Come to Think of It...Soriano's Broken Hand A Sobering Reminder

And just like that it could all be taken away. In one sense, that is life itself.  Not to get all philosophical on you, but life itself can be snuffed out without any warning.  Well, thank God we're only talking about baseball here.

Still, Alfonso Soriano's broken hand is a grim reminder of how fragile this season truly is. Oh, not necessarily just because of Soriano. No, the Cubs will likely be alright while the hand heals. They did just fine without him the first time he was disabled, though this time he will likely miss six weeks.

And when he does come back, how will he perform? Remember how long it took Derrek Lee to regain his power after his broken wrist. At least Lee could take some walks and play Gold Glove defense until his power returned. But with Soriano, power is his whole game, especially now that he can't run any longer.

So, it may be more like eight to 12 weeks before Soriano truly comes back. And next season before his power is all the way back.

One possible result is that Mark DeRosa can play left field and the Brian Roberts rumors can start again. More likely is that they will go with what they have, shuffling the deck as need be. In the meantime, the Cardinals have had to disable Albert Pujols, so it's not like we're the only ones with problems.

But what about other key pieces of this thing? What if Kerry Wood goes down? It's not like that is so far-fetched, given Woody's history of injuries.

What if Carlos Zambrano busts up a body part the next time he has one of his meltdowns, as opposed to just busting up a dugout cooler or two?

Look, I'm not trying to be a downer in such an exciting season. I'm just reminding everyone why I am trying to keep an even keel in the midst of such lofty expectations for this team. And Soriano's injury is a not-so-subtle reminder of what can happen.

After all, we are talking about the Cubs here.  Fortune hasn't exactly smiled down on this franchise over the years. Lady Luck is but a mistress to the old ball and chain known as 100 years of sucking.

This club is fighting not only the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, and other foes on the diamond, they are also facing a dragon that has grown so many ugly heads that it will take a David of mighty proportions to slay this Goliath represented by a century of failure.

For like Dionysius' Sword of Damocles, nothing conveys a sense of fear like injury. Yes, the Cubs have depth. But there is a limit to this cushion, like there is a limit in Calculus. Squeeze theorem, anybody? Ugh, math...I'm getting scary flashbacks.

The point is that good teams overcome. And the Cubs are a good team. Still, it is sobering when injuries rear their ugly head.

Now, the $64,000 question—was this payback for the pitch that went over Brian McCann's head by Ted Lilly yesterday?  I hope not. Come to think of it, if it was, the result wasn't equal. In fact, you could say we owe them one.