Another rough day in left as boo-birds jeer Soriano

Alfonso Soriano was a busy guy Wednesday.

Before batting practice, he took flyballs in left field with coach Mike Quade. After that he headed to the right-field cage at 12:45 p.m. with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo.

Soriano has been under a lot of scrutiny, and his eight-year, $136 million contract certainly is a flash point. A key error in left field last weekend in Cincinnati again illustrated how much of a defensive liability the 34-year-old Soriano has become, especially coming off knee surgery.

It was another rough day for Soriano in the Cubs' 7-6 victory over the Brewers, as he doubled in 3 at-bats but committed another error in left. He also played a ball off the wall but let it bounce past him.

When manager Lou Piniella double-switched Soriano out of the game in the seventh for Tyler Colvin, Soriano was booed and Colvin cheered.

Piniella stood behind Soriano but said he would continue to rotate his five outfielders, getting Xavier Nady and rookie Colvin into action as much as possible.

Piniella also responded to a Daily Herald column that said Soriano has been put on notice that he needs to produce at the plate and in the field, or else.

"It couldn't be further from the truth," Piniella said. "They're all going to play. I've got five good outfielders. I can't sit two of them and just play three. That we're not going to do. But at the same time, all I said, basically was be patient with me, and I'm going to have to take one of them out of the lineup occasionally to get somebody some at-bats.

"Down the road, when we get into this thing, obviously, the guys that are doing the best are the guys that should - should - get more at-bats."

Piniella also said Soriano's contract, or anybody's salary, will not dictate playing time.

"Guys that are making money are making that money because they've had really, really nice careers and they've been successful," the manager said. "But I don't like living in the past. And I don't like living in the future. I like living in the present."

Soriano acknowledged that it is up to him to play well enough to stay on the field.

"I have to do both, play defense and hit," he said. "I have to play better defense and hit. If I cannot produce, I cannot play. I have to produce."

Soriano also expressed agreement with Piniella's plan to get all of his outfielders playing time.

When the subject of being booed came up, Soriano, as he usually does, took it in stride.

"If I hit a homer in the first at-bat, they're going to clap," he said. "If not, they're going to boo. It's 50-50. They can do whatever they want. Like I said before, that does not bother me."

Teammate Ryan Theriot went to bat for Soriano about the booing.

"If they knew him, they wouldn't do it," he said. "This is a guy who is the ultimate professional. He's here early and works as had as anybody else and stays late. He really, really works his butt off."