A day after he did all the wrong things on the mound, Rafael Soriano said all the right things in the clubhouse.
For nearly 10 minutes before last night’s rainout with the Twins, the reliever apologized for blowing off the media after an eighth-inning implosion in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss in 10 innings. The setup man, who was signed to a three-year, $35 million deal, chalked it up to a bad day at the office and vowed it would never happen again.
“I’m apologizing,” said Soriano, who spent last season with small-market Tampa Bay. “I didn’t talk to you guys [Tuesday] night, but the reason I did it is because I got mad because that game CC [Sabathia] is supposed to win. That’s why I got mad and I don’t feel comfortable talking to you guys.”
The media wasn’t the only thing he blew off after walking three Twins in just 2/3 of an inning. He didn’t even answer the phone when his mother called from the Dominican Republic.
“She called me and I don’t answer my phone too because I don’t feel comfortable to talk to her.” Soriano said with a laugh. “So I feel like that. So I said all right, let me go home and let me relax.”
Soriano met with manager Joe Girardi, heard from agent Scott Boras and exchanged fist pumps with closer Mariano Rivera before facing the music.
“This is not a market to come to if you’re not willing to be accountable for the good and the bad,” GM?Brian Cashman said.
