Results tagged “springtraining”

When the White Sox opened camp last month, there were a number of positions that remained unfilled, with numerous players to compete for the starting jobs in center field, at second base and in the starting rotation.

Perhaps jealous that their crosstown pale hose foes have moved to a new facility, the Cubs are now demanding an upgrade to their current Spring Training home in Mesa, Arizona (pictured right), according to The Arizona Republic. The Cubs currently are signed to stay in Mesa through 2016 but have an opt-out clause that would allow them to bail as soon as 2012 if they feel the proper upgrades aren't made. And while the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority has $8.2 million set aside for renovations, that cash won't be available until 2020.

From the folks at the Sports Hernia come these shots of major league baseball players on spring training photo day. This shot of Bartolo Colon is all the reason you need to know why Ozzie Guillen insists on being the face of the White Sox (although Lance Broadway could give him a run for his money from a photogenic standpoint) and probably has scores of Grant Park softball league wizards thinking they might have a shot at a spot in the Sox rotation.

We don't care what that rodent in Pennsylvania says, spring starts as soon as pitchers and catchers report. That means spring is here because the Cubs pitchers and catchers arrive in camp later today, while the White Sox battery mates arrive on Sunday.

• Stick-em-up: a man robbed a Logan Square McDonald's today armed only with a stick.
• Police seized drugs and weapons as well as arrested Casey Crawford during an overnight raid at a condo apparently owned by Chicago Police Asst. Supt. Beatrice Cuello. Neither Cuello nor her daughter, who also lives at the condo, were suspected of any wrong-doing.
• A state appeals court has ruled jailed former governor George Ryan should be allowed to receive part of his pension. Ryan will receive $65,000 a year.

Some things never change. Chicago will elect only Democrats. Chicago will always get dumped with 6 inches of snow when the calendar says its spring. And Kerry Wood will be injured.

With Opening Day fast approaching, the one event we were certain to happen in Sox camp this spring has yet to occur. We figured that by now, Joe Crede would be sporting a new uniform and Josh Fields would be firmly entrenched at third base.

Last week, we winced at the news that Cubs outfielder Felix Pie had missed time because he was suffering from a "twisted testicle." That little nugget had been buried deep in an MLB.com story about Alfonso Soriano’s fractured finger. Unfortunately for Pie, though, the problem didn’t correct itself, and the Cub was forced to go under the knife last night for corrective surgery.

We figured that, with Mark Prior gone and Kerry Wood relegated to the bullpen, we'd be without the bizarre and frustrating injuries with which to taunt the Cubs fans in our lives. We should have known better.

Given that the team has gone a whole century without a World Series title, has repeatedly been bounced from the playoffs in quick fashion, and suffered some truly epic collapses (1969, 2003), surely there are countless Cubs fans with broken hearts.

Cubs third baseman Aramis Remirez finally arrived at Spring Training on Tuesday, but when asked by reporters what he did on his winter vacation, he refused to answer. In fact, he wouldn't even allow for the reporter to finish asking the question.

Sure, it's still damn cold out. And the snow keeps coming. And coming. But spring is just around the corner. How do we know? Because Spring Training is finally upon us.

2006's baseball season brought disappointment to both sides of Chicago. Coming off their 2005 World Series title, the White Sox won 90 games but missed the playoffs — in spite of a number of roster upgrades during the offseason. Did Kenny Williams tinker too much with the chemistry that won them a title in '05? Last year's team never seemed to find its rhythm. On the North Side, the Cubs climbed ever closer to that...

With Mark Prior scheduled to make his next Spring Training appearance at the Cubs minor league camp, Chicago media are piling on the "he's done" bandwagon. The Sun-Times' Chris de Luca adds Prior to the list of top draft picks who, in spite of incredible talent and notoriaty, never panned out -- Todd Van Poppel, Brien Taylor and Shawn Abner. We certainly remember the inflated prices for those guys' "future star" baseball cards back in...

The Cubs and White Sox have been getting in baseball shape down in Arizona for the past couple weeks, and for the most part it's been a pretty quiet Spring Training for both clubs. Other than Kerry Wood's hot tub incident, and Ozzie's recent war of words with former pitcher Brandon McCarthy, the spring has been pretty quiet. Really quiet, actually. Sunday, however, things got a little more raucous as the White Sox and Cubs...

With all due respect to Punxsutawney Phil, there seems to be an even more reliable sign that spring is near -- the first Kerry Wood injury of the year. The Cubs' pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training in Mesa, AZ last Wednesday and, much of the news coming out of camp surrounded Wood's trimmed down physique and move to the bullpen for the 2007 season. Was this the beginning of a new phase in...

Throughout Spring Training, the discussions concerning our two baseball teams' pitching staffs took decidedly differing tones. While Sox fans relished a rotation that was likely the best in baseball with 5 pitchers capable of winning 15 games, Cubs fans worried themselves with the health of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, and a rotation anchored by a rapidly fading legend. Things haven't gone exactly as most expected. Sure, the White Sox rotation has been extremely...

It's just not offically Spring Training until Kerry Wood gets hurt. So it should come as a shock to nobody when the Cubs announced today that Kerry Wood will have knee surgery on Tuesday. He'll undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the medial meniscus in his right knee. This is yet another setback for Wood, who's already rehabbing from arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder that was performed last August. Wood informed the Cubs...

The White Sox held their first all-squad practice yesterday as Spring Training gets into full swing down in Tuscon.

We all know Spring Training is officially under way for the Cubs when the first denials about Mark Prior's injuries start coming from the Cubs brass. Yesterday, Cubs GM Jim Hendry issued a strong denial to reports in Baseball Prospectus from an anonymous source that Prior looked to be experiencing shoulder problems and looked "weak and sick.'' While one could try to belittle info from an anonymous source, it's supposedly the same one who first...

Throughout Florida and Arizona, players begin reporting to Spring Training to begin preparation for the 2006 season. However, it's looking like one play who won't be reporting to any camp is former Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa, who turned down an offer from the Washington Nationals. The only Major League offer Sosa received, the Nats deal only offered a non-guaranteed 1-year, $500,000 deal. Having already turned down offers from teams in Japan and overtures from the Dominican team to play in the upcoming World Baseball Championships, Sosa's agent said, "... I can say, with reasonable certainty, that we've seen Sammy in a baseball uniform for the last time."

The White Sox and the White House have finally settled on February 13th as the date the team will visit with the President -- an honor typically bestowed upon the World Series champs. While most of the team will take part in the Washington visit, there will be a few very noticable absences.

It's just about that quietest period of the sports year, that point between when the Bears season ends and the Cubs and Sox report to Spring Training. Especially in these years where the Bulls and Hawks are nothing special. Yeah, there's the Super Bowl coming up but when it's Pittsburgh against Seattle, how much pre-game hype can one handle? For us, it's basically a one-day event.

Quite a few formerly high profile Chicago sports figures have sudeenly found themselves in new locations, or rumors abound that they might soon land elsewhere. Wednesday saw Frank Thomas offically sign with the Oakland A's, agreeing to a 1-year, $500,000 deal that could earn him up to $2.6 million with performance bonuses. Chicagoist hopes to see Thomas put up some productive numbers for the A's, athough it'll be wierd to see him in gold and...

The biggest off-season question on all White Sox fans' minds was whether Paul Konerko would return or not. With his MVP performance through the playoffs, Konerko expected to receive a number of huge contract offers. While there were a couple offers from other teams, Paulie chose to stay with the White Sox, signing a 5-year, $60 million deal. Initially wanting to sign Konerko to a 4 year deal, Sox GM Kenny Williams matched the contract length other teams offered. Konerko said right after the World Series that all things being equal, he'd choose the Sox over another team -- which is exactly what he did.

A week after their South Side rivals held theirs, the Cubs kick off their convention this weekend. Held at the Hilton downtown, the Cubs Convention will feature over 60 current and former players, broadcasters, coaches and management, as well as "autograph and photo sessions, question-and-answer seminars, baseball clinics, hard to find Cubs paraphernalia and much more."

Yet even the trade rumors can't distract the notion that the Bulls might be starting to gel as a team. We can only hope. We need something to tide us over until Spring Training.

In the most anticipated event for Cubs fans since the destruction of the Bartman ball, Chicago Cubs phenom Mark Prior makes his first start of the season today. After having been sidelined since Spring Training with achilles tendon and elbow injuries, Prior will be limited to a specific pitch count in his first start -- team sources refuse to reveal the number. Prior faces the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field this afternoon, the same...