NATIONALS NOTEBOOK
Soriano Eyes Milestone of Power, Speed
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 20, 2006; Page E07
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 19 -- With his 39th home run and 30th stolen base both racked up Friday night, Washington Nationals left fielder Alfonso Soriano set his sights on the next step -- 40-40, and a bit of history.
Soriano got a jump Saturday by hitting his 40th homer, a career high. Only three players -- Oakland's Jose Canseco in 1988, San Francisco's Barry Bonds in 1996 and Seattle's Alex Rodriguez in 1998 -- have stolen 40 bases and hit 40 home runs in the same season. Soriano came close once before. In 2002 with the New York Yankees, he stole 41 bases and hit 39 homers. The memory of that near-miss sticks with him.
ON THE FIELD Jesus Flores' two-run, ninth-inning double gives the Nationals a 4-3 win over the Marlins. Notebook: The Nationals trade left-handed reliever Ray King, the most veteran member of their pitching staff, to the Brewers for a player to be named. Boswell: The statistics show a return to normalcy in baseball and the end of the Steroid Era. Minor Leagues: Justin Maxwell has come out of the slump he was in after straining an oblique muscle by sneezing and is now hitting .423 with 24 homers. NATIONALS REPORTBy the Numbers89: Errors for the Nationals through Monday. Through 138 games a year ago, they had 113 errors. Personnel Dept.OF Ryan Langerhans hit his first homer of a 14-game stint with Class AAA Columbus on Monday, just before he was called up. "I felt a lot more comfortable," he said. "My approach was a lot better." Langerhans will be used primarily as a defensive replacement. ... The club activated LHP Micah Bowie, who hadn't pitched in the majors since June because of a hip injury. ... The club announced that Centerplate would replace Aramark as the concessionaire at the new ballpark in 2008. Quotable"He certainly was a good influence on our young pitchers, had a lot to do with some of their developments. Our clubhouse was a better place with Ray King a part of it." -- GM Jim Bowden NATIONALS JOURNALBarry Svrluga provides the latest news on the Nationals. MULTIMEDIA Podcasts: Postgame audio from Barry Svrluga and video from Washington Post Live. Slideshow: A crowd of 40,389 pack into RFK Stadium to open up the 2007 baseball season. Photos: Manny Acta returns home. Webcam: Check back daily and follow the progress of construction on the stadium. Save & Share |
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"I have a lot of friends and a lot of my family, they have that part in [their] heart, because I got so close in 2002," Soriano said. "They want to see me do it."
Soriano is now on pace for 53 homers and -- barely -- 40 steals (his current pace actually computes to 39.5).
With Soriano's performance recently, the question has come up: Should he be considered an MVP candidate despite the Nationals' last-place position?
"That's a bit of a stretch," said Manager Frank Robinson, who indicated that he was in no way trying to put down Soriano's season.
If history is any indication, getting to 40-40 won't make much of a difference in MVP voting. Of the three 40-40 men, only Canseco won the MVP in a year the Athletics won 104 games. Bonds's Giants finished last in the NL West, and he was fifth in the MVP voting; Rodriguez's Mariners were third in the AL West, and he finished ninth in the MVP voting. Soriano, in fact, came closest to winning the MVP in 2002 when the Yankees won a division title and he finished third in the voting.
Rivera Is Lights Out
Reliever Saul Rivera has quietly been effective for more than a month. In his last 14 appearances, culminating in a scoreless stint of 1 2/3 innings in Friday night's 6-4 victory, Rivera has allowed one earned run, posting an ERA of 0.54 and allowing hitters a .206 average.
"He's done a great job for me," Robinson said.