Re: Buster Olney on Soriano

Of course. But its not clear what he's gaining by bringing such a
spotlight on the issue of his incompetency as a second baseman.

You know obviously it's his stubborness. I'm sure you already know
this, but he went over to Japan at young age and played in the
*minors*. And he didn't quit and come home. The physical training
regimen in Japanese minor league is probably just a little less intense
than Marine Corps recruit depot at Parris Island. As anyone who is
familiar with the Japanese society realizes, the obstacles he faced not
only in terms of language (he taught himself Japanese) but racism
indicates how strong willed he is. Obviously when mixed with his
incredible athletic talent, that sort of strong will probably helped
him go through the rigor of advancing through the minors and finally
making it as a MLer. Sori wasn't a stereotypical kid from San Pedro de
Macoris who had no economic alternative (e.g., some guy who keeps
talking about that stupid mango tree) as his family was well off as his
father was an engineer who had been trained in France. He could've
come home without having to worry about supporting his family. As I've
always said about Lawrence Taylor and his wild streak and carefree
attitude toward life, if you take that aspect of personality out of a
player, you probably won't have the same measure of greatness on the
field. Not that Sori is anywhere close in terms of accomplishment to
the greatest football player I ever saw, but in some ways it's part of
the personality that made him a major leaguer. It's too bad that he is
so damn pigheaded (I still blame that jackass Mondesi) about pulling
every pitch thrown. You remember his rookie year. He wasn't a dead
pull hitter then. 40-40 thing ruined him IMHO.

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