It's as good of an excuse as any: "Lou Piniella plans to experiment with the Cubs lineup, dropping leadoff man Alfonso Soriano to No. 2 in an attempt to keep him healthy while inserting Kosuke Fukudome fifth," reports MLB.com. Soriano continues to have difficulties with his quadriceps and the move is designed to have him making fewer steal attempts, apparently. Whether that is a valid reason or not, having his free-swinging ways move down in the order is a move in the right direction.

Unfortunately, this now apparently means that the Cubs' worst hitter in the everyday lineup -- Ryan Theriot -- is going to be leading off instead of hitting second.

So who should be in the leadoff spot? Mark DeRosa appears to be the best option, absent doing something radical like putting Derrek Lee there or moving Fukudome to center and placing Matt Murton in right field and the leadoff spot.

All of this is, of course, subject to change, and to change quickly.

And it may change with a trade. As much as the Cubs like Theriot, I believe they would prefer a better hitter in the leadoff spot. Moving Soriano down may make a trade for Brian Roberts or a center fielder even more likely.

Cubs f/x thinks Soriano and Fukudome should switch in Piniella's experimentation. Perhaps. But the idea that Fukudome is an ideal #2 hitter is based on his Japanese numbers. I would like to see a couple of month's worth of performance before handing him the keys to a table-setting position in the order.

Joe Aiello at View from the Bleachers presents some interesting bits of information on the Cubs from Bill James' new book. Specifically, Alfonso Soriano's free-swinging ways and Felix Pie's excellent baserunning.

After Trevor Hoffman struck out the side in the 9th inning of the San Diego Padres' 6-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers tonight, radio play-by-play man Bob Uecker went to break with, "This one is over."

When the Brewers defeated the Chicago Cubs on June 30, they moved to 7.5 games ahead of the Cubs, the second place team. With the Cubs' 6-0 win tonight over the Cincinnati Reds and the Brewers' loss, the Cubs have clinched the NL Central divisional crown with two games to spare. It is not exactly a 1969 Cubs-style collapse for the Brewers, or even a 2007 Mets-style collapse, but it is a collapse. The Cubs needed help after their slow start and they got it when Milwaukee went 20-34 in July and August.

Carlos Zambrano came up huge tonight, throwing 7 shutout innings. He moved his season record to 18-13 and he is lined up to start Game 1 of the NLDS. Zambrano had decisions in 31 of his 34 starts this season. Zambrano's 31 decisions are the most by a Cubs' pitcher since Greg Maddux went 20-11 in 1992.

Alfonso Soriano also had a big game, leading it off with a home run, doubling, and throwing (another) runner out at the plate. The Cubs have not had a strong-armed outfielder with as an accurate an arm as Soriano since Andre Dawson.

Either Chip Caray or Steve Stone may be broadcasting the Cubs' playoff series.

Aramis Ramirez will no longer get, and apparently no longer needs, days off to rest his knee, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Ramirez has been remarkably consistent the past four seasons, each time posting an adjusted OPS+ between 126 and 136. This year, he and Derrek Lee are tied for the team lead at 131. Ramirez has not played in 28 of the Cubs' games this year.

Additionally, "Alfonso Soriano (quadriceps) ran through a series of trainer-supervised tests before the game, including full batting practice and base-running. He appeared to fare well but is not expected back for a week to 10 days." Soriano's return is important. For whatever reason, Matt Murton has continued to have a disappointing season. He has hit .240/.296/.440 in 54 plate appearances since Soriano went down on August 5.

Here's a consequence of Alfonso Soriano's injury: With Ryan Theriot moving to the leadoff spot, the Cubs don't have a number 2 hitter: "Piniella said he's considering batting catcher Jason Kendall second when he returns to the lineup during the Colorado series," reports the Sun-Times. "Jacque Jones hit in that spot Wednesday for the first time since April 10."

This is a tough break. The AP reports that Alfonso Soriano's strained right quadriceps, an injury he sustained Sunday night against the Mets, will keep him out of the lineup 2-4 weeks. The Cubs have some options, but none of them as good as Soriano.

Matt Murton should see increased playing time. Mike Fontenot and Ronny Cedeno might also see more time, with Mark DeRosa playing the outfield.

The Cubs have a number of players in Iowa who can play the outfield. Felix Pie is the most obvious call-up, but there is also Buck Coats (819 OPS for Iowa). Additionally, Eric Patterson (829), Jake Fox (978 OPS in 8 games since his demotion), and Scott Moore (890 OPS) could also play a corner outfield spot.

The Daily Herald's Bruce Miles writes in today's paper that "there have been rumblings that Piniella is growing impatient with the roster given to him by Hendry." I'd be curious to know what Piniella wants.

The Cubs are currently 6th in the National League in runs scored, but there are certainly problems on offense. Three of the top four outfielders have slugging percentages below .400. Jacque Jones, Matt Murton, and Cliff Floyd have just four home runs between them. None of them have ever had slugging percentages that low over a full season, excepting Floyd's rookie year as a 21-year-old in 1994. Jones is hitting .245/.302/.335 as the starting centerfielder. Much more of that and the Cubs will be compelled to replace him with Felix Pie for good. The trouble is that Jones is signed through next season, and for $6.3M.

In a very thought provoking article in today's Sun-Times, staff reporter Gordon Wittenmeyer notes that all the money spent has not created a cohesive team form either the offensive or defensive perspective. See: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/360635,CST-SPT-gordo27.article

One question I have is whether there should not be an even bolder change in the field. Why not put Alfonso Soriano back into a second-baseman role? That could give Cliff Floyd playing time, keep Pie around, and let Murton fight it out with Jones and Derosa for right. Keep Theriot playing as long as he is hitting. Izturis and Jones could be traded, for that matter.

Just a thought. Soriano might feel relieved to be back at second and start hitting.

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.

The Daily Herald's Bruce Miles reports that Lou Piniella said yesterday that Alfonso Soriano will not be playing center field in 2007, but will play one of the corner outfield spots. That means one of three things: the Cubs will either 1) sign a stopgap center fielder like Kenny Lofton; 2) move Jacque Jones to center field; or 3) let Felix Pie, Eric Patterson, and Angel Pagan fight it out in spring training. (On Patterson playing center, see View from the Bleachers.)

"Outfielder Carlos Lee, one of the top free agents on the market, signed with the Houston Astros, a source close to the negotiations said Friday. Lee signed a six-year, $100 million deal with the Astros, the source told the Associated Press."

In my mind, the Cubs got the better deal. Alfonso Soriano is six months older, but has three seasons in which he has posted at least 10 WARP3. Lee's career high was 8.9, in 2004.

ESPN.com's Keith Law doesn't think (sub. req'd) the Alfonso Soriano signing was a smart move. He makes some good points, though I'm going to qualify them a bit (my comments in italics):

This is an exciting time to be a Cubs fan. I'm not sure where Jim Hendry is taking us, or even if Hendry knows where he's leading us, but he obviously has been given a lot of money to spend and a mandate to spend it; so, spend away he does. "Free agent Alfonso Soriano and the Chicago Cubs have reached a preliminary agreement on an eight-year contract worth about $136 million, a major league official told The Associated Press on Sunday. The deal is contingent on Soriano passing a physical." The Tribune's Paul Sullivan states that the deal "is expected to be announced on Monday."

Soriano will presumably be the Cubs' centerfielder and leadoff hitter. Or, he could nudge Matt Murton out of leftfield if the Cubs find a centerfielder elsewhere or re-sign Juan Pierre. Soriano had a very good 107 Rate2 in leftfield in 2006, his first.

Before the 2006 season, I wrote on how Todd Walker had been a better player than Soriano over 2004-05, on a rate basis (this being when Soriano was still a second baseman). Walker, of course, has a hard time keeping a full time job. Soriano, on the other hand, reversed his decline in 2006 and now has apparently received the fifth highest total dollar value contract in MLB history.

A lot of attention is given to the 46 homers Soriano hit in 2006, besting his career high by 7. He may not ever hit 46 again, but Soriano is likely to continue to contribute power over much of the life of the contract. But if the contract has even a chance of working out for the Cubs, the BB% Soriano posted in 2006 is going to have to be a new established level of play: