''If I didn't get asked that question,'' Piniella said with a chuckle, ''I wouldn't think I was in Chicago.''

Piniella and Soriano seemingly joined forces as a package deal after the 2006 season, and the Cubs haven't been the same since. From the outset, Piniella wanted Soriano as his leadoff hitter and Soriano made it clear the top spot was where he preferred to bat.

Two seasons and two National League Central titles later, it's hard to believe the question still seems so sticky. No, Soriano isn't your textbook example of a leadoff hitter. He's a free-swinger with a mediocre, at best, on-base percentage. His speed -- such a selling point when he signed that staggering eight-year, $136 million contract two offseasons ago -- really hasn't been put on display in Chicago.

Fans who are thrilled when the streaky Soriano is peaking and queasy when he takes his dips are begging for a change at the top, and the idea of dropping him from the leadoff spot was one of the hottest topics during the Cubs' organizational meetings in October.

But this is where the Cubs seem to get stuck: When Soriano led off during the 2008 regular season, the Cubs went 69-36. When someone else led off, they were 28-28.

''We win a strong, strong percentage of games when he bats first,'' general manager Jim Hendry said. ''And when he doesn't bat first, our winning percentage is not that good. So I just don't get it. We wouldn't have won the two division titles without him, even with his game changing a little bit and the injuries taking away his ability to steal 40 or 50 bags.''

Besides, Soriano always has stressed he is most comfortable batting leadoff.

Well, he always has stressed it until now.

''At this point, I don't care,'' said Soriano, who does insist on being left in one spot, no matter where it is. ''Lou is the manager. If he wants to move me, I'm fine. I'm tired because every year they start again with the leadoff thing.

''When I signed, it was very important. But now I understand that they can use me in different spots in the lineup. Now I'm 33, so I don't just think about batting leadoff.''

It's a topic that clearly doesn't thrill Piniella. He rather would talk about all the left-handed bats he now has in his lineup or the improved speed. As for Soriano, he shrugs and points to the calendar.

''We'll see what happens there,'' Piniella said. ''Look, we won 97 Baseball games, the most in the National League. We just didn't stay long enough in the postseason.

''Let's take a look at this thing. I like Alfonso in the leadoff spot. With the left-handed hitting we have now and the fact we have a little more speed, it changes a lot what other teams can do to us. So let's just leave things alone right now, go to spring training and take a look.''

There are plenty of other things to worry about when it comes to the 2009 Cubs. The rotation doesn't have a clearly defined fifth starter, though the job appears to belong to left-hander Sean Marshall. The closer's job will be a derby between setup man Carlos Marmol and newly acquired Kevin Gregg, whose nine blown saves with the Florida Marlins last season tied him with the Colorado Rockies' Manny Corpas for the most in the majors. Center field looks like another toss-up of mediocre talent.

Leadoff hitter? That is not a problem. Unless the Cubs land the Baltimore Orioles' Brian Roberts or the Los Angeles Angels' Chone Figgins -- both long-shot deals at this point -- Soriano is the best choice. There isn't a solid in-house option who has proved to be better than Soriano in that spot.

''I guess if Maury Wills is out there, we would love to have him,'' Hendry said. ''But the bottom line is we won a lot of games with him, and I certainly don't look at our playoff failures the last couple of years and say it was because Sori was hitting No. 1.

''Who's out there that is better, that you can say, 'There is our [leadoff] guy, and we'd be better if we moved Sori down a little bit'? We go to work every day looking to get better, and we haven't found a situation where that's the guy for sure, if we got him, he's hitting there every day.

''At the end of the day, if we had won those three playoff games instead of lost them, we wouldn't be having this chat.''

Comment at suntimes.com.

On Second Thought ...

Upon further review, maybe that 100-year thing really did weigh heavily on the Cubs during their three-and-out showing against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 National League Division Series.

Two key figures who downplayed the idea of the 100-year World Series drought causing the Cubs to choke in October have altered their stance at the Cubs Convention.

''The biggest thing about last year's Baseball team -- and I won't mention it but once -- everybody with the 100th year, they put a lot of expectations on this team in the postseason,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''And when we didn't get off very well in the opening game, it sort of set us back a little bit.

''But this is a new season.''

Leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano, who went 1-for-14 and took much of the heat for the poor NLDS showing, also dismissed such talk in October. But there he was Friday, leaning on the 100-year crutch.

''I think we put too much pressure [on ourselves],'' Soriano said. ''Sometimes the 100 years, people talk -- the fans -- and I think that sometimes gets in guys' heads. But we don't have to think about it anymore.''

Chris De Luca