Soriano keeps Cubs fans happy
If Cubs fans have learned anything in almost two full seasons of watching Alfonso Soriano on a daily basis, it's that they can't stay mad at him for too long.
After a hop and a drop of a flyball in Pittsburgh earlier in the week, Soriano heard boos from many in the crowd at Wrigley Field on Thursday night. They felt he should have caught a ball than landed near his feet.
But all was forgiven Friday afternoon when Soriano homered with one out in the seventh inning, snapping a tie and lifting the Cubs to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The homer off reliever Clay Condrey was Soriano's 23rd of the season in only 87 games, putting him within 1 of Aramis Ramirez's team lead. Ramirez has played in 40 more games.
The Cubs didn't sign Soriano for his defensive play, which can be maddening. They got him to hit home runs and win games like he did Friday.
And with the calendar set to flip to September on Monday, it should serve as a reminder of the final month Soriano had last year when he belted 14 homers with 27 RBI in September and helped lead the Cubs to the NL Central title.
After hitting his first home run since Aug. 14 in Atlanta, is Soriano ready to dial it up again?
"I play the same every month," Soriano said. "I had a very good September last year and it's coming up, but it's more important to me to try to stay healthy and help the team win."
The Cubs are opening eyes all over the baseball world with their winning. The victory Thursday was their seventh straight and left them a major-league-best 35 games over .500 at 85-50.
Soriano won't go there when asked if this is the best team he has ever played on, remembering he appeared in two World Series with the Yankees in 2001 and 2003.
"We're playing very good," Soriano said. "I played with the Yankees, and we have the same talent here. We have a lot of good players, and we had a lot of name players with the Yankees, too.
"I think here with this group what's more important is we feel like a family, and I think we play good because of that. We are very confident."
The Cubs like to talk about how they get contributions from every corner of the dugout, from spare infielder Mike Fontenot, to backup catcher Henry Blanco, to platooning center fielder Reed Johnson.
But to win a World Series, a team needs star power and the Cubs have that in abundance as well with Soriano, Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood and Carlos Zambrano.
"I don't think anyone is too surprised (to be 85-50) with the lineup we have," starting pitcher Rich Harden said. "Even when we're down a couple runs late in games we've got a lot of guys that can step up and get it done."
Ramirez got it done with a game-winning grand slam in the eighth inning on Thursday, and it was Soriano's turn on Friday.
"There is a confidence in here and it stems from the talent we have in this clubhouse," second baseman Mark DeRosa said.