Soriano is good on defense no matter what people say!

Vlad pointed out an article from The Hardball Times in the last thread and it led to the following search for answers: Turns out Alfonso Soriano might actually be good at baseball. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/best-outfield-arms-of-2008/ ?vlad and then? So you add in Soriano?s 8 runs per 200 with his -3.1 UZR/150 and you have a left fielder that was worth about +5 runs over the course of a full season. Not to mention, his UZR in 2007 was 4.4 and he had a ridiculous 17 runs in outfield arms (over a full season of course). All of a sudden Soriano is one of the 2, maybe 3, best left fielders in the game on defense. Carl Crawford is about +20 UZR in LF, which is far and away the best, but he?s slightly below average in arm. Overall he?s about +17-20. Soriano was 17 runs above average for his arm in 2007 and 7.5 in 2006. So he?s about +12 in arm and overall about 1-2 in UZR. He?s not much worse defensively than Carl Crawford yet Bob Brenly thinks he?s the worst outfielder to have ever played a game in the history of baseball. It?s funny when you know something and then actually take the time to verify what you already knew. Anybody that says Soriano is below average in LF is full of shit. Sorry if that offends anyone, but it?s the truth. ?me . . . I think Soriano is a below average left fielder. With his bad routes and alligator arms near the wall I have a hard time believing otherwise. I also think that his arm makes up for a lot of his fielding blunders which makes him valuable in LF. I won?t argue that I?m full of shit, however.?TheVan . . . Even Soriano?s UZR of -3.1 per 150 in 2008 is 5th best among qualifying left fielders. He was 5th best in 2007 as well. And 6th best in 2006. The link Vlad posted shows Soriano was the best in LF for runs saved using the arm in each year he?s been in LF (7.5, 17.0, and 8.0). So Soriano?s runs saved on defense over a full season (UZR and Arm) is: 2006: 9.8 2007: 21.4 2008: 4.9 Carl Crawford: 2006: 13.7 2007: 2.7 2008: 25.6 Over the last 3 years, Crawford has been worth 41 runs and Soriano has been worth 32. I?m guessing those 2 rank 1 and 2 among left fielders. ?me . . . But when you read your whole statement, it doesn?t really sound like an argument that he?s a below average left fielder, just that he?s below average in some aspects of the job and above average in others, but valuable overall. Nobody is going to disagree with you that he takes ugly routes to the ball and occasionally has totally inexplicable lapses, I don?t think. But if he makes up for that by getting to balls other people might not, frequently, or by throwing a lot of guys out, he could be a good defensive LF anyway.?vlad (in response to TheVan) . . . I don?t think he?s below average overall. I just think that it would be more accurate calling him above average defensively, rather than calling him an above average left fielder.?TheVan . . . Keep in mind we?re talking about the defense of left fielders. The only place it?s less of a compliment to be called a good fielding player is at 1st base. It?s about like being called the 2nd tallest midget. We?re talking about left fielders like Adam Dunn, Carlos Lee, Raul Ibanez, Pat Burrell, Manny Ramirez (better than most think!), Ryan Braun and Jason Bay. you don?t have to be good to be average in LF.?me . . . Yes, exactly! It?s rare you find a player who is good at everything whether it?s offense or defense. Pujols seems to be that rare player, but he?s one of the best for a reason. Players are good at some things, average at others, and bad at some as well. The overall value is the combination of all of that. Soriano?s speed and his arm are legitimate tools while his lapses and just plain awfulness from time to time all contribute to his overall value on defense. This really seems to be where people have trouble with this. Not to mention, it?s left field!!! ?me You can tell there is almost nothing that is Cubs-related to talk about at this point when I?m posting discussions from previous threads. Anyway, I thought this might be something worthy of discussing. What do you guys think?