By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune –
CHICAGO — The Giants were looking for a left fielder for the playoff push, and the Cubs had one they were more than willing to give up.
But thanks to the chilly weather in San Francisco, Alfonso Soriano stuck around. On Friday, he homered and drove in three runs in a 6-4 victory over the Giants.
“I feel sorry for them if they tried to (acquire) me because they know what I can do,” he said. “And I tried to show them today.”
Soriano cleared waivers, and the Giants were interested in acquiring him to help them hold off the Dodgers in the National League West race.
But no deal ever was worked out as Soriano told the Cubs he would not waive his no-trade rights to join the Giants. Players have to be on a team’s roster on Sept. 1 to be eligible for the postseason, and Soriano had not heard of any team interested in him as of Friday night.
“It’s one month, so it’d have to be a perfect place for me to go because I don’t want to go anywhere for one month,” he said. “If someone (wanted) me, it would depend on the team and what city too.”
The Cubs will try to deal Soriano again this offseason, but with two years and $36 million left on his contract, chances are they won’t find a taker.
“If they want to (rebuild) a team and can get something for me, I’m happy to go somewhere I’m comfortable,” Soriano said.
But would he want to stay with the Cubs through another year like this?
“I don’t want to have the same year as this year, losing a lot of games,” he said. “We’ll see. I’m part of the team right now. I don’t know about next year, but they’re smart enough to want to have the same team. They’ll figure out what they want to do with me …
“I like it here, but I don’t like to lose, especially late in my career. I just want to go someplace to win. If it’s here, I’ll be more than happy.”
Soriano has hit 24 home runs in his last 91 games, including a two-run third-inning shot onto Waveland Avenue off Madison Bumgarner that gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead. They added two more runs in the inning, sending Chris Volstad (2-9) to his second straight victory and leaving them with an 8-21 record in August.
Soriano reiterated Friday he simply did not want to play in the city San Franciscans proudly refer to as “The City,” citing the chilly temperatures and how they would affect his sore knees.
“It’s very hard to play on the West Coast, especially on that field,” he said. “It’s nothing against that team, it’s the weather. They have a very good team. They’re in first place. But I want to go somewhere I feel comfortable. I know if I go to San Francisco, I won’t feel comfortable in the city. I’d feel comfortable with the team, but not the city.”
