When Alfonso Soriano went on the disabled list five weeks ago, I wrote that I'd be shocked if the Cubs weren't still in first place when he came off the DL. As it turns out, I was right about that but only just barely. A 16-18 slide by the Cubs without Soriano and the emergence of the Brewers has left the Cubbies with a slim one game lead in the NL Central for Soriano to help protect when he returns tonight. Lou Piniella is one person certainly happy to see him back:

''You lose a bat like that, it's going to hurt you, especially for six weeks,'' said Piniella, who canceled batting practice to help shake his struggling lineup before Tuesday's game. ''We've played four months of baseball -- 16 weeks. Soriano's been out for eight of them [including two weeks in April], and basically, he's our biggest home-run bat. We were able to overcome it, to these guys' credit, the way they've played. But sooner or later, it starts showing up, and it has.''

The timing of Soriano's return isn't surprising as the Cubs and Brewers play a four-game set next week that will play a huge part in deciding how the NL Central shapes up in the second half of the season. With the way the Brewers are playing right now, the Cubs certainly don't want to be short-handed against them.