone without resorting to personal attacks. What I objected to in people's comments was their tone, and the speed with which they jumped from "You're wrong (or exaggerating)" to "You should just shut up about sports since you're not as much of an expert as I think you should be."
but I do think that it's fair to have a lower threshold for one's expectations of insight and expert knowledge.
In response to that, I feel I can only quote Abraham Lincoln:
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."
what a bunch of jackasses
christ. i completely agree with Nate; I'm a lifelong baseball fan and a Nats fan, but I'm a casual fan compared to some of the twisted-panties commenters here. I hadn't yet read of this trade before seeing it here. The post served as a useful heads-up - if I want in-depth analysis of the trade and its potential impact, I'll go elsewhere. That's not what this blog is for, and not what this post was aiming to provide. Some of you folks need to yank your heads away from the stat sheets from time to time.
See, sq, here's where you're wrong. I agree with you that maybe some people went a little overboard, but this isn't, as Ryan would have us believe, just a little "heads up to those who had just rolled into the office." When you make the charge that the Nats lineup will become much more dangerous without really providing an explanation, there's more analysis going on than just a piece that says, "Hey! Look at this trade."
In dumping on Wilkerson, Ryan also neglected to mention the following from the same Washington Post article to which he linked: "Wilkerson is coming off a disappointing year in which he battled myriad injuries, including a forearm problem and a shoulder injury, that most in the organization believe hampered his production."
Ultimately, I don't really give a crap about this whole comment debate that's gone on. I agree that Ryan should be a little more careful with his assertions if he's going to try to analyze baseball trades, but I'm not going to go overboard. I've done my own analysis of this trade, and the picture is kind of bleak for the Nationals.
Both sides of the debate here bring up valid points, but I, as a daily reader of DCist, want to stress the point that the writers of this blog ought to be prepared for criticism when they start posting stuff that is readily disputed and very popular on the Internet; I've seen a lot of DCist writers get their own panties in a bunch when someone insults their posts. If you can't handle the heat, don't open up the posts to comments. As for you, sq, insult statheads all you want, but be prepared for disappointment when Soriano on the Nationals hardly resembles Soriano on the Yankees or Rangers.
I can't believe people actually prefer factually incorrect information. Why get upset when the author is called on presenting a poorly researched ininformed piece disguised as analysis? It's called acountability. It makes the system work.
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