Piniella considering Soriano in center  —  Manager 'intrigued' by idea of star manning middle of outfield  —  CHICAGO — New Cubs manager Lou Piniella may have found the solution for center field at the Cubs Convention.  What about Alfonso Soriano in center?

Add Theriot to Cubs' mix in center field  —  Lou Piniella has spent the week getting to know Chicago's icy weather up close and personal, meeting some of his new Cubs players and doing a little house hunting.  Too bad the Cubs Convention opened Friday with the new manager feeling as if there is one piece of unfinished business.

Talk timing key for 'Z'  —  All-Star pitcher Carlos Zambrano — sporting a new curly hairdo — was one of the main attractions Friday as the weekend Cubs Convention kicked off downtown.  Zambrano's first order of business: Setting a deadline on reaching a multiyear contract with the Cubs.

Zambrano trying to get 'business' taken care of  —  It's a seller's market for the rare pitcher of Carlos Zambrano's ability, and the Cubs ace knows it.  —  Zambrano received some of the loudest cheers Friday evening during the opening ceremonies of the Cubs convention.  —  He'll also be receiving bigger paychecks.

LaRoche's sweet swing signed and sealed  —  Slugger 'excited' by reaction to his joining Pirates  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  Maybe the most jarring admission Adam LaRoche could have made yesterday, when the Pirates officially acquired him, came with these two words:

Blast from the past  —  Here's a curious case for all sides of the steroid debate, for the amateur lawyers who have bastardized the concept of innocent until proven guilty, the hard-liners who view performance-enhancing drugs as Satan's elixir and the majority that cares not to blacken or whiten a gray issue.