SPRING TRAINING Maddux rejoins Cubs for opening
Six more teams held their first workouts of the season.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Across Arizona and Florida, major leaguers were back on the field.
Greg Maddux met his new teammates, Jim Thome surveyed the scene and Barry Larkin opened his final spring training camp.
The Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies began Thursday, joining the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who got a head start last weekend.
A day after agreeing to return to the Cubs, Maddux looked quite comfortable as he strolled into their clubhouse in Mesa, Ariz., holding a crossword puzzle.
"The clubhouse used to be in the middle of the fields, didn't it?" he asked. "I'll get used to it."
Fans thrilled
Fans were thrilled to see No. 31 wearing a Cubs uniform for the first time since 1992, with one yelling out, "We're glad to have you back!" as Maddux and the rest of the team took the field to stretch.
"I don't really feel like a rookie," he said. "I might feel like a fish out of water. I'm still trying to learn what fields No. 1 and 2 mean. I think in time I'll understand the system and fit right in."
His teammates are sure of it.
"He's going to come into our rotation and obviously help us," Kerry Wood said. "So obviously, he's going to be welcomed with open arms in this clubhouse."
Thome arrives early
At Clearwater, Fla., Thome arrived at Phillies camp a week before the required reporting date for position players.
"I think the reason why I get here so early is because I want to get out of the cold weather," Thome said with a chuckle. "I don't live here or in Arizona like a lot of these guys."
The Phillies, who lost the National League's wild-card playoff slot to eventual World Series champion Florida, have high expectations this season.
"You look at this club and you have to be excited," Thome said. "But being good on paper doesn't win it. We had great teams when I was in Cleveland and we never won a World Series."
Larkin begins final year
At Sarasota, Fla., Larkin had no nostalgic feelings as he put on his red jersey and black spring training cap at the Cincinnati Reds' camp.
"This is normal," said the infielder, who turns 40 in April. "There's nothing special, yet, about this upcoming season. You've got to go out and play, play hard, try to do well, and that's really it.
"There's nothing more that goes into it at this particular point. You get ready and you go out and try to have a good year."
Gagne loses arbitration
In the day's top news event, NL Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne lost his salary arbitration case and will receive $5 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers instead of $8 million.
Gagne was 2-3 with a 1.20 ERA and 55 saves in as many chances last season, and made $550,000.
Owners beat players 4-3 in the cases that went to hearings, the eighth straight year management has won a majority. Owners hold a 263-197 advantage since arbitration began in 1974.
No trainers around
In Scottsdale, Ariz., the San Francisco Giants said the entourage of trainers who typically surround Barry Bonds' locker will be noticeably absent from the clubhouse this season.
That means no Greg Anderson, one of four men charged last week in a steroid-distribution ring that allegedly supplied dozens of professional athletes with banned substances.
"I do think the rules are going to be the rules," general manager Brian Sabean said, speaking of a two-year-old directive by the commissioner's office that is expected to be more strictly enforced this year. "It will be a cooperative effort. It will be taken more seriously by everyone, starting with major league baseball."
Harvey Shields, another of Bonds' trainers, has also frequented the clubhouse since 2000. He stretches out the six-time NL MVP before games.