Soriano is hurt, and I don’t care.

Alfonso Soriano strained his right calf while catching a lazy fly ball in last night’s game (I don’t know if this is more typical of Soriano or the Cubs in general). And you know what? I don’t care. I don’t care because Soriano is quite possibly the most overrated and overpaid player in baseball, and we have plenty of other players who can step in and pull the weight.

I never liked Soriano as a lead-off hitter anyway. His career on-base percentage of .326 is pathetic. In fact, it’s worse than every other every-day position player on the team. So far this year, his OBP is .230. Compare that to Kosuke Fukudome’s .448 or Ryan Theriot’s .353 and it’s easy to see why I’m not so concerned that Soriano will be icing his calf for the next, oh, 4-6 weeks (guaranteed, the Cubs training staff will baby him as much as possible, and when he comes back he still won’t be 100%).

Here are some fun facts for Soriano lovers:

He stole an average of 35 bases per 162 games throughout his pre-Cubs career. Since joining the Cubs, he has stolen an average of 23 bases per 162 games. Last year, in 135 games, he stole 19 bases. Ryan Theriot stole 28 bases in 148 games. Some might argue that his lack of production on the base paths was because of injuries, or Piniella’s managerial style. I disagree. Ryan Theriot was playing with a bad back for half the season. I don’t hear anyone making excuses for him.

Now let’s talk about Soriano’s plate discipline— it doesn’t exist. In 579 at-bats last year, Soriano struck out 130 times. That’s 22% of the time. Aramis Ramirez, also a power hitter, struck out just 13% of the time. Ryan Theriot struck out just 9% of the time. One might argue that Derrek Lee has a similar strikeout percentage— but don’t forget that, in addition to 2007 being an off-year for Lee, he also walked 71 times, and had an OBP of .400. Soriano? 31 walks, and an OBP of .337. Those kinds of numbers are unacceptable for a lead-off hitter.

Lou must be under a great deal of pressure from above to keep Soriano at the top of the lineup (or anywhere in the lineup, for that matter). He seems like a better strategist than that. Kosuke Fukudome would make an ideal lead-off hitter with his combination of speed, power, and plate discipline— but he’s batting 5th. Ryan Theriot gets some chances in the lead-off spot, but always ends up being shuffled around the lineup since Soriano can’t seem to produce outside of the one-hole. Theriot batted .300 in 150 lead-off ABs last year, with an OBP of .342 (not great, but better than Soriano) and 13 doubles. The most important stat to me, though, was strikeouts— he had just 16 Ks in 150 ABs (under 11%).

Lastly, I’d like to point out Soriano’s biggest weakness— hitting with people on base. Sure, he’s a lead-off hitter, but he’s also a power hitter, and power hitters are supposed to drive in runs. Here are Soriano’s numbers with runners in scoring position over the last three years: BA-.237; 93K in 384 ABs (24%). And his numbers with runners in scoring position and two outs: BA-.211; 51K in 209 ABs (24%). In a word, disgusting.

The problem is with Soriano’s name— it’s gotten to big. It’s certainly bigger than his numbers, and it’s hurting the Cubs, because they can’t seem to recognize that Soriano, while a dangerous hitter and solid defensive player, is not the superstar he’s long been touted to be. I look forward to a few less strikeouts and a few more hits with men on base in the coming weeks. Maybe they’ll realize they don’t need him or his inflated salary and trade him before the deadline for a player that can actually help us win the Series.