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MESA, Ariz. – Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks turned to watch Dodgers star Mookie Betts’ ground ball skip into the gap between shortstop and third base. But, of course, Dansby Swanson was already there, sliding across the edge of the outfield grass, popping up and firing to first base for the out.“I told him, ‘I didn't want to start you with an easy one,’’ Wicks said after throwing two scoreless innings in his first start of the spring. “I figured we’d go with one of the hard ones to start, and then we'll go down from there.“But typical Dansby. Patented slide.”Wicks, who is competing for the fifth rotation spot this spring, had already decided he needed to fill up the strike zone more than last season. The first play of the game validated his approach.“There's no excuse for me with the defense that we have behind us to not let those guys work,” Wicks said. “My mentality has really changed from trying to get swing-and-miss last year [to a] more groundball approach. Let Dansby and Nico [Hoerner] and whoever we have in the infield work because we have great guys behind us.”After throwing the first seven major-league games of his career at the end of the 2023 season, Wicks made the roster out of camp last year, winning a starting starter spot. But it was a bumpy road for him in-season.Wicks made just 11 appearances, sidelined by a right oblique strain and a rib issue around the same area. His 5.48 ERA reflected his inconsistent performance.“Last year wasn't anything close to the production I put in for my whole career before that,” Wicks said. “And I feel like that was the first year people really saw me, and they didn't see who I am.”Wicks is a groundball pitcher. With his four-seam fastball clocking in between 92 and 93 mph on average, he’s not going to overpower anyone. But he has a deceptive changeup for his bread-and-butter secondary pitch – plus a sinker, slider, curveball and cutter to round out his arsenal.“I felt like last year I got caught up too much in trying to get swing-and-miss and being a strikeout guy and stuff like that,” Wicks said. “I watched a lot of film of my outings last year, and every time I had multiple walks, I gave up multiple runs.”In addition to a change in mentality, Wicks added more conditioning to his offseason work. He did pilates workouts with his wife Megan. He edited his diet.Wicks described it as a more “balanced” approach, compared to last offseason when he focused more on strength.“Overall body wise, just really felt a lot better,” Wicks said.From an injury perspective, he’s also healthy and was able to build up on the earlier schedule necessitated by the Tokyo Series next month.With Javier Assad recovering from a mild oblique strain, the fifth starter battle also includes Colin Rea and Ben Brown. Though Wicks has thrown out of the bullpen before, manager Craig Counsell said he views him as a starter. So, if Wicks doesn't claim a rotation spot, he'll likely begin the season in Triple-A, where the Cubs can keep him stretched out as a starter."You're taking a long-game perspective," Counsell said. "Jordan's capable of pitching a lot of innings, capable of starting games. As the season shortens and we still have depth in that area, then maybe you make other decisions."The way Counsell sees it, a year like Wicks’ 2024 can “refocus” a player in the offseason.“And it challenges you, as you kind of go into the off season, you’ve got to have a good day every single day. I think Jordan has really accomplished that. He had a great offseason from a training perspective. And so he's coming to camp running – really ready to go. And with something to prove. And that's a good space for him to be.”

Not paying principal on a loan for 20 years while interest costs pile up? Is this the best the mayor and City Council can do to get Chicago on a firmer financial footing?Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to issue $830 million in bonds for infrastructure projects and take 30 years to repay the bonds, when the total cost would soar to more than $2 billion. The cost would be so high because the city wouldn't start repaying principal until 2045. For those final years, the city would have to pay $821 million.We can hear future city leaders — amid their own struggles to balance a budget — saying, "Thanks a lot."Today's officeholders apparently aren't all that sympathetic. As Steve Goodman used to sing, "It ain't hard to get along with somebody else's troubles." Editorial Editorial The general obligation bond sale proposal really ought to go back to the Finance Committee, where all the details can thoroughly be discussed, as 34th Ward Ald. Bill Conway asked before the Council turned him down.Alderpersons who favor the bond sale say starting to pay down principal right away would mean the city would have to dig around for new revenue. You know, more tax money of some kind. And, sure, no one likes that.But what do they think the mayor and City Council of 2045 will have to do? They also would have to find additional revenue, just a lot more of it than would be needed today. Meanwhile, what about those police cars that are part of the infrastructure package? By the time the future mayor and Council would be just starting to pay the principal on those cars, they would already be out of service.Stop kicking can down the roadAs Conway told the City Council, the proposed bond sale would be like taking out a mortgage and watching the interest accumulate for a couple of decades, a point at which the city would owe a bunch more than it originally borrowed.Granted, the arithmetic is daunting for anyone trying to run the city. Shoring up severely underfunded pensions takes a lot of money off the top that could instead go to just the type of infrastructure improvements the mayor and Council want. Today's officeholders would be grateful now — and the city wouldn't be in such a financial bind — had the leaders of the past ensured the pensions were properly funded.That's all the more reason, though, the city should handle its borrowing in the most prudent way possible. Back-loading bond repayments does not count as prudent. There's little reason to think the city will have a windfall in the future that will make it easier to repay money, especially with unmistakable signs coming out of the Trump administration that there will be less federal money for cities in coming years.Moreover, some alderpersons felt the bond sale was not presented in a transparent manner. Instead, the critical information making it clear that repaying the principal would not start until 2045 was buried in an easy-to-miss document. It's up to the mayor to make sure alderpersons are in the loop on critical points — and this certainly counts as one — from the start.Borrowing money is not the problem. That's what municipalities do to pay for necessary capital projects. But repaying money should be done in a responsible way, which, in fact, the city has actually been better at in recent years. It's not time to start backsliding. If the city can't afford to make principal payments more quickly, maybe the mayor and Council should see how they can trim the amount of the bond sale to make it more affordable.Rating agencies last month downgraded Chicago's bonds to just above "junk status." The lower the bond rating, the higher the cost to taxpayers when the city borrows money.The rating agencies did not downgrade Chicago because they thought its finances are being managed wisely. A back-loaded bond sale could well dig the city deeper into the ratings hole. Ratings agencies prefer stability and predictability.Kicking the can down the road is not new for Chicago's leaders. But as Conway told us, "We can't keep kicking the can until it hits a brick wall and then hoping the wall will magically disappear."The mayor and the City Council must take the time and fix this. The Sun-Times welcomes letters to the editor and op-eds. See our guidelines.Get Opinions content delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.More about the Sun-Times Editorial Board at chicago.suntimes.com/about/editorial-board

MESA, ARIZ. – Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga, who is set to be the Opening Day starter in the Tokyo Series next month, took the mound Friday – but not against the Dodgers at Sloan Park.The Cubs had him head to the back fields for two innings of a simulated game, rather than face their Tokyo Series opponent in the more formal and less controlled Cactus League setting.“Getting closer to the actual game, I think subconsciously, I'm trying to output more power,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “So just trying to control that was my goal today.”Coming into spring training last year, before Imanaga’s first season in MLB, much of his focus was on the fastball. Transitioning from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Imanaga was learning about and testing how his signature pitch played against major-league hitters and where in the strike zone it was most effective.Building on an impressive performance that earned him fourth place in NL Rookie of the Year voting and fifth in Cy Young, Imanaga shifted focus this spring.“It's other pitches besides the fastball,” he said. “So, if I was a hitter facing myself, if I can just hit the fastball, then that's the formula. So it's, ‘OK, what other pitches besides the fastball can I start mixing in?’”Workmanlike debutManager Craig Counsell had high praise for infielder Gage Workman after his first spring training game with the Cubs on Thursday. The Cubs selected him from the Tigers in the Rule 5 Draft this past offseason.“You're happy for the player in that he made a great impression yesterday in a situation where there's a lot of nerves,” Counsell said Friday morning.Workman, a left-handed hitter, went 2-for-3 Thursday against the Dodgers with a single off presumed Opening Day starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a home run off left-hander Justin Wrobleski. Counsell also complimented his defense.As a Rule 5 Draft pick, if Workman doesn't make the major-league team, the Cubs have to offer him back to the Tigers.“It's easier for this player to put a lot of pressure on himself in spring training,” Counsell said. “Got to make a good impression, is kind of what's going through your head, right? And he's right. And so, you can't run from that. That's the deal, man. We've got to make a decision on you.”Workman was back in the lineup on Friday as the designated hitter, batting ninth. He added a single and sacrifice fly to his body of work. From Dodger to Cubbie blueNew Cub Justin Turner hit in the sim game on the backfields before making his way over to Sloan Park. There, his new team was going to play the Dodgers, a team he spent almost a decade with. Wearing a Cubs-issued blue sleeveless hoodie, Turner greeted former teammates Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor on the field.The Cubs’ first two spring training games are a preview of the Tokyo Series matchup that will open the regular season in less than a month.“Obviously playing the Dodgers is just a whole nother layer to it,” Turner said this week. “Never been to Japan. Obviously know … baseball over there is such a big piece of their culture. And with the five Japanese players that are going over there [between the Cubs and Dodgers], I think it's going to be some of the most exciting baseball I've probably participated in.”Allen signs NRI dealThe Cubs are signing outfielder Greg Allen to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league spring training, according to sources. Allen joined the team in the clubhouse Friday morning.Cubs 7, Dodgers 3Seiya Suzuki, in his 2025 Cactus League debut, made a standout defensive play in the top of the second inning. Andy Pages dropped a short fly ball to shallow field, and Suzuki fielded it on a hop, fired home and threw out Austin Barnes at the plate.Catcher Miguel Amaya went 2-for-2 with a home run.Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong debuted a new jersey number on Friday, switching from No. 52 to 4.In a scrimmage on the backfields, left-hander Shota Imanaga recorded five strikeouts and allowed a single and a home run. On deck: White Sox at Cubs, 2:05 p.m. Saturday, Mesa, Marquee, 670-AM, Jared Shuster vs. Justin Steele.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – A dark cloud hangs above the White Sox, who lost games in record-setting fashion last season. There’s no getting from beneath it, even five months removed from loss No. 121, a 4-1 setback Sept. 27 at Detroit.Inside the Sox clubhouse at Camelback Ranch, there are no traces to be seen or heard of 2024, as bad as it was. Players prepare for the day’s drills and pitchers get ready for their bullpens or live batting practice sessions. They are trying to make a living at a difficult game, and each has his own career to worry about within the framework of being team guys.“It’s pretty simple,” right-hander Davis Martin told the Sun-Times Friday. “It’s a new team, a new season. Fix the problems from 2024, and know that half those guys aren’t even in the room right now. Move forward with the team we have, bond and get ready to go for 2025.”Catcher Korey Lee, first baseman Andrew Vaughn, outfielders Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher and relievers Jordan Leasure and Steven Wilson are the only ones from the 2024 Opening Day roster still here.Thirteen other pitchers who are in camp appeared in games last season, including Martin, who positioned himself for a place in the starting rotation by posting a 4.32 ERA in 11 games including 10 starts. Martin’s record was 0-5, a reminder just how hard wins were to come by.“If you’re a competitor and say last year wasn’t hard you’re lying through your teeth,” Martin said. “Now, was the locker room exceptional? Absolutely. Some of those guys I still have a relationship with, things just didn’t go our way. We play the game of baseball at the highest level and the other 29 teams are really good. It’s tough. But we’re well beyond it now. It’s ancient history for a lot of us in this locker room.”Bring on the Cubs!Cactus League play opens Saturday at Sloan Park."Mesa on a Saturday, we know there's going to be a lot of people there and that rivalry is real,” first-year manager Will Venable said. “It's a Cactus League game but we want to go in and win and execute all the things we've been working on in camp."Jared Shuster will start for the Sox. Venable said Oscar Colas (left field), Luis Robert Jr. (center) and ex-Cub Mike Tauchman (right) will start in the outfield. Other known starters include Miguel Vargas at third base, Colson Montgomery at shortstop, Chase Medroith at second base and Matt Thaiss at catcher.Bush takes Tommy John in strideProspect Ky Bush is only the latest pitcher to have Tommy John surgery, the reconstructive elbow procedure that seems inevitable to almost any pitcher these days.“You feel like, as a pitcher, you're due at some point in your career to get this surgery,” Bush said Friday. “You don't want it to happen … but you can just use it to almost make your career better and come back stronger than before. So just take this time and take advantage of it really. I have a year to kind of reconnect and refocus on things and come back better.”Bush, a left-hander, was acquired from the Angels with catcher Edgar Quero in a trade for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in 2023. He is expected to miss 12-15 months.

Some college basketball players, you really can’t take off the floor. They shoulder too much of a load and mean too much to the whole operation. Grab some bench and enjoy a nice breather? The whole house of cards might come crashing down.That’s a nice platitude, anyway.Then there’s Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli. With him, it’s as true as it gets.Good luck finding anyone else who played all 45 minutes in each of back-to-back overtime games this season, as Martinelli did against Maryland and Michigan. And who played all 40 minutes in back-to-back-to-back games, as the 6-7, 220-pound junior did against Rutgers, Wisconsin and USC. And who was credited with 39 minutes played in six games outside of the aforementioned five, not to mention three others at 38.You’ll have to look mighty hard to find anyone other than Martinelli, a former Glenbrook South star, who has played all those minutes in so many games and done so on a power-conference team against a parade of big-bopper opponents. You’ll look and look and eventually realize: Son of a gun, there’s no one else.“Getting to play as many minutes as I do is such a privilege,” Martinelli said during a Friday phone call while lazing about.But we kid Martinelli, because the next time he takes a load off will be the first in too long to remember. At 37.6 minutes per game on the season, he leads all high-major players in the country. His average is the highest in the Big Ten since Penn State’s Talor Battle logged 38.1 per game in 2010-11 and the highest at Northwestern since then-coach Bill Carmody squeezed 37.7 per game out of Michael “Juice” Thompson in 2009-10.Battle and Thompson were little guys, though, more than half a foot shorter and 50 or so pounds lighter than Martinelli. If you don’t think it’s harder for a larger human to get over the hump of all-out exhaustion, you’ve never been that larger human.“You’ve got to be ready for war, for anything that happens,” Martinelli said, “for aches and pains throughout the game and getting hit for 40 minutes. You’ve got to just weather the storm.”The load on Martinelli has gotten even greater since Brooks Barnhizer, one of the best Wildcats in the Chris Collins era, had to shut it down due to injury, the final game of his career coming on January 29. Less than a week after that, on February 4, Jalen Leach, the other member of the team’s high-scoring trio, tore an ACL. Since then, Martinelli has kind of gone it alone, no disrespect to his remaining teammates. The Wildcats have fallen to 14-13 overall and 5-11 in the Big Ten, with Martinelli in the middle of everything game after game, giving them their one best shot.“Things have definitely been different this year,” he said, “and therefore have been different on the mind.”But hang on a second here, because we’ve gone to ridiculous lengths without mentioning whom the Big Ten’s leading scorer happens to be. Any guesses? We’ll wait.It’s Martinelli, at 19.7 points per game, leading Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia by a hair. If he keeps his lead, he’ll become only the second Wildcat to top the Big Ten in scoring in the last 66 years. The last one to do it was John Shurna in 2011-12. Before that, it was Joe Ruklick in 1958-69 and Ray Ragelis in 1950-51, but you probably knew that already. Martinelli’s best attribute in high school was how hard he worked and the shape he kept himself in. Peers asked him all the time how — why — in the world he worked out as often and doggedly as he did. The answer went back to his basketball-playing older brothers and especially to his dad, who’d drilled into him to never ask out of a game due to being tired. The best way to do that, Martinelli figured, was to train himself to not even sense the urge.But coming out of high school, Martinelli’s only high-major offer was from Northwestern. And as a freshman on an NCAA Tournament-bound team, he played sparingly.“I’d be lying if I didn’t say it hurt being on the bench,” he said. “But in retrospect, it’s given me a lot to think about. I really grasp the fact now that I’m getting this opportunity and how grateful I should be for it.”Last season, Martinelli started 11 times in all and averaged 8.8 points in 26 minutes, no small part of another NCAA-bound squad. But Boo Buie and Barhizer were the killers — machines — averaging 36.9 and 36.7 minutes, respectively, Nos. 1 and 2 in the Big Ten. Martinelli respected the hell out of them for it. Everyone around the team did.None of them could have realized just how much Martinelli would be leaned on one season later.“I definitely feel the love for it,” he said, “although sometimes I kind of get the sense that people feel bad for me about it.”It’s only because there are times when 20, 30 or even 40 grueling minutes have gone by, players are gasping for anything resembling a breath and one can only look at Martinelli and wonder how on earth he’s still upright.“Really,” he said, “they should be jealous of me that I get to be on this stage as much as I am."Rare is the player built for such a task.