Everyone knew that when Alfonso Soriano became available on the market, he would have a lot of suitors. Especially after becoming the fourth member to 40/40 and first ever player to go 40/40/40 (HR, SB and doubles). The most interest came from the Cubs and Phillies. But in the end, it was a desperate Chicago who were coming off an NL worst 66-96 record who won the bidding. The final total was eight years, $136 million. EIGHT YEARS 136 MILLION!!!!! That averages out to a cool $17 million-a-year. Of course, my diehard (slowly dying in probably alcohol at his Stanford dorm by now) Cubs buddy John was furious about this. How dare they get a player of Soriano’s calibre! While I can understand his frustration with the insane contract length, the cost was about right. If the most overdiscussed player in baseball history and ironically his favorite , then why can’t the player he was traded for get eight million less? You have to put Soriano in that category. Apparently, new Cubs skipper Sweet Lou Piniella thinks a lot higher of the ex-Yankee who made the adjustment from second to the outfield with the Nationals. And why shouldn’t he? Soriano certainly can give a boost to that lineup and make it one of the most dangerous outside the Mets. Especially with Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez still there. Plus second baseman Mark DeRosa, who GM Jim Hendry inked for three years at $13 million. They are spending a lot and why not. They got to try something. Soriano can bat leadoff or hit in the middle of the order and has plenty of power and speed. Now all the Cubs need is to improve their pitching which still has question marks after Carlos Zambrano. Unless Mark Prior returns healthy which never seems to happen, they need to upgrade here. Rich Hill pitched well down the stretch which was encouraging but whether he can do it over a full season remains to be seen. They will need Wade Miller to show his Astros form from a few years ago as well. It looks like Kerry Wood will be converted to a closer, which makes plenty of sense. Considering how awful the Cubs pen has been in recent years, they could do a lot worse than making the Texas native a one inning pitcher. If he makes the adjustment, he could dominate late in games. They also recently made a swap with the White Sox for Neal Cotts. The lefty was a great setup man in ‘05 but slumped badly this year with an ERA over 5.00. If he can recover, their pen could be significantly upgraded. The Cubs will also need to address their shortstop and could be in the bidding for the versatile Julio Lugo. It wouldn’t be a bad sign. But he’ll probably wind up with either the Red Sox or Mets for a hefty price.

Of course, the Cubs must improve dramatically in order for this Soriano signing to work. When you ink that kind of contract, you better make a difference. Not the kind A-Rod made on Texas before asking out. Soriano has a chance here to prove he’s better than the player he was dealt for. Turn the Cubs into winners and he’ll be a hero and even my friend John will have to admit he was wrong. But if he doesn’t, he’ll be crucified. Such is the price when you get that kind of dough. We shall see.