By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 20, 2006

BOSTON, June 19 -- Perhaps the strongest indication that Alfonso Soriano is considered a true left fielder -- even after his winter of discontent, when he strongly resisted moving from second base -- came Monday, when he moved into the top three among National League outfielders in fan voting for next month's All-Star Game in Pittsburgh.

Soriano, the Washington Nationals' left fielder, trails only Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets. Beltran has 1,129,865 votes, and Soriano is 44,929 behind that. He holds a slight lead over Pittsburgh's Jason Bay (third, 14,950 behind Soriano) and Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. (fourth, 52,834 behind Soriano). The top three vote-getters among outfielders will start for the National League, and fifth-place Andruw Jones of Atlanta also has more than a million votes.

Soriano likely benefited not only from the Nationals' just-completed 11-game homestand, but from the series with the New York Yankees, for whom he used to play. Soriano likely drew thousands of votes from the huge crowds at RFK Stadium last weekend, all more than 44,000.

The Nationals had two all-stars last year -- pitchers Livan Hernandez and Chad Cordero -- but neither was voted in as a starter.

Soriano had larger concerns when he arrived Monday at Fenway Park. He has now started 71 games in left field, but none at Fenway, where the famous "Green Monster" sits only 310 feet from home plate, presenting unique challenges for the people who play in front of it.

"I have to work a little bit more because the wall is so high and close," Soriano said before Monday's game against the Boston Red Sox. "I never play left field like this. It is very different."

Before the game, first base coach Davey Lopes went over strategy with Soriano and center fielder Marlon Byrd, who has to back up the left fielder on balls that carom off the wall.

"Normally, you play a little shallower, because when the ball's over your head, it's off the wall anyhow," Lopes said. "I don't think he'll have much of a problem with it. . . . He's not to the point where you're going to learn what [former Boston left fielder Carl] Yastrzemski used to do -- go back and deke the players and think that he's going to catch it."

Though Manager Frank Robinson said he hadn't considered it before Monday, he perked up at the idea of perhaps using Soriano as his designated hitter. Soriano, however, said he'd rather not.

"I would like to play the field," Soriano said.