Alfonso Soriano: Shutting Up the Critics with Incredible Numbers

For the first quarter of this season, I’ve had to put up with a whole lot of my fellow die-hard Cub fans talking about how much money the Cubs’ management wasted on Alfonso Soriano.

They talked about what a big disappointment he has been this season. Regulars at greasy spoon restaurants all over the upper Midwest mindlessly criticized him every morning when sports came up over coffee.

Oh, how sweet silence can sound sometimes.

That’s because for the last few days, my ears have been able to rest. I can finally eat my biscuits and gravy without the guy next to me at the counter telling me how big of a bum he thinks Soriano is.

People are finally realizing that he is the same player Cubs recruiters saw hit 46 home runs in 2006 with the Nationals, the same player that batted in 104 runs in 2005 with the Rangers and the same player that hit 51 doubles in 2002 with the Yankees. The man’s a proven All-Star.

But Soriano began the season with only two home runs and five runs batted in before getting injured in a 9-5 win over Cincinnati on April 15. He had a miserable .175 batting average in those first 52 plate appearances.

So what has Soriano done for the Cubs lately?

Oh, nothing much. Unless, of course, eight home runs and 21 runs batted in only 18 days sounds good to you. He is also responsible for 27 hits, 15 runs and five doubles since being activated on May 1.

And that .175 batting average? He’s turned that into an impressive .293 average. Not only that, but his average was .191 only nine games ago. I don’t care how early in the season it is. If you improved your batting average by .102 in a little over a week, you’re doing the right things.

He’s only getting hotter, too. Soriano has hit seven long balls in as many games. In that time he’s batted in 14 of the Cubs’ 44 runs. That’s 31 percent of the Cubs’ offensive production in the last week, folks.

Soriano is playing good baseball, and if these types of numbers keep coming from his bat, he will be an All-Star and an MVP candidate and the criticism of April will be long forgotten.

Now let’s just hope he doesn’t hurt himself doing his signature hop-catch again.