Last spring, when Alfonso Soriano was initially refusing to play left field for the Washington Nationals, I wrote: "If Soriano persists in his demand to play second base, he could make himself the most selfish player ever."

Now, Soriano is thanking Nationals GM Jim Bowden, writes the Chicago Sun-Times' Chris Le Duca:

"I have to say thank you to Jim," Soriano said Thursday while discussing his new role as the Cubs' center fielder. "He saw that I could be a very good outfielder. He believed that I could do it. He pushed me very hard, but I think he [made] a very good move.
. . . .
"Now, I am open to doing whatever Lou wants because now I feel more comfortable playing the outfield," he said. "And now I have the talent to play any position. Now I want to make my team better, so if you want to move me around, that's OK with me."

According to Soriano, it wasn't selfishness than drove his refusal, it was fear: fear that he was not up to the job.

I'm glad he finally relented, because that's really not a good enough reason to refuse to play baseball.