So

[savant]

<!--quoteo(post=14405:date=Jan 28 2009, 04:12 PM:name=Giff)-->QUOTE (Giff @ Jan 28 2009, 04:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=14397:date=Jan 28 2009, 03:56 PM:name=KBwsb)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KBwsb @ Jan 28 2009, 03:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=14394:date=Jan 28 2009, 03:51 PM:name=Ace)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ace @ Jan 28 2009, 03:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->IMO, Soriano's arm is great in left BECAUSE he makes generally shorter throws than he would in RF.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No. He has a great arm. As savant or BT said, that doesn't make up for his other fielding problems, but if a guy has ONE outstanding defensive characteristic, it seems to make sense to put him in a position where he can make the most use of it.
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Ace hit it on the head, and it can't be said enough. While Soriano has a strong arm, it isn't a Jose Guillen- or Vladimir Guerrero-like cannon. The reason he throws so many guys out is because of his deadly accuracy...from LF he hits the catcher perfectly on one bounce every time. However, being a former infielder, he throws almost sidearmed, which is very poor form for an outfielder. This leads for his throws to tail a huge amount. He has it down to an art from LF because it fits his natural motion, however when forced to throw longer distances the ball will tail more (and be more inconsistent), leading to a decline in accuracy. We saw this in the little time he was in CF, his arm was much less effective, and I'm positive he would have the same problem if he moved into RF.
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Giff everyone's arm is less effective in center than the corners. Another thing that Soriano does extremely well is charge the ball hard and get rid of it fast. I think you aren't giving Soriano credit for how much arm he shows without using the big crow hop. The only throw that is significantly farther from right than left is the throw to third base. And, with the accuracy that Soriano has shown from left I am pretty sure that he can figure out what he needs to aim at to get the ball to the plate from right. That being said, Soriano can't play right because he suck as an outfielder.