CHICAGO (AP) -Alfonso Soriano can look shaky in the outfield one minute and then silence his critics with one quick flick of his bat.
The boo birds were flocking during the first month of a new season when the Chicago Cubs leadoff man struggled to even get a hit, going 1-for-22 in his first five games. Those catcalls disappeared when he homered seven times in six games earlier this month.
Even if his fielding is an issue that won’t go away, he’s leading the balloting for NL outfielders for the All-Star game, where he could return to Yankee Stadium.
And, his turnaround is a big reason the Cubs have surged to the best record in the majors.
“He’s a battler. He has that ability just to stay up and keep on trucking, performing,” manager Lou Piniella said after Soriano had a game-winning single to beat the Dodgers earlier this week.
Soriano is up to .284 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs. The Cubs overcame an eight-run deficit and beat Colorado 10-9 for their fifth straight win, raising their record to 34-21.
Soriano went on the disabled list with a calf injury earlier this season after he caught a fly, using his signature hop off one leg. And in his first game back, a ball that appeared catchable went over his head for a ninth-inning double as Milwaukee rallied to beat the Cubs.
Asked after the game if he thought about taking his 32-year-old star out for a defensive replacement, Piniella bristled, saying he certainly had considered it.
And when Soriano lost a ball in the sun, a misplay that allowed the Pirates to tie a game with two outs in the ninth and eventually win in extra innings last Sunday, his critics intensified, even one from the TV booth. Analyst Bob Brenly, who managed the Diamondbacks to a World Series title, said Soriano couldn’t be labeled a superstar because of his shaky defense.
Earlier Soriano said the booing, as infrequent as it might be, is a motivating factor for him to become a better player. He doesn’t worry too much about his critics, either.
“Anything can happen in the game,” he said. “I love what I do and believe in myself all the time.”
His teammates say Soriano is open to criticism because of his salary. He signed an eight-year, $136 million deal before last season as a free agent.
“Everybody makes mistakes. I think they think that just because you sign a huge deal here, you’re not human and you’re not going to make a mistake,” Derrek Lee said this week. “It’s not fair. But I don’t think it bothers Sori. He just goes about his business.”
Soriano’s legs are a big part of his game. Last August, a severely strained right quadriceps put him on the disabled list for the first time in his career, and he missed three weeks. Early in the season, a strained left hamstring put him on the shelf for five games.
Still, Soriano hit .299 with 33 home runs and 70 RBIs in 2007, but his stolen-base total dropped from 41 in 2006 to 19 last year. He’s got three steals this season.
His streakiness is part of his game. He homered 14 times in September last season, leading the Cubs to the NL Central title, only to go 2-for-14 as Chicago was swept out of the playoffs by Arizona.
After three seasons in Japan, Soriano broke in with the Yankees in 1999 and two years later developed into one of the game’s top speed/power players with a penchant for strikeouts. He was traded to the Rangers as part of the Alex Rodriguez deal in 2004.
“Pressure didn’t bother him. He was very unique in that regard,” said Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who was running the Yankees when Soriano began his career.
“We asked him to do a lot of things with a young kid that you’re a little hesitant to do. We brought him up and played him at third. He wasn’t comfortable there, but he still played. We had him at second, in the outfield, we did a lot of things with him. Whatever you wanted him to do, he did. We were fortunate because he didn’t have any injury problems.”
Soriano initially balked at moving from second base to the outfield during his one season with Washington in 2006, but made the adjustment and has displayed a strong throwing arm. He had 19 outfield assists for the Cubs last season and 41 in his career as a left fielder.
Torre said he’s not surprised that Soriano has made the switch, even if he’s not always smooth in the outfield.
“He’s had some injuries that when I had him, he didn’t have to deal with. That certainly makes a difference. I played him in intrasquad games in center field. I felt he was an athlete and he would try anything you wanted,” Torre said.
One of the topics Piniella has addressed often is whether Soriano should be moved down in the batting order to use his power, since he doesn’t run as often as he once did. That, and whether he should remove him late in games for defense.
Neither is likely to happen, especially since Soriano prefers batting first and has 47 career leadoff homers – third most in major league history.
“My main concern with Soriano …let’s hope he’s not hiding a deficiency, where his legs are bothering him. Outside of that, the guy gets his work, he plays to win, he’s doing the best he can,” Piniella said.
“That’s all I can expect as a manager. Yes, you’re in this thing to win baseball games, and I understand all that, but he’s given me what he’s got.”
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