Some Question Soriano's Effort
Coach Says He Needs Extra Fielding Work

By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 27, 2006

VIERA, Fla., March 26 -- Alfonso Soriano, the Washington Nationals' left fielder, had a line drive sail over him in the top of the first inning Sunday, then hit the first pitch he saw well over the left field fence in the bottom of the inning, a preview of the give and take he might provide all season. Yet he provided the performance against an uneasy backdrop, for some members of the organization don't think he's working hard enough to improve in the outfield.

Jose Guillen, the Nationals' right fielder, launched a pair of two-run homers, his first of the spring, then provided two bits of news afterward: He might not be healthy enough to play on Opening Day, and he wants his proposed contract extension to be completed before the season. If it's not done, he reiterated that he would break off negotiations with the club.

Thus, the Nationals' spring training entered its final week, and, as one front-office member said, "What's the next drama going to be?"

"This has been the oddest spring training I've ever been associated with," Manager Frank Robinson said.

So, why not an odd beginning to the final week? Start with Soriano. When the erstwhile second baseman reluctantly agreed earlier in the week to move to the outfield, the Nationals pledged to work with him so he could learn the position in a condensed period of time. Yet on a cool, breezy Sunday morning, Soriano took some fly balls off the fungo bat of special assistant Jose Cardenal, then took batting practice, then slipped inside the clubhouse. Cardenal, though, feels he should stay on the field to shag flies so he can better learn to read balls coming off the bat.

"I cannot force him to do anything that he don't want to do," Cardenal said. "It's up to him. I only can tell him, 'Just go and do this, do that, for your own good. Then you can become a better outfielder.' But if you don't want to do it, I can't put a rifle to him and say, 'Do it.' Sometimes, you have to know how hungry you are."

The point was emphasized in the first inning of what became a 13-6 victory over the Houston Astros. Lance Berkman sent a line drive to left that Soriano tracked poorly. He eventually leaped, but the ball sailed over him and turned into a run-scoring double.

"I see the contact," Soriano said. "But after awhile, when the ball left the infield, I lost it a little bit."

It is instances like that that make Cardenal, who was a major league outfielder for 18 seasons, believe that every opportunity to work is important.

"I can give him 1,000 fungoes, and it's not going to be the same," Cardenal said. "Fungoes are only to loosen you up. He needs to see the way the ball comes off the bat during the game. Get the angles, see fly balls and grounders."

Before the game Sunday, Soriano said he would work more in the outfield Monday, when the Nationals play the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter.

"Maybe tomorrow I see the ball off the bat during BP," he said. "I take it one day at a time."

General Manager Jim Bowden is well aware of the sensitivity of the situation surrounding the position switch, and has frequently used words such as "sympathy" and "compassion" when referring to his new slugger. He said Sunday that he didn't have an issue with Soriano's work habits.

"He's been preparing the same way his whole career," Bowden said. "Different people prepare differently. . . . We have no complaints about his work ethic. We have no complaints about how he's approaching the game."

And, as if on cue, Soriano provided a reminder of why, exactly, he is here in the first place. John Patterson, the right-hander who was victimized by Soriano's miscue, said he told Soriano not to worry about it when they got back to the dugout. And as the leadoff man in the bottom of the first, Soriano sent Brandon Backe's first pitch out of Space Coast Stadium, his second home run in as many games.

"If we don't get down on him and [we] show confidence in him, he's going to learn," Patterson said. "It's going to take a little while, and he's going to get some runs back with his bat."

Guillen, too, provided a reminder that he can get runs back for an offense that scored fewer than any team in baseball last season. His homers -- both off of Backe, both to left field -- were the best balls he has hit since he returned to the lineup after overcoming offseason shoulder surgery and weathering a wrist injury suffered in spring training.

But he said afterward that, although his shoulder and wrist felt "100 percent right now," he is wary of going through another season like he did a year ago, when injuries limited his production after the all-star break.

"I don't want to go up there and be cheating myself," Guillen said. "I want to go up there when I'm 100 percent like I was today. I can't let myself be playing like I was last year, when I was hurting the team and hurting myself."

Guillen, for his part, said his desire to get his contract taken care of also comes from "wanting to win, because I don't want my situation to be a distraction for me or a distraction for the team." Bowden and Adam Katz, Guillen's agent, have been discussing a contract extension for several weeks, and the Nationals are believed to have offered $28 million over four years. Guillen, who hit .283 with 24 homers and 76 RBI last year, believes he is worth more, but badly wants to stay in one place after a nine-year career that has seen him with seven teams. He will earn $4 million this season, after which he is a free agent.

Bowden declined to comment on the negotiations, saying only, "We're not close to any deal." Guillen, who has one 30-homer season and one 100-RBI season in his career, said he would have to think about leaving if an extension isn't done by Opening Day.

"Like all players, when they go through a free agent year, there's a lot of pressure," Guillen said. "You feel that pressure, you want to put up good numbers and you want to do the best you can to try to look good. But to me, I know myself. I don't want to have that concern to pretty much be going into the season saying, 'Okay, I got to put pressure on myself. I got to do this, do that.' I'm all about winning."

Which, despite all the potential pitfalls, is something the Nats actually accomplished Sunday. How often they can do it during the season will have a great deal to do with the happiness of the man in left field, the happiness of his counterpart in right, and how much each can contribute to an offense that, too frequently, has been stagnant.