Cactus League report: Is this the year Chicago becomes SoxTown? And David Ross is ‘very optimistic’ about fans returning to Wrigley Field.

The Cactus League is in full swing now with the arrival of March, and the countdown has begun to opening day on April 1.

Chicago Tribune baseball writers LaMond Pope, Meghan Montemurro and Paul Sullivan will be providing morning updates from the Cactus League on Monday through Friday throughout spring training.

Tuesday’s games

Tuesday’s games

Texas Rangers (0-1) at White Sox (0-1), 2:05 p.m. Kohei Arihara vs. Lucas Giolito.","type":"text

Forecast: Sunny with a high of 79 degrees.

Forecast: Sunny with a high of 79 degrees.

The ongoing search for SoxTown

Lucas Giolito makes his spring training debut Tuesday at Camelback Ranch. Like everyone else on the South Side, Giolito has high hopes for the White Sox in 2021.

Is this the year the Sox become top dog in the city and turn Chicago into SoxTown?

“I mean, on paper, I guess so,” Giolito said. “But at the end of the day, we have to go out and prove it. We play the Cubs every year. I know that’s a very important series to the city of Chicago. We take that very seriously as players. I don’t want to talk too much about it because that’s a question that’s going to be best to answer by our play on the field.”

Slow rollout for fans’ return to ballparks

Cleveland announced last week that Progressive Field will be open to 30% capacity to start the 2021 season, an estimated crowd of 10,500. The Colorado Rockies also received approval from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to host 12,500 fans at Coors Field — 25% of capacity.

Is manager David Ross optimistic the Cubs will get clearance from Chicago and Illinois officials to allow fans into Wrigley Field by opening day?

“Very optimistic about that,” he said.

Ross added he has no inside information from the powers that be.

“They don’t call me on those things,” he said. “I’ve been on a couple calls that have been encouraging to say the least. But that’s way above my head.

“I think everybody is trying to get back to a sense of normalcy but understanding that we’ve got to keep people safe. There’s a broad spectrum here that government officials and the heads of our city and state are working through. I know they’re working hard.”

Tony La Russa reflects on his comeback

White Sox manager Tony La Russa was out of the dugout for nine years before returning Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers at Camelback Ranch. He served as an executive with Major League Baseball (2012-13), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2014-17), the Boston Red Sox (2017-18) and the Los Angeles Angels (2020) before returning to the Sox in October at the invitation of Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.

“I was excited to be back in the dugout and close to the competition,” La Russa said Monday. “Just watching it close reminds you how talented (players are), how hard it is to play this game.”

After the Sox lost the opener, Reinsdorf joked to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale: “That’s it, I’m going to give him one more game. I hope he doesn’t push me.”

What we’re reading this morning

For Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs, playing Monday’s Cactus League opener in front of fans ‘felt like a real baseball game.’","type":"text

Leury Garcia is preparing to play almost every position for the White Sox this year.","type":"text

A glovely debut for Cubs defense

A glovely debut for Cubs defense

Defense wins championships, if you buy into that theory. The Cubs were flashing leather during Monday’s 1-0 win against the San Diego Padres.

It was a continuation of strong defensive work during camp, highlighted by a baserunning and cutoff man drill over the weekend that featured two notable catches by Joc Pederson and Jason Heyward. Pederson made another smooth running catch to end the first inning Monday on a ball headed for the left-center gap. Anthony Rizzo’s quick reaction started two double plays, one of which helped Shelby Miller escape a two-men-on jam.

“We’ve put a huge emphasis on that, especially with the guys we’re running out there,” Kyle Hendricks said after Monday’s outing. “I know for me, I rely on soft contact, I rely on balls in play, so those guys behind me making plays like that, it’s it’s awesome to see right out of the gate.”

Moves like Mookie

Tony La Russa said his favorite defensive play Sunday occurred when shortstop Tim Anderson made an adjustment on a grounder by the Brewers’ Travis Shaw and got a force at second base.

La Russa’s daughters used to be ballet dancers, and he said Anderson reminds him of Los Angeles Dodgers star outfielder Mookie Betts because of the way they move.

“It’s just their grace, man, their athletic skills,” La Russa said. “They, like, flow and move. They have an athleticism that’s very special.”

Road rules remain intact despite COVID-19 changes

Some veterans don’t like to travel during spring training and prefer to play home games only. A few years ago Commissioner Rob Manfred threatened to crack down on teams that weren’t sending “representative” lineups on spring road trips.

“I do understand that people travel, they spend money, they want to see a certain amount of players, and we want to meet the reasonable expectations of our fans,” Manfred said. While COVID-19 protocols have forced the relaxation of many rules, Regulation 2-8 (“Spring Training Squads”) remains in place.

That means teams must have at least four major-league position players for road games, playing a minimum of three innings.

Around the Cactus League

Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, a career .251 hitter over five seasons, has a 100-1 chance to win the American League Most Valuable Player award, according to Oddschecker.com. Those may seem like long odds, but considering hardly anyone knows who Mondesi is, they’re incredibly low. “The love for Adalberto Mondesi is confusing to me,” an Oddschecker spokesman told the Kansas City Star. “He’s never won any kind of award and he’s never even put together a 3-WAR season. For him to win the MVP award would be an all-time shocker. Yet bettors seem to love him.” … A fan poll by The Athletic on the preferred new nickname for the Cleveland Indians is down to two finalists: Guardians and Commodores. Guardians stems from some art deco sculptures called the Guardians of Traffic, while Commodores apparently relates to a naval officer and not the band. … The Seattle Mariners are still doing damage control after the caustic comments of former President Kevin Mather, who insulted several players. “We are very open with our players and urge them to be the same. And if they want to be angry, they should be, frankly. They should be insulted,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “But at the same time, they are collectively driven toward what we’re trying to do here as a team.”

Quotable

“Our primary focus is on doing everything we can to defend our title. Trade discussions I’m sure will take place during spring training, but it’s not something that’s front of mind for us in terms of moving money. … We feel really good about the team we have in place and we know that there are some added costs associated with it, which is not ideal, and it is a cost. But we feel like with where we are and the team we have that the reward kind of outweighs that. We’re at a level right now that’s not sustainable, but we don’t ever view our payroll at any one moment in time. We really view it over a three-, four-, five-year period.” — Los Angeles Dodgers President Andrew Friedman on whether the team needs to reduce its $250 million payroll.

This day in Cubs/White Sox history

March 2, 1999: After the first pitch of his first at-bat in an intrasquad game in Mesa, Ariz., Cubs outfielder Glenallen Hill steps out of the box and glares at the plate umpire. “I have to work on that,” Hill said, promising to tone down his glaring. During batting practice, Hill cranks a home run onto the street that hits a car with its sticker price still on the window, while Sammy Sosa hits a light tower in center field. “I hate following those guys,” Mickey Morandini said.

March 2, 1995: Outfield prospect Michael Jordan leaves the field in a huff after a heated argument with White Sox general manager Ron Schueler, then stuffs his belongings into his Chicago Bulls duffel bag, loads his gear into his black SUV and bolts out of camp on the eve of the exhibition opener. Jordan and 30 other minor-leaguers had refused to play in spring training games with “scab” players while major-leaguers were on strike. While ducking out a side door, Jordan told a reporter he was “going home” to Chicago and wasn’t sure when he would return. Sixteen days later, he released a two-word statement: “I’m back.” But it was with the Chicago Bulls, whom he would lead to three more NBA titles.

Looking ahead

Seattle Mariners at Cubs, 2:05 p.m. Wednesday at Sloan Park (ESPN)","type":"text