Daily Spring Gleaning: Sale changes his Sox and other items

Chris Sale severed ties with the White Sox last summer, when he famously shredded those throwback jerseys in a fit of rage that helped seal manager Robin Ventura’s fate and certainly sealed the staff ace’s exit from Chicago.

He has been in the Boston Red Sox camp this week and spoke with reporters this afternoon, and he immediately hit on the differences between the Red Sox and White Sox. Our Steve Greenberg is on the scene, and here is his quick post on Sale’s thoughts about maybe, possibly, getting a chance to be a participant in the postseason.

This is Day 1 of our Daily Spring Gleaning that gets you up-to-date on all of the happenings in the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues this spring training.

Cubs and White Sox camps officially open today for pitchers and catchers. Our Rick Morrissey examines the two drastically different directions Chicago’s teams are headed this season: One’s seeking to repeat, the other is looking at a rebuild. It’s definitely a tale of two cities.

Kyle Schwarber spoke with reporters Tuesday morning in Mesa, Arizona, and discussed the need for focusing on sustained success for the Cubs.

Mike Montgomery got the final out of the World Series, but he once to put his stamp on the start of games this season. Montgomery reported to Cubs camp looking to return to his roots as a starter. He’ll get a shot at the fifth spot in the Cubs’ rotation. “Every camp I’ve ever been in, you’re always competing with somebody,” he told our Gordon Wittenmyer. “And I enjoy that.”

In Sox camp, many of the early questions center on all of those trading chips who remain on the table. Manager Rick Renteria made it clear those trading chips need to maintain their focus. “Obviously it’s something that is swirling, but for the most part, we all know that they come to the ballpark preparing for the upcoming season,” Renteria told reporters, including our Daryl Van Schouwen.

Closer David Robertson discussed this morning the idea of dealing with the daily trade rumors swirling around him. Check out the video in this post.

Young right-hander Lucas Giolito is seeking to get back to basics in White Sox camp after a rough 2016.

Here’s a quick glance of what else is happening around big-league camp as spring training kicks off this week:

First Jason Hammel, now Travis Wood. It looks as if the Royals are stockpiling former Cubs arms. Wood signed a two-year deal and the former Cubs lefty reliever is trying to nail down the fifth spot in the Royals’ rotation.

Here’s a wonderful obit from our Maureen O’Donnell on original bleacher bum Ray Meyer, who died at 60.

Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher have been invited back to Yankees camp, this time as guest instructors. White Sox fans might wonder what kind of advice Swisher will be giving to young players (remember that blowup-doll saga during his Sox days?).

Finally, around the horn on Twitter …