Chicago Cubs: Week 1 spring training report

Each week, we will review “the week that was” in Cubs Spring Training. We’ll recap on-field play, off-field news, and the latest projected 40 and 25-man roster. This installment covers the first week of Spring Training, from February 23 to March 1.

Welcome to Spring Training, 2018!!! After a cold – and frustratingly non-newsy – winter, teams have reported to camp and baseball activities have begun. Thank goodness. I was getting tired of reading about how many homers the Yankees might hit and how the Brewers were a team of destiny. Such preseason anointing is the norm in the digital age, but once games start the real stories tend to surface in place of biased opinion pieces.

For his part, manager Joe Maddon is setting his usual tone. He’s introduced artwork to help inspire the team. He’s announced his regular season pitching rotation before a couple of his starters have even thrown a pitch. He’s saying all the right things:

"“It’s a refreshed everything. It’s a refreshed approach. It’s a learning experience from last year. No we don’t want to get off to the same kind of start and it’s going to require us to be in a good place.” – Joe Maddon"

Well, so far so good. Mostly.