Cubs kick off spring training in Arizona

MESA, Ariz. – Jacque Jones was smiling when he showed up Saturday at the Chicago Cubs’ spring-training facility.\nThe debate all winter in Chicago wasn’t whether Jones would play right field or center field for the Cubs, it was whether he’d play for the Cubs at all.\nJones was widely considered to be unhappy in Chicago after a season in which the Cubs won only 66 games and he was the target of many unhappy fans in the right-field bleachers. During one game in May, Jones narrowly escaped being hit by a ball thrown by a fan from the bleachers.\n“I’m here to help this team win, and I went into the offseason working out to come back to have a good season here and help us get to the playoffs,” he said. “That’s all I ever wanted to do from the outset. I can’t worry if people are surprised or not. I’m a Cub, and that’s it. Wanting to be traded? I never asked to be traded.”\nThe Cubs original plan had been to move Jones to center field and put Alfonso Soriano in right after signing Soriano to an eight-year, $136 million free-agent contract last November. But Soriano expressed an interest in center field during the Cubs annual fan convention in January, a move manager Lou Piniella said at the time would alleviate a lot of problems.\nJones doesn’t seem to mind either way.\n“The only reason I didn’t play center in Minnesota was because of a guy named Torii Hunter,” said Jones, who played for the Twins from 1999-2005 before signing a three-year contract with the Cubs. “We platooned a little bit and then he did what he did. ... If they ask me to play center field, I’ll play center. If they ask me to play right, I’ll play right. Whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do it. It’s not a big deal.”\nThe 31-year-old Jones had a typical year on offense last year, batting .285 with 27 home runs and 81 RBIs in 149 games.\nHis throwing from right field, however, suffered, in large part because of a sore left shoulder that plagued him for much of the 2006 season. Jones underwent physical therapy this winter.\n“I was embarrassed by the way I threw the ball last year,” he said. “I wanted to improve on that. I’m able to get up over the top now. I’m going to have to try to find an arm slot. It feels good. Like I told you toward the end, I was trying to do too much too fast. I feel good.”\nPitcher Kerry Wood threw 10 pitches from the mound Saturday. Wood is suffering from a bruised chest, the result of a hot-tub accident at home last Monday. First basemen Derrek Lee arrived at camp Saturday. He missed all but 50 games last year because of a broken right wrist, an injury suffered in an April 19 game at Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Lee said his wrist is 100 percent.