Friday was the first official workout for Cubs pitchers and catchers at Cubs Park, the new spring-training complex in Mesa, Arizona.
Courtesy of USA Today Sports, we have quite a number of photos of the workout, which include some early-arriving position players such as Anthony Rizzo and Darwin Barney.
The official reporting date for position players is next Tuesday, February 18. I hope to be at the first full-squad workout, which is scheduled for Wednesday, February 19, and at any intrasquad games the team plays before the official first spring-training game which is Thursday, February 27 (and I understand it's close to sold out).
In the meantime, seeing actual baseball workouts in the sunshine ought to warm up those of you who have been suffering through the worst Chicago winter in four decades.
Enjoy! There will be real baseball, very, very soon. And no matter how mediocre or bad the Cubs might be this year, always remember: Even bad baseball is better than no baseball.