Alfonso Soriano Has Some Odd Excuses

Ever since the Cubs were swept out of the NLDS by the Dodgers on Saturday night, I've heard quite a few different excuses for their postseason collapse. First and foremost, there's the idiotic ones about the team being cursed, which we all know is a bunch of crap. Then there are some who just think that the team collapsed under the weight of a 100-year title drought.

While some of the excuses are viable, and others are just plain dumb, there's one explanation for the Cubs failures that rules the roost of ridiculousness, and it comes from left fielder Alfonso Soriano.

"Yeah, it's tough," he said. "We tried, but it just didn't happen. We played all year like a very good team and we expected a little bit more, but it didn't happen.

"We're a very good team for [162] games, but we don't do nothing after that. That's the difference. We're not put together for [a short series]."

That could honestly be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, and keep in mind that I have to listen to myself talk 24 hours a day.

The Cubs aren't built for a short series? That's funny, because I always thought that the most important part of a team in a short series was their starting rotation, and last I checked the Cubs had a pretty good one. Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, and Ted Lilly seem like a rotation that's built for a short series to me.

I mean, isn't the entire regular season just a whole lot of short series packaged together? They did pretty well there, didn't they?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-06-2008 @ 1:16PM

bustoff said...

Good Lord, is there no limit to their excuse-making?! With the Cubs, losing is never their fault. Day baseball, night baseball, goats, curses, Bartman, and now -- the short series. Poor Lou Piniella is only now beginning to realize why it has been said in the past that the Cubs organization "is where managers go to die".

10-06-2008 @ 1:46PM

Ted Lilly Fan Club said...

The TLFC just can't get past the fact that Ted never even got a chance to throw a meaningful pitch. He was arguably one of the hottest pitchers in baseball...ugh.

This one hurts...

10-06-2008 @ 2:01PM

Jason said...

I predicted they'd lose this series for the same reason that Soriano is talking about. It's not that they weren't built for a short series, but they weren't prepared for this one; Zambrano was pitching inconsistently, Harden had lost velocity on his fastball by the end of the year, and their bullpen was no match for the Dodgers.

10-06-2008 @ 3:24PM

dude said...

i think soriano was talking more about sample size....ie anything can happen in the span of 3 games, but in a 162 game season the proverbial cream usually rises to the proverbial top...in the case that this is what he meant, it is one of the more refreshingly intelligent things ive heard from an athlete in a while.

10-06-2008 @ 3:45PM

Jim Pletzer said...

Why the CUBS never went out and picked up a big bat at the end of the year is beyond me!

10-06-2008 @ 4:09PM

victorrcp said...

Could it be the Dodgers were superior
they had better pitching with Lowe , Bilingsley and Kuroda
The Dodgers defense was flawless and
their hitting was better. With clutch home runs and clutch rbi's
I think the Dodgers were underrated and underestimated by the cubbies. Also Joe Torre did a magnificent job at managing.

10-06-2008 @ 8:17PM

Jeff Edwards said...

Cub fans deserve so much and they are never gonna get it. The team acted like they didn't want to be there. Another fine post season showing by the Cubs. My co-ed softball team could have gave the Dodgers a better series.

10-08-2008 @ 12:20AM

Jeff D. said...

The two consistents of Cub playoff baseball is they lose and Cub fans are the quietest fans in all of baseball. It's embarrassing. I grew up in Chicago and now live in L.A. and Dodger fans were asking me why Wrigley was so quiet. After Mark DeRosa hit his homerun in game 1 it sounded like he had made an out!! Here's why Cub fans suck the sound out of Wrigley...because true, loud fans can't get tickets. People who just want to be at the event just to say they were there and can afford to out bid everyone else are the ones sitting in the seats and on their hands. Pathetic. Even the Angel's management understand Angel fans are easily bored and horribly quiet. So they gave everybody "thunder sticks." Yeah, the Angels lost two at home too, but at least it didn't sound like a damn funeral in the first inning until the last. 2003, game 5 in Florida was the loudest playoff Cub fans have ever been. Why? Because it was in Florida! Cub "fans" in Wrigley are the worst playoff fans in baseball...no, in all of sports.

10-09-2008 @ 8:35PM

Roger said...

Could it be, Soriano, that you were swinging at anything & everything that the pitchers were serving up? I'm a season-ticket holder & we just having our prices bumped up (along with the food, beer/soda & souvenirs) at Wrigley. He ought to donate his salary back to people who INVEST in this team..... the fans. This clwon won't make it through his contract in Chicago, guaranteed.

10-17-2008 @ 6:27AM

Patty said...

I was born and raised in Chicago...now live in Florida..yep...still a Cubs fan and still think they will go all the way every year. This year they had the best team they have had in years....what happened???? they didn't hit. There was no " COME ON GUYS WE ARE GOING TO WIN"...they looked rejected at the beginning of game 1...how come not 1 of the players or managers (unless they didn't show it) were rooting them on?? I love the Cubbies and will be with them next year...but yes it was extremely disappointing....as I'm sure it was for them.
SInce I live in Fl I am also a Rays fan........Cubs lost...Brewers lost (my family lives in Madison) so come on Rays let's show these 2 other teams how to win!!!!