ARLINGTON – The 100-watt smile augmented by glistening white teeth never left Alfonso Soriano’s face. Not when he was asked about missing New York, his former teammates and the friends he made in and around The Bronx. Not even when pressed as to what he would do to Derek Jeter if he was called on to break up a double play last night when the Yankees and Rangers hooked up on the Ameriquest Field under-card of Alex Rodriguez’ return to Texas.
“I have to play the game,” Soriano said. “Maybe after we can laugh about it, but you have to play hard no matter who is playing.”
Jeter laughed when he heard Soriano admit he would take Jeter out if the situation called for it.
“Sori is a great kid and I enjoyed playing with him,” Jeter said of his former double-play partner. “But you’ve still got to play the game.”
So, as close as they are – Soriano and Jeter have talked a lot about the trade – the message was clear: winning supercedes friendship.
In his first experience on the other side of the Yankee dugout, Soriano went 2-for-5 with a pair of singles in the Rangers’ 9-7 victory. The closest the two came to a take-out situation was in the ninth, when after Soriano’s second single of the game, Brad Fullmer hit a grounder to Jeter, who stepped on the bag and completed a double play.
Earlier, in the first, Soriano had singled with two out, but was stranded when Fullmer lined out to right field. His two singles raised his average to .300 to go along with his five homers and 28 RBIs.
In his other plate appearances, Soriano grounded out to Jeter in the third; flied out to left field in the fourth, and grounded out to Rodriguez at third in the sixth.
As January moved into February, the prospect of Soriano taking Jeter out at second base was as foreign as Soriano reversing the horrible World Series he experienced against the Marlins. But then in the middle of February, after years of hearing his name in so many trade rumors, Soriano was dealt to the Rangers for A-Rod.
“A month,” Soriano said of how long it took him to get over being dealt from the powerful Yankees to the Rangers, who have finished last in each of the previous three seasons. “I missed my teammates and friends in New York. But now I am OK and I feel comfortable with my teammates. We are trying to win games.”