Alfonso Soriano refusing to play left field for Washington Nationals

Hammock Parties · 03-21-2006, 10:41 AM

What a dipshit. You should be the DH you ham-fisted reerun.

Soriano Refuses to Take Left Field

New National Won't Play Position

By Barry Svrluga

Washington Post Staff Writer

VIERA, Fla., March 20 -- When the Washington Nationals took the field Monday evening, Alfonso Soriano's name was the first blared over the public address system, the man due to lead off and play left field. But as the Nationals trickled out of the home dugout to warm up for the first inning of their Grapefruit League game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, only eight men emerged. Manager Frank Robinson strode to home plate, where he made the lineup change that foretold the growing controversy here: The Nationals' highest-paid employee, and potentially their most dynamic player, is refusing to play his assigned position, and there is no resolution in sight.

Soriano, a four-time all-star acquired by the Nationals in an offseason trade with the Texas Rangers, has steadfastly declined Washington's request that he move from second base to the outfield, and the issue came to a dramatic head Monday, resulting in a situation that seasoned baseball men believe could be unprecedented. Soriano returned to Nationals' camp from his stint playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, met one-on-one with Robinson and then in a joint session with Robinson and General Manager Jim Bowden. The Nationals' top officials made it clear: To be part of this team, Soriano must play left field, for Jose Vidro is entrenched at second base. Soriano, for his part, was equally clear: He doesn't want to.

So shortly after the bizarre scene played out before a crowd of 4,554 at Space Coast Stadium -- with Brandon Watson reporting to center field and Ryan Church moving to Soriano's spot in left -- Bowden stood in his office and said that Soriano would be placed in the lineup in left field for the Nationals' next game, Wednesday in Jupiter, Fla., against the St. Louis Cardinals. Should he refuse to play then, the club will file a request with the commissioner's office to place Soriano on the rarely used disqualified list, which, according to Bowden, would mean Soriano would earn no pay or service time until he chose to play for the club.

Bowden said the team believes Soriano's refusal to play his assigned position is a violation of his contract, which will pay him $10 million this season.

"We do not want it to come to that," Bowden said. "We have compassion for him. But we're in a position for this ballclub that if we can't make a trade that makes sense, we're not going to give him away, and we have a team to run. Our feeling is we don't want to wait till Opening Day to do this."

Whether the situation can be resolved in the two weeks before the season was murky at best Monday night. Soriano, 30, has averaged more than 35 homers and 97 RBI over the past four seasons. But he has yet to appear in a spring training game for his new team, nor has he taken fly balls in the outfield. He left the ballpark in the second inning after a clubhouse attendant drove his white Cadillac Escalade nearer to the back entrance of the stadium.

As he walked to the parking lot, Soriano declined to comment on the situation, as he had all day. Asked if he would play Wednesday, he said only: "We'll see. We'll see. I don't know."

Soriano's clandestine departure ended a strange day in which he indicated that he needed to play to prepare for the season. Robinson subsequently told him if he played, it would be in left. Yet when the Nationals practiced fielding situations in the afternoon heat, Soriano promptly reported to second base, where he took grounders and turned double plays as the second-teamer, behind Vidro. Robinson said Soriano had not been assigned to second base for the drills. Soriano joked with a few teammates as the players stretched and went through their workout, but for the most part seemed isolated.

"He didn't want to talk to no one," one staff member said.

Soriano then spent more than 30 minutes sitting in a hall outside the Nationals' clubhouse speaking on his cellphone. Diego Bentz, Soriano's agent, said the two spoke, but even Bentz was unclear about what would happen next. In a telephone interview, Bentz said he would "probably" travel here in the next two days to meet with his client and team officials.

It's unclear how the parties could come to a solution. Bowden reiterated that the Nationals have made several attempts to gauge the trade market for Soriano but haven't found a good fit.

"Therefore, we told the player we needed him to play left field, that Jose Vidro was at second base," Bowden said, "and for our team, that gives us the best chance to win."

Robinson said he would not give Soriano any time at second. "If he's going to play here," Robinson said, "he's going to be out in left field."

So if there is no trade, and Soriano doesn't have a change of heart, the most likely resolution is a trip to the disqualified list. An interesting wrinkle to that possibility is the fact that Soriano would not earn service time if he were disqualified. Therefore, though Soriano is due to be a free agent after the 2006 season, his contract would in effect be suspended, "and he would not be a free agent," Bowden said. "He would still be our property."

Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, said in San Diego that the league is advising the Nationals on the legalities involved. Ultimately, though, "it's a player-club issue," Manfred said. Commissioner Bud Selig and Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the players' union, declined to comment. It's possible, though, that the union could eventually take up Soriano's case, arguing that the club would be diminishing the player's value by moving him to left.

Those possibilities will arise in the coming days and weeks. Meantime, Soriano's would-be teammates went out and lost to the Dodgers, 11-5, without him. First baseman Nick Johnson, who came up through the Yankees system with Soriano, and reliever Mike Stanton, who played with him in New York, swore by him as a teammate.

"He's not a troublemaker," Stanton said.

But there is no question that he is causing heaps of trouble for the Nationals. He has Tuesday, an off day, to think things over. And the direction of the Nationals' season could be determined by whether Soriano decides to walk out to left field on Wednesday.

jspchief · 03-21-2006, 10:44 AM

It's hard not to love these spoiled athletes. What a douche.

**Dunit35** · 03-21-2006, 10:44 AM

I read this story last night. What an a**hole.

Hoover · 03-21-2006, 10:49 AM

Trade his ass to the Cub - That will teach him

Hoover · 03-21-2006, 10:51 AM

Think about that lineup

Juan Pierre
Soriano
Lee
A Ram
Jones
Murton
Barrett
Cedeno
SP

vailpass · 03-21-2006, 11:04 AM

Soriano is a 4-time All Star 2nd baseman. Before the Nationals traded for him he made it abundantly clear that he wants to remain a 2nd baseman and that no team should trade for him unless they planned to play him at 2nd base.

The Nationals didn't listen, they are forcing him to do a job he clearly stated he had no interest in doing.

If an Engineer made it abundantly clear that his specialty and his passion were in Software engineering and an employer, upon hiring him, then tried to force him to do nothing but Hardware engineering would you blame the engineer for refusing?

Eleazar · 03-21-2006, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vailpass

Soriano is a 4-time All Star 2nd baseman. Before the Nationals traded for him he made it abundantly clear that he wants to remain a 2nd baseman and that no team should trade for him unless they planned to play him at 2nd base.

The Nationals didn't listen, they are forcing him to do a job he clearly stated he had no interest in doing.

If an Engineer made it abundantly clear that his specialty and his passion were in Software engineering and an employer, upon hiring him, then tried to force him to do nothing but Hardware engineering would you blame the engineer for refusing?

It's Soriano's right to refuse to play. It's the Nationals' right to refuse to pay him. I hope they do.

vailpass · 03-21-2006, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

It's Soriano's right to refuse to play. It's the Nationals' right to refuse to pay him. I hope they do.

I hope they do too. It's always fun to watch the MLB Player's Union crush teams in cases like this.
Just because you happen to make a lot of money doesn't mean the team can do anything they want to you.

jspchief · 03-21-2006, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vailpass

I hope they do too. It's always fun to watch the MLB Player's Union crush teams in cases like this.
Just because you happen to make a lot of money doesn't mean the team can do anything they want to you.

By all indications, he signed a contract that stipulated he had to play where the team tells him to play. Unless that contract also specified that he would only play 2nd base, he has no leg to stand on and your position on this is baseless.

vailpass · 03-21-2006, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspchief

By all indications, he signed a contract that stipulated he had to play where the team tells him to play. Unless that contract also specified that he would only play 2nd base, he has no leg to stand on and your position on this is baseless.

Wrong. Soriano, and his contract, was traded to the Nationals. He did not sign a free agent contract. During the trade negotiation Soriano's former team denied the Nationals the right to speak directly with Soriano.

Unable to speak directly with the Nationals Soriano made it known through the press that he would definetely not play outfield, that he wished to remain at his current and chosen position, second base.

If the Nats go head to head with the MLBPU on this one they will get crushed. They can bench him for the year but they will not be allowed to withold pay or stop his accumulation of time served in order to become a free agent at the end of this season.

Why would the Nats trade for Soriano when he made it perfectly clear that he will play 2nd base and 2nd base only? Would it be o.k. to trade for Dontrelle Willis then tell him he has to play Left Field?
**** them for trying to force someone to do a job they made perfectly clear they have no interest in doing; I hope the Union makes an example out of these cocks.

StcChief · 03-21-2006, 11:20 AM

I guess he won't play or get paid then.

ChiefsCountry · 03-21-2006, 12:21 PM

Soriano has the worst fielding percentage ever for a 2nd baseman.

That being I still wish the Royals could get him just for his bat and baserunning.

Sure-Oz · 03-21-2006, 12:38 PM

I would try to trade him if I were them and get something, its obvious he dont want to play LF.

vailpass · 03-21-2006, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

I would try to trade him if I were them and get something, its obvious he dont want to play LF.

They are working on a trade as we speak and....god that girl in your sig has a nice can.

What were we talking about?

Coach · 03-21-2006, 12:53 PM

Let Washington keep Soriano on the disqualified list as long as they have to until Soriano quit being a crybaby and start being a man and play some outfield. And he doesn't deserve to get paid either, until he man up, and start playing outfield.

I don't want him on the Royals roster, nor I don't want him to be associated with anything about the Royals, period.

03-21-2006, 10:41 AM	Topic Starter
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $4410478	Alfonso Soriano refusing to play left field for Washington Nationals What a dipshit. You should be the DH you ham-fisted reerun. Soriano Refuses to Take Left Field New National Won't Play Position By Barry Svrluga Washington Post Staff Writer VIERA, Fla., March 20 -- When the Washington Nationals took the field Monday evening, Alfonso Soriano's name was the first blared over the public address system, the man due to lead off and play left field. But as the Nationals trickled out of the home dugout to warm up for the first inning of their Grapefruit League game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, only eight men emerged. Manager Frank Robinson strode to home plate, where he made the lineup change that foretold the growing controversy here: The Nationals' highest-paid employee, and potentially their most dynamic player, is refusing to play his assigned position, and there is no resolution in sight. Soriano, a four-time all-star acquired by the Nationals in an offseason trade with the Texas Rangers, has steadfastly declined Washington's request that he move from second base to the outfield, and the issue came to a dramatic head Monday, resulting in a situation that seasoned baseball men believe could be unprecedented. Soriano returned to Nationals' camp from his stint playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, met one-on-one with Robinson and then in a joint session with Robinson and General Manager Jim Bowden. The Nationals' top officials made it clear: To be part of this team, Soriano must play left field, for Jose Vidro is entrenched at second base. Soriano, for his part, was equally clear: He doesn't want to. So shortly after the bizarre scene played out before a crowd of 4,554 at Space Coast Stadium -- with Brandon Watson reporting to center field and Ryan Church moving to Soriano's spot in left -- Bowden stood in his office and said that Soriano would be placed in the lineup in left field for the Nationals' next game, Wednesday in Jupiter, Fla., against the St. Louis Cardinals. Should he refuse to play then, the club will file a request with the commissioner's office to place Soriano on the rarely used disqualified list, which, according to Bowden, would mean Soriano would earn no pay or service time until he chose to play for the club. Bowden said the team believes Soriano's refusal to play his assigned position is a violation of his contract, which will pay him $10 million this season. "We do not want it to come to that," Bowden said. "We have compassion for him. But we're in a position for this ballclub that if we can't make a trade that makes sense, we're not going to give him away, and we have a team to run. Our feeling is we don't want to wait till Opening Day to do this." Whether the situation can be resolved in the two weeks before the season was murky at best Monday night. Soriano, 30, has averaged more than 35 homers and 97 RBI over the past four seasons. But he has yet to appear in a spring training game for his new team, nor has he taken fly balls in the outfield. He left the ballpark in the second inning after a clubhouse attendant drove his white Cadillac Escalade nearer to the back entrance of the stadium. As he walked to the parking lot, Soriano declined to comment on the situation, as he had all day. Asked if he would play Wednesday, he said only: "We'll see. We'll see. I don't know." Soriano's clandestine departure ended a strange day in which he indicated that he needed to play to prepare for the season. Robinson subsequently told him if he played, it would be in left. Yet when the Nationals practiced fielding situations in the afternoon heat, Soriano promptly reported to second base, where he took grounders and turned double plays as the second-teamer, behind Vidro. Robinson said Soriano had not been assigned to second base for the drills. Soriano joked with a few teammates as the players stretched and went through their workout, but for the most part seemed isolated. "He didn't want to talk to no one," one staff member said. Soriano then spent more than 30 minutes sitting in a hall outside the Nationals' clubhouse speaking on his cellphone. Diego Bentz, Soriano's agent, said the two spoke, but even Bentz was unclear about what would happen next. In a telephone interview, Bentz said he would "probably" travel here in the next two days to meet with his client and team officials. It's unclear how the parties could come to a solution. Bowden reiterated that the Nationals have made several attempts to gauge the trade market for Soriano but haven't found a good fit. "Therefore, we told the player we needed him to play left field, that Jose Vidro was at second base," Bowden said, "and for our team, that gives us the best chance to win." Robinson said he would not give Soriano any time at second. "If he's going to play here," Robinson said, "he's going to be out in left field." So if there is no trade, and Soriano doesn't have a change of heart, the most likely resolution is a trip to the disqualified list. An interesting wrinkle to that possibility is the fact that Soriano would not earn service time if he were disqualified. Therefore, though Soriano is due to be a free agent after the 2006 season, his contract would in effect be suspended, "and he would not be a free agent," Bowden said. "He would still be our property." Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, said in San Diego that the league is advising the Nationals on the legalities involved. Ultimately, though, "it's a player-club issue," Manfred said. Commissioner Bud Selig and Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the players' union, declined to comment. It's possible, though, that the union could eventually take up Soriano's case, arguing that the club would be diminishing the player's value by moving him to left. Those possibilities will arise in the coming days and weeks. Meantime, Soriano's would-be teammates went out and lost to the Dodgers, 11-5, without him. First baseman Nick Johnson, who came up through the Yankees system with Soriano, and reliever Mike Stanton, who played with him in New York, swore by him as a teammate. "He's not a troublemaker," Stanton said. But there is no question that he is causing heaps of trouble for the Nationals. He has Tuesday, an off day, to think things over. And the direction of the Nationals' season could be determined by whether Soriano decides to walk out to left field on Wednesday.
Posts: 278,750

03-21-2006, 10:44 AM	#2
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	It's hard not to love these spoiled athletes. What a douche. __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
Posts: 27,207

03-21-2006, 10:44 AM	#3
Dunit35 Keepin it Real Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Oklahoma Casino cash: $1247045	I read this story last night. What an a**hole.
Posts: 10,490

03-21-2006, 10:49 AM	#4
Hoover Rufus Dawes Jr. Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $1378179	Trade his ass to the Cub - That will teach him
Posts: 17,386

03-21-2006, 10:51 AM	#5
Hoover Rufus Dawes Jr. Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $1378179	Think about that lineup Juan Pierre Soriano Lee A Ram Jones Murton Barrett Cedeno SP
Posts: 17,386

03-21-2006, 11:04 AM	#6
vailpass Psycho Bag Of Squanch Join Date: Sep 2001 Casino cash: $9594244	Soriano is a 4-time All Star 2nd baseman. Before the Nationals traded for him he made it abundantly clear that he wants to remain a 2nd baseman and that no team should trade for him unless they planned to play him at 2nd base. The Nationals didn't listen, they are forcing him to do a job he clearly stated he had no interest in doing. If an Engineer made it abundantly clear that his specialty and his passion were in Software engineering and an employer, upon hiring him, then tried to force him to do nothing but Hardware engineering would you blame the engineer for refusing? __________________ “Education is a weapon whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” Joseph Stalin
Posts: 69,591

03-21-2006, 11:20 AM	#11
StcChief Playing for #1 Draft Pick Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Just West of Lambs land Casino cash: $10004900	I guess he won't play or get paid then. __________________ sig test for this screwy schema
Posts: 25,901

03-21-2006, 12:21 PM	#12
ChiefsCountry The Insider Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Lake of the Ozarks Casino cash: $2018752	Soriano has the worst fielding percentage ever for a 2nd baseman. That being I still wish the Royals could get him just for his bat and baserunning.
Posts: 49,768

03-21-2006, 12:53 PM	#15
Coach Champs! Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5768476	Let Washington keep Soriano on the disqualified list as long as they have to until Soriano quit being a crybaby and start being a man and play some outfield. And he doesn't deserve to get paid either, until he man up, and start playing outfield. I don't want him on the Royals roster, nor I don't want him to be associated with anything about the Royals, period. __________________ Super Bowl IV, LIV, LVII & LVIII Champions 2020, 2021, 2023, & 2024 AFC Champions 1985 & 2015 Major League Baseball World Series Champions 1980, 1985, 2014, & 2015 Major League Baseball American League Champions 2015 American League Central Division Champs
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