It didn’t take Todd Walker long to settle in on his first day at Cubs camp Sunday.
It never does.
“I brought my jam box, and I’m ready to go,” Walker joked.
After re-signing with the Cubs in November, Walker vowed to be more outspoken in 2005, taking on more of a leadership role in his second year.
Though he got along well with Sammy Sosa, Walker was one of a handful of Cubs players who publicly criticized the former Cub this off-season for walking out on the team during the final game of the 2004 season.
“I love Sammy, I’m going to miss him, and I wish he was here,” Walker said Sunday. “But I think it’s different in that you don’t have this whole aura of a superstar player surrounding you on a daily basis and people coming in from all parts of the world wanting to talk to him.
“Just little-bitty things like that we don’t have anymore, even with Moises [Alou] being gone. It’s just a different feel. I keep thinking about Seattle’s team (in 2001), and it has to work. Everybody is pulling for everybody from one end to the other. You become more of a team.”
Walker was referring to the Mariners’ 116-win season after losing Alex Rodriguez to free agency. The atmosphere in the Seattle clubhouse reportedly improved because the focus of the team was no longer on one player, and it carried over onto the field.
The absence of Sosa already has had a therapeutic effect on Spring Training in Mesa. The national media has generally ignored the Sosa-free Cubs since the first day of camp.
“First of all, you guys can tell the difference here already,” Walker said. “It’s just calmer, more relaxed. Whether or not that’s a good or bad thing, I don’t know. But I think that might benefit us in the long run.”
