November 18, 2006
Gonzalez Almost Certainly Aboard
By
Amanda
Posted at 9:49 pm
Reds General Manager Wayne “Kriv-dawg” Krivsky isn't talking yet, but Peter Gammons has reported that the Reds have signed a 3-year, $14 million deal with Alex Gonzalez. (Via Marc)
As should be no surprise given Krivsky's priorities, Gonzales is hot with the glove, not so much with the bat. There is an upside to having a shiny new 100-strikeout kind of guy on the team, though: he can take some of the pressure off Adam Dunn.
More on this as the story develops.
Wow. I didn’t realize the Sox and A-Gon were parting ways. Guess Boston decided they needed a bigger bat.
Aurilia would have been a lot cheaper and he has a big bat! I guess we are definitely not getting him back now.
I have to say I am disappointed… If we just wanted solid defense, we could have gone with Castro… I don’t believe AGon is any better at the plate than Castro and is a lot more expensive. Another option would have been Bergolla and Olmedo at 2B with Phillips sliding over to SS. I just think we need pitching way beyond another defensive glove so I am disappointed, thoughI freely admit I don’t know much about AGON, so maybe I am underestimating him? I think the Red Sox are more than happy to be rid of him so they can pursue Lugo.
Sounds like response to the deal spans from “The worst thing since The Trade” all the way to “Probably not actually horrible.” Still waiting for someone to come out super-psyched about the idea.
This is awesome!! He’s the final piece to the puzzle. Now we have our David Eckstein!!! We’re going all the w…
okay, I can’t do it. He improves the defense, but we really need another batter and a couple pitchers before they are competitive for the playoffs.
Well…maybe he’ll hit better in the NL. Look at Soriano. He went from a hitter’s park in the AL to a pitcher’s park in the NL, and had a career year.
Speaking of Soriano…the Cubs are reportedly signing him for 8 years/$136 million. MLB made a lot of money this year, and now everyone’s spending like a drunken sailor on payday.
Eight years! Who is under and eight-year contract? Griffey, I guess, but Soriano ain’t Griffey good. Maybe Griffey today, but no one’s offering Griffey today that kind of security.
However, I do think that Soriano’s brand of neurosis will fit in well with the Cubs. And I hope the deal is an inspiration to Castellini to make an even bigger, better deal.
Soriano will be 39 by the end of the contract. o_O
And the Cubbies better prepare to be picketted by PETA. Sori’s going to kill a lot of hapless groundhogs, swinging at pitches in the dirt.
Yeah, but he’ll always be “young at heart.” Wait, is that the term I’m looking for? Or do I mean “childish”?
Oh well, either way.
He’ll still be swinging at pickoff attempts when he’s 40.
But Pinella says he’s “the best leadoff guy in the game.” o_O
Despite his flaws, Soriano has been a 30-30 man (30 dingers, 30 steals) four times. The only active player with more seasons as a member of the 30-30 club is Barry Bonds, who has done it five times. His dad Barry also did it five times. The only other player in baseball history who did it more than twice was Howard Johnson, who did it three times. Only seven other players have done it twice. And only Bonds and Soriano have had at least one 40-30 and one 30-40 season.
And Soriano has presumably done it without steroids.
Point is, Soriano’s combination of speed and power makes him a pretty valuable commodity, free swinger or not (and he definitely is).
It was bound to happen sooner or later – the Cubs have gotten tired of losing. They’ve spent $230 million on five players in less than a week, and they haven’t even begun to address their pitching yet except to re-sign Wood (part of the $230 mil) and get Cotts from the White Sox. And that doesn’t count what they’re paying Piniella either. Fortunately for us Reds fans, spending big bucks doesn’t necessarily guarantee a championship for our NL Central rivals, or anyone else (see Steinbrenner, George).
HMZ
Weirdly, the Yankees seem to be the only ones not spending any money right now. They were fourth in the Mat$uzaka sweepstakes. They haven’t made any moves at all, really, unless you count calling up Bronson Sardinha. It’s bizarro world.
I liked Sori when he was a Yank. I didn’t want to trade him for A-Rod. But his free-swinging did drive me crazy. It was okay during the regular season, but in the postseason, where the pitching tends to be very good…arghhh.
He’s worth big bucks. It’s more the length of the contract that amazes me. Eight years for a guy who’s almost 31 seems a bit much.
And just look at Howard Johnson now: he’s a successful chain of hotels for business travelers. That’s something for Soriano to aspire to. Maybe someday, world-weary salesmen will tell each other about their positive experiences staying at the Al-So in Baltimore.
And when you’re in Cincinnati, be sure and visit The Soriano Restaurant and Motor Lodge. Let our Crack Valet Parking Staff (Randy Batterydown, Nick Adoor, Denton Fender, and Ben DeBumper) find a place for your ride while you tour our famous baseball museum. While you’re here, sample some of our world-reknowned dishes such as Strikeout Souffle’, Dropped Fly Ball On Toast, and of course, our exclusive Wild Throw Barbecue every weekend. Or simply enjoy a selection from our Moving To Left Field Whine Cellar.
That’s the Soriano Restaurant and Motor Lodge, located on Fort Washington Way, just a few hundred feet from Great American Ballpark. Persons under 21 not admitted without parent or guardian.