Pitchers and catchers for the Chicago Cubs and White Sox reported to spring training Tuesday in Arizona.
The Cubs returned to Sloan Park in Mesa while the White Sox continue to call Camelback Ranch in Glendale home.
Cubs President Theo Epstein, General Manager Jed Hoyer and Head Coach Joe Maddon met with the media Tuesday while White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn will address the media Wednesday.
"We want to make a statement this year, we want to get back on track - meaning, of course making the playoffs, but the goal every year is to play the last game of the season and win it," Maddon said.
The Cubs begin spring training with largely the same group of players. The team made three consecutive appearances in the NLCS before they faltered last year in the NL Wild Card game. But they were noticeably quiet the past couple months, staying away from the marquee free agents because of budget constraints.
The White Sox head to spring training believing they are setting themselves up to turn the corner after six straight losing seasons, even if they don't sign a superstar slugger like Manny Machado to speed up the process. That's because of the promising players they have on their roster and in the pipeline.
“I could care less who gets signed,” White Sox outfielder Daniel Palka said today. “Adding a guy like that is awesome, is going to make a lot of people on the team better, but at the same time, you can’t sit here and dwell on whether you’re going to let get someone or not because then you’re going to let yourself down. You know you get all excited to get a guy, and if it doesn’t work out, you still gotta just do your job. You can’t sit around thinking about everybody else at the same time.”
Chicago Baseball
Chicago went 62-100 last year and posted its highest loss total since the 1970 team dropped a franchise-record 106. The White Sox also struck out more times than any other team in major league history.
The first full-squad workout for both teams is set for Feb. 18.
