[...] s a couple of old names—Carlos Zambrano and Alfonso Soriano—who need to return to top form to make Chicago more than a spoiler. The Astros don’t have much in the way of starting pitching (certainly nothing resembling a stopper) and their infield might be the worst in the Major Leagues. The only drama in Houston will be trying to stay ahead of Pittsburgh. Speaking of the Pirates, [...]

[...] ger Lou Piniella had a grand epiphany in 2009. LF Alfonso Soriano (.241, 20 HR, 55 RBI) is not a leadoff hitter. Between the declining batting average and the mounds of strikeouts, Soriano's game simply did not fit his role. But who on the roster has the game to fit the leadoff role? No one fits the bill perfectly, so it will likely be a combination of SS Ryan Theriot (.284, .343 OBP, 54 RBI) and [...]

[...] Park, two of which came off the bat of outfielder Alfonso Soriano. Soriano was coming off a dislocated finger and hadn't recorded a home run since June 7 before launching two round trippers on the weekend. Also making money for baseball bettors were the Tampa Bay Rays. The defending American League champs are finding their 2008 form, winning seven of their last 10 games. The three wins the clu [...]

[...] ujols, Carlos Delgado, Zack Grienke, David Ortiz, Alfonso Soriano and even Derek Jeter with odds available. Below is the odds on each player available at Bookmaker.com ALEX RODRIGUEZ +300 ALFONSO SORIANO +650 ZACH GEINKE +900 DAVID ORTIZ +500 RYAN HOWARD +600 ALBERT PUJOLS +600 ADRIAN BELTRE +375 CARLOS DELGADO +500 DEREK J [...]

[...] iddle of the order, since injuries and age slowed Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee. Aramis Ramirez came up big at the plate last year and addition Milton Bradley still has some pop left in his bat. The Chicago rotation can overpower hitters with hard hurlers Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster taking the bump. Rich Harden was impressive in his brief stint with Chicago and will benefit f [...]

[...] of the Cubs outfield were selected as starters in Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukodome while Milwaukee's Ryan Braun gets the other spot. The NL reserves are Russell Martin (LAD), Brian McCann (Atlanta), Adrian Gonzalez (San Diego), Albert Pujols (St. Louis), Dan Uggla (Florida), Aramis Ramirez (Chicago), Cristian Guzman (Washington), Miguel Tejada (Houston), Matt Holliday (Colorado), Ryan Ludwic [...]

[...] ollowed up by the humongous signing of outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who inked an eight year deal for $136 million. That signing helped fuel a free agent market where costs are spiraling out of control, and it was especially strange considering it was from the normally frugal Cubs. Chicago’s latest deals were to sign pitchers Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, with Lilly currently being conside [...]