Chicago Cubs, White Sox start Spring Training with many new faces
CHICAGO (CBS) – It's baseball time again as Spring Training officially got underway on Wednesday.
Pitchers and catchers hit the field for the first day of Spring Training. Many of the position players were already out in Arizona as well.
It meant new possibilities and a plethora of new faces for both the Cubs and White Sox.
Counsell takes the helm
In Mesa, it was the first official day on the job for former Brewer-turned-Cubs manager Craig Counsell. He said he's trying to learn names, which is the biggest challenge to start.
"There's no speech that changes the world right now," Counsell said. "That's a big misconception, I think, about sports. They make movies about it. You know, it's really about us connecting as a group. That's what our job is right now."
The Cubs have clear playoff expectations after finishing one game out of wild card spot.
Infielder Patrick Wisdom said the team is "hungry knowing that we were so close" and that they're paying attention to detail on the little things because "every game matters. That just shows you it could come down to the wire and one game is the deciding factor. We were so darn close and it was right there in front of us and we didn't capitalize on it."
The team has high expectations even though free agent Cody Bellinger remains unsigned.
"He's going through process," said Gold Glove outfielder Ian Happ. "He's earned that. He's earned the right to be a free agent and go through the entire process, so wherever he lands, it's going to be a good situation for him and we're all rooting for him because we like him as a person."
Fellow outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong expressed his "love" for Bellinger.
"That's my friend, like bottom line," he said. "He was only ever really good to me.
"If Cody comes back, that's great," Crow-Armstrong added. "It gives us a better chance to win."
Meanwhile, starting pitcher Shota Imanaga was perhaps the biggest new face on the field for the Cubs. The 30-year-old lefty came to the MLB after pitching for eight seasons in Japan. He's working to become more comfortable with a new team, and a new country.
"Before I left Japan, I had some anxieties about the different lifestyle," Imanaga said through a translator. "Upon arrival, everyone has been so kind and accepting that I have even forgotten what I was anxious about."
Turning the page on last season
For the White Sox, the expectations aren't as high after a change in the front office and massive roster turnover after a 101-loss season.
Sox manager Pedro Grifol said the team won't throw in the towel this year until they're mathematically eliminated.
"I don't [give up hope] really until we come out with 0.00% chance of making the playoffs, right?" he said. "And that motivates the heck out of me."
He noted no one is "scheduled to run away" with the A.L. Central Division this year.
It remains to be seen whether ace Dylan Cease will remain as the rebuild is on.
"A lot of that's out of my control," Cease said. "At the end of the day, wherever I have to go, I do just want to perform. It would be great to be here. Like I said, I have a lot of great relationships here."
Cease did say he feels great this offseason, the first in a while where he hasn't experienced any tricep soreness.
Grifol was back for his second season and is looking for better results with a roster full of new faces.
"I loving every minutes of it," Grifol said. "These guys are hungry. Everybody's got something to play for."
Grifol was adamant the team was ready to turn the page on last season's struggles, adding "I don't think anyone is talking about last year. In fact, I know nobody in that clubhouse is talking about last year."
