Some stuff

You can stop at the Grand Canyon, or maybe Zion on the off-day drive. And while you're out there on the run from Phoenix to Denver, you can think about where the Texas Rangers might be today had Tom Hicks listened to former Rangers GM Doug Melvin instead of talking heads.

So what are the Cubs supposed to do with Alfonso Soriano now? Should we just start counting down his final 2,500 days as a Cub? Just seven years left on his $136 million contract.

I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone exposed so badly, so quickly as he was during the Cubs' sluggish three-game loss to Arizona in the first round of the playoffs.

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As they look to the future, Soriano is going to be a big issue. He's one of the major pieces the team is built around, and will be for years. And the problem?

He doesn't know how to play baseball.

People warned the Cubs about him, that his mistakes kill you more than his amazing skills help. It's hard not to buy into a guy who can hit so far, run so fast, throw with such strength and aim. I bought in, too.
Same mistakes over and over

His leadoff homers were a big part of the Cubs' September success. He can carry the team. But in the playoffs, he just kept striking out, kept misjudging fly balls.

He grounded out on the first pitch in Game 1. He struck out when the only thing needed was a ground ball to advance a runner. The one time he did smack a ball, he stood there and admired it, then only got a single after it flew all the way to the wall. He ran to the fences twice for fly balls, and one hit the wall several feet away. On Saturday, well, doesn't he know that when a ball hits the wall, it's going to bounce back?

After Game 2, someone asked Piniella about what he'd learn from the struggles of Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee.

''You know, in postseason, you take what the opponent gives you,'' he said. ''They don't give you pitches to swing out of the yard, then you've got to go the other way, or you've got to go up the middle.

''As you get into postseason ... pitching gets better and better, you know? So don't try to overdo. That would be my message.''

Soriano wasn't listening. If this stuff is increasingly important in the postseason, then Soriano is never going to do well in October without significant changes.

Someone told me Soriano reminded him of a young Michael Jordan, a natural-born showman. Jordan was considered selfish when he started. Remember? He could have ridden out a career as a human highlight film but instead modified his game to incorporate the team.

At this point, Jordan and Soriano are the best and worst of athletes everywhere.

Baseball doesn't have nearly the team dynamic that basketball has, but Soriano has to stop being so selfish, weigh game situations.

That's assuming he's willing to learn. But Arizona looked like a team; the Cubs looked like a bunch of guys wearing the same uniform.

And Soriano is here for seven more years.

Despite his numbers, he's the symbol of that lack of teamwork. Without change, that'll hurt the Cubs in the playoffs as long as he's here.

Frankly, it was disturbing when I asked Piniella about Soriano's lack of discipline and the way he doesn't fit as a natural leadoff hitter.

''We knew that when we signed him,'' Piniella said. ''We're very pleased with him.''

OK, you knew. But did that mean you weren't going to try to fix him? You can't teach him to be the prototype leadoff hitter, can't take away all of his aggressiveness, because that would eliminate what he does well.

But can't you at least teach a few situational fundamentals?

Ryan Theriot is a natural leadoff hitter. But Soriano can't hit anything but fastballs, which he sees more of at leadoff. I'd say to keep Soriano at leadoff, where he's comfortable. But at times, he's going to have to do traditional leadoff hitter things.