Ladson Q&A, Part II
[January 16th] -- Just two days after hearing Bill Ladson interviewed on XM radio, he has resurfaced, this time on MLB radio on the Nationals' official website. Here is a [close] transcript of what Ladson said:
"Jose Guillen has a bad rap. He has been easy to work with over the past year and has been a joy to interview." Now, Alfonso Soriano, well, I talked to him once after the trade and asked him about playing the outfield. He wasn't "pleasant" to talk to.
"I'm afraid how Robinson is going to handle having Soriano on the club. Last season, everyone thought that Frank should have benched Vinny Castilla in September and played Ryan Zimmerman, Everyone but Frank, that is. I don't know what's going to happen exactly, but it's not going to be pretty."
"Many Nationals' players have talked to Alfonso Soriano and tried to get him to accept a move to the outfield. None of them have had any success, even his neighbor Jose Guillen."
[RESPONDING TO WHETHER BOWDEN THOUGHT OUT THE SORIANO TRADE] -- I' m convinced that Bowden got Soriano only for his bat. Bowden has loved Soriano since I've known him, since last year. He in fact tried to get him in a trade last yearin 2005, right up to the trading deadline. He has tried to trade him since, to Boston for Josh Beckett and to Baltimore for Tejada, both "straight up." There is no way he's getting traded now.
"I think the team has gone backwards. They lost two good pitchers in Hector Carrasco and Esteban Loiaza, and replaced them with Tony Armas Jr. and Ramon Ortiz. One guy had shoulder surgery and one was just plain bad, though to be fair, he played in a small park last year. Sure, the team added Soriano, but his numbers will go down playing in RFK."
"Jose Vidro owns second base. I talked to him after Christmas and he feels bad for Soriano's situation, but he's not giving up his spot for him. The media isn't doing their homework -- it's very likely that Vidro will start the year on the DL and Soriano will play second base. Also, you've got two doctors in disagreement; one says surgery and the other says rest. So who knows."
So, in the words of Paul Harvey, "Now you know the ..... rest .... of ... the ... story.
: 5:41 PM * OUCH *
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