"Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano walked across the clubhouse when he saw the lineup posted before Sunday's game in Texas.

''Where today?'' he said.

He peered at it for a second, then shook his head, smiling, as he headed back to his locker.

Soriano was in the third different spot in as many days -- batting fourth, sixth and fifth during the three-game series.

''It's good,'' he said. ''I just want to be in the lineup.''

In fact, it's very good. That's part of the reason for all the juggling. While Derrek Lee fights his way out of a deep early slump and Aramis Ramirez takes time off to get his head and thumb right, Soriano is the team's hottest hitter -- the only power bat in the lineup hitting well at all over the last week or so.

And even with all the attention that figures to be on Carlos Zambrano -- who threw 73 pitches in a simulated game Monday -- and the rotation this week, Soriano might be the key player to watch as the Cubs open a homestand against the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals. "