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Soriano Changes His Position
Alfonso Soriano batted leadoff for the Nationals today in Jupiter, Fla., and flied out to center field. He then took his position in left field for the bottom of the first inning.
(James A. Finley - AP)
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But even as things came to a resolution, there are indications that Soriano wasn't the only National whose pride and comfort level were disturbed by the controversy. Vidro, for instance, has been with the franchise for 14 years, longer than any other player. His knee has been healthy this spring -- "Perfect," he said Wednesday -- surprising club officials. And though he has welcomed Soriano as a teammate, he said he would rather not have been put in the middle of a controversy.
"It's a very delicate situation," Vidro said. "Really, I would like to get an explanation from the ballclub as to what happened now that everything is looking good. Just indirectly, my name has been involved in all this stuff, and I'm really not pleased with that.
"Honestly, I like the way things are looking right now. But at the same time, my name's been involved in this. I'm not a kid. I'm not a rookie here. It's kind of frustrating that my name is thrown out there every day."
Soriano's appearance in left was his first and only since spring training in 2001, when he was with the New York Yankees, and he admitted, "I'm not comfortable." His first chance in the outfield came on a single in the third, and an inning later he caught a lazy fly ball and doubled David Eckstein off second base.
"I never think I was going to make a double play in the outfield," Soriano said. "But I did it today."
At the plate, Soriano flied deep to center in his first at-bat, then blooped a double to left, lined softly to shortstop and walked. And his day ended with a swarm of cameras and tape recorders surrounding him in a hallway outside the visitors clubhouse, then with a walk to the team bus for the nearly two-hour trek back to Viera. Bowden said he would "never close the door" on still pursuing possible trades, and there is a chance, because Soriano is a free agent at the end of 2006, that he might only be in Washington for a matter of months.
But for now, he is the Nationals' left fielder, a position that wasn't clear till Wednesday.
"I hope that I stay healthy, and I hope they play me over there every day," Soriano said. "Like I say, I love the game."
