What a stunning development.

Three words. Six syllables. Fifteen leters.

Cubs. Sign. Soriano.

Not the Angels. Not the Phillies. Not the Astros. Not the Dodgers.

The Cubs.

What a thrill to see our team sign the guy who was without question at the head of his free agent class.

Why, it's positively Yankee-like!

The length and amount of the contract are breathtaking, but so long as they don't compromise Hendry's ability to help the pitching staff, I couldn't care less right now how much of a payroll pickle the Cubs are in come 2014.

Funny thing--when I saw the headline on the Trib Web site Sunday afternoon, I felt the same giddy rush as when the Bears staged that improbable comeback against Arizona a few weeks ago. It was that sense that our team had surged from behind to win at the wire.

The truth is, my notion that the Cubs were "trailing" in the Soriano Derby came from my having read too many blogs and too many Web sites trafficking in too much unsupported speculation. If enough people repeat the same mantra--"Arte Moreno will pay any amount of money to get Soriano in an Angels uniform," or "The Phillies have the inside track," etc., etc.--it takes on a weight that causes it to seem damn near the truth.

Only a handful of people ever knew what was really going on in the chase for Soriano. Now everybody knows.

Where will he play? Lou Piniella, calling in Sunday afternoon to WGN Radio, said he would play one of the corners, yet multiple Chicago tv stations reported well into the night that Soriano was headed for centerfield. It would seem that Lou needs to check with Comcast Sportsnet before he shoots off his mouth.

On a final, negative note--remember, this is not the "Joys of Optimism" blog--I can't help but wonder what is behind the spending spree. Could it be that Tribune Company is determined to win, or at least reach, the World Series this coming season so they can sell the Cubs at the end of the year for $700 or $800 million and let the new owners deal with the long-term fallout of these massive expenditures? Do we care?

I'm going to forget that I even asked the question--at least until Jason Schmidt and maybe a few others (J.D. Drew???) are safely wrapped up in Cubbie blue.