During the off-season, the Washington Nationals acquired Alfonso Soriano from the Texas Rangers. In Soriano, Nationals general manager Jim Bowden saw a marquée player who could hit the long ball and bring fans to RFK Stadium.

The problem: the Nats want Soriano to play in left field, while Soriano wants to play second base, his position throughout his MLB career.

Looking at the facts, Soriano is probably a much better outfielder than infiedler. His defensive skills at second base have always been questionable, and he’s got the speed to get around the outfield quite well. So Nats manager Frank Robinson, one of the best in the sport, tells Soriano that he’s going to play left field, while all-star José Vidro takes his usual second base position. Seems that all is well with the world, right?

But somehow, being paid far too much money to play a kid’s game tends to bring out big egos and playground mentality. In other words: Soriano refuses to play in the outfield.

I have two words for Alfonso Soriano: grow up!

In most jobs, refusing to do what you boss tells you to do is seen as insubordination, which carries a penalty. Basically: you do what your boss orders, and that’s that. In this case, Soriano’s boss (Frank Robinson) told him to take the field in the outfield. Soriano didn’t wanna, and he stayed on the Nationals’ bench. Robinson was forced to do a last-minute substitution in order for their game (against the Dodgers) to begin.

Soriano is being the big baby that both the Yankees and Rangers didn’t want to show the tough love. Both New York and Texas hinted at moving Soriano to the outfield due to his woeful fielding skills, but never flipped the switch. In the recent World Baseball Classic, the Dominican Republic team started Soriano for the first three games of the tourney, but quickly benched him in all three games due to terrible fielding and lethargic batting. Soriano’s pinch-hit strikeout ended the Dominicans’ stay in the tourney.

From the beginning, the Nats knew that Vidro was their second base player. Vidro has proven defensive and offensive skills, and is a three-time all-star. Soriano was brought in for his long-ball hitting prowess and his name recognition, not for his defensive skills.

Yet Soriano kept drawing lines in the sand, saying that he was the second baseman, and that he would never play in the outfield. Granted, the Nats have been bumbling and stumbling around the issue all winter, unwilling to anger their new star.

Whatever. Bowden and Robinson are the bosses in this case. What they say is the law of the land (or the diamond, in this case). The fact that they wouldn’t kowtow yesterday is a good sign, and the Nats have finally said that they’re willing to go to the level of placing Soriano on the “disqualified” list if he doesn’t play along. Frankly, it’s about time that somebody in MLB stood up to these arrogant, overpaid, egocentric babies and taught them something about a work ethic.

So Soriano has a choice: either do the job he’s been asked to do, or take his petulant attitude elsewhere. Frankly, I’ll be happy to see him leave the Nats at the end of the season, if not earlier. The team will do fine – better, even – without him and his whining.