So long, Soriano

By now, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Soriano is leaving. Drama Queen Bowden sure has been enjoying the past couple of weeks, judging by the numerous articles I've read about how his cell phone has been ringing off the hook at all hours of the day and night. He must be loving this attention- hope he doesn't go out and knock back a few with his girlfriend to celebrate, since we all know how THAT turns out. Anyway, this question came up in today's Boswell discussion and I thought the answer was quite interesting:

Washington, D.C.: Hi Boz -- The statements by Soriano and Hernanadez professing their love for the city and the team, is this simply lip service at the trade deadline, or is there something here telling us that Washington is indeed an attractive place to play, whether it's the city or the team or the management in place?

Tom Boswell: I have been in MANY clubhouse houses at this time of year for 30+ seasons. PLENTY of players make it very clear that they very much want to be traded to a contender and have some fun. They may not say, "Lemme outta this lousy town and this last-place team" for the record, but they get their point across or go off-the-record. I can't find ONE Nat who seems to want to leave. For example, Ramon Ortiz SHOULD want to go. He flat out doesn't. The arrival of the Lerners __very genial, pleasant, rich and so-far unthreatening__ plus Kasten's big reputation and the ground-breaking on a $611-million park are pretty clear signals to players that Washington is going to be a very nice place to play in 20 months.

Boz brings up some very good points. I hope they're true! I hope Ortiz, Hernandez, et al. don't want to go- says a lot about a struggling last-place team (though they're en fuego right now). I still think Soriano is just playing it very smart with his "I want to stay" comments, since he knows he's going to be traded, but hey- who can blame him? Glad things seem to have worked out for both sides on that one. I wish he would stay, but oh well. That's life- and baseball- for you.