Day 2 of Cubs pitchers and catchers at Fitch Park

Although today was President's Day, Cubs pitchers and catchers still had their second workout at Fitch Park.  Here are some photos of early-reporting position players from today:

Reed Johnson and Ian Stewart

David DeJesus - photo from Tim Sheridan

Darwin Barney - photo by Tim Sheridan

New Cubs pitcher (and projected #3 starter) Paul Maholm tweeted today, "When I get to 20k followers I will do a lil give away of a few signed things. Almost there. Suggestions on how to pick the winners?"  Gotta love Maholm's consistent interaction with his fans!

The Cubs are also having an ongoing bunting contest during spring training, where apparently Kerry Wood is the early favorite.  The field is marked with a point system, so bunts are worth between 10 to 40 points, depending on where they end up. There's also a 100-point bull's-eye, but a player has to call the shot.  A winner will be declared among the pitchers and the position players, and after two weeks, there will be a championship game.  "The guys really get into it, and it just makes them focus a little more," Sveum said.  Will there be a prize for the winner?  "There might be," Sveum said, smiling.

Jeff Samardzija admitted that he has not focused as much as he should have during past seasons while competing for a starting pitching role.  This year he is determined to crack the starting rotation.  We'll see what happens....

Ryan Dempster sounded bought into the "Cubs way" when he said, "You look at teams that have had success they have that kind of philosophy. You can feel it."  Let's hope he's right!

Blake DeWitt accepted his non-roster invite to spring training after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers.

Carlos Marmol said he will no longer be throwing his cutter, and will be focusing on his slider.  I agree with manager Dale Sveum that this is the way to go to get the old Marmol back.