As this season appears to be winding down, I'm concerned that a few of the biggest questions we faced entering this season will remain unanswered going into the offseason.

Who are going to be our permanent position players at first, third and center field?

We made a strong run at Paul Konerko last off season. People felt he would block Kotchman or Morales if he was brought in. Konerko has had an extremely productive year this year, and first base for us has basically been a black hole. Kotchman had one of the worst starts I've ever seen, and has since simply disappeared off the face of the earth. I mean he's gone. I haven't seen anything printed about him online in at least two months now, it's like he never existed.

Kendry Morales was up for a stretch, started out hot, and then cooled appreciably, until it was decided he needed to go back down for more seasoning.

The bottom line: we have no better idea who our first baseman for the future is. Not good when you're going into the offseason in need of some serious power, yet part of you still remains unsure about these two kids with supposed potential. Surely the hope was that by the end of this season the first base question would've been answered, or at least enough of an idea would be provided. But no.

It's the same story at 3rd and CF.

Dallas MacPherson? At this point he provides far more questions than answers. And is Chone Figgins a third baseman, a center fielder, or just an average utility player with some tools that make you occasionally shake at some possibilities?

Again, unanswered questions that will plague the organization through another offseason. Not good.

The best news of the year is that both Howard Kendrick and Jared Weaver have shown they'll be big parts of the future. That's done at least. But we have a GM prone to not pulling the trigger, and he's going to be running a serious risk of failing to fill the big offensive holes yet again, because guys like DMac, Kotch, and Kendry reamin complete and utter question marks.

All three of these positions are crucial to our future success, as all are traditionally positions in which offensive productivity is a must. The longer we wait around with no power coming from our CF, 3B, and 1B, the longer we will wilt in the hot August sun.