March 16--The caravan of national writers convening on Cubs' camp continues, with Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, The Washington Post, MLB Network and The New Yorker all making trips to Sloan Park over the last couple of weeks.
The Cubs have been the hottest story of spring training, and between interview requests and team and MLB promotions, the key players and manager Joe Maddon have been stretched in many directions as they prepare for the season.
After experiencing the other side of the coin from 2012-14, first baseman Anthony Rizzo said the players welcome the media circus this spring.
"It comes with the territory, and having all this media will be better for us in the long run," Rizzo said. "The more the spotlight is on us now, the more we'll be used to it when the real spotlight is on us in the playoffs. Then it's just going to be normal."
While we get used to the new normal, here are a few observations on the first month of Cubs camp:
--Jon Lester's throwing to bases issue is a story that won't go away until he shows he can make strong throws on a semiregular basis. It was a wise decision to have Lester work on it on the back fields at Sloan Park on Tuesday, even if the results weren't all that great. Whether or not it's fixable, at least Lester is working on it and admits he needs to improve that part of his game.
"I'm prepared for the moment," Lester said after short-arming a throw after his first start. "It's just a matter of executing the play."
--Sloan Park doesn't have a nickname, but one I would recommend is "the Goldmine." Though attendance in the Cactus League is down 7 percent from last year, according to The Arizona Republic, the Cubs' home attendance was up 4 percent through Monday. They are far and away the spring attendance leaders, drawing a major-league leading 102,967 to Sloan Park in their first eight games. Would the Cubs have done this well if they had fled to Naples, Fla., as they threatened to do before Mesa anted up for the new park?
--Japanese infielder Munenori Kawasaki, who starred on You Tube in a "Kawasaki karaoke" skit a couple of weeks ago, has played so well at short and shown such great plate discipline you have to wonder if he might have a slight edge over the injured Tommy La Stella for a backup infield spot. Kawasaki is not on the 40-man roster, so he's considered a long shot. But he has impressed manager Joe Maddon.
"He's a guy who likes to have fun, but also knows it's time to get down to business," Maddon said. "Because he can be humorous, I think people don't give him as much credit for being a good technical baseball player."
--It was surprising to hear Javier Baez say he would wait until later this spring to talk to Ben Zobrist about how to handle a utility role. Baez has been fine so far, but with an expert only a few lockers away in the Cubs' clubhouse, it would seem like a good idea to pick Zobrist's brain early and often. Then again, Maddon said they're "two different players," pointing to Zobrist being a switch-hitter and Baez having more raw power.
"I think Javy is going to settle into one position sooner than Zobrist did as a major-league player," he said.
--Spring training performances don't matter for those who don't have to win roles, so Hector Rondon's blown save Sunday was basically irrelevant.
But Jorge Soler's two errors in left field Monday were a different story. He's playing a new position in left and trying to earn playing time. He wasn't all that sharp in right last year, including the NLCS. Arizona isn't the easiest place to play in day games because of the cloudless sky, but if Soler can't figure it out now how will he be able to handle it at chilly Wrigley Field come April?
psullivan@tribpub.com
