Chicago White Sox players participated in an obstacle course with kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago during a surprise visit Thursday in Bridgeport.

The Sox experienced several hurdles last season on the way to 101 losses. They’ll attempt to find the path to improvement with pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to spring training Feb. 14.

Manager Pedro Grifol isn’t thinking about the first game of the season or beyond.

“I’m thinking about the first week of spring training and we’ve got to win that first week,” Grifol said at Thursday’s event. “We’ve got to go into spring training and prepare ourselves to win baseball games. We’ll take it five to seven days at a time and we’ll continue to evaluate the week and correct the things we need to correct and go from there.

“There’s a lot of work to be done before that first game. There’s a lot of conversations between our staff and the players and we’ll be ready to play come day one.”

There have been pitching and hitting summits since the final out of the woeful 2023 season.

“Once that last game was over, the calendar changed for us,” Grifol said. “There’s been really good communication. (General manager) Chris (Getz) installed the pillars he wants the organization to abide by. I’ll have my style of play I want to see on the field and the players will be a part of the process.

“There is a lot of things that are different (this spring compared to last). The energy in spring training I thought last year was OK, but it’s hard to evaluate it because we had so many guys who weren’t there (with the World Baseball Classic taking place). But that’s something we’re going to focus on, the details are something we’re going to focus on.”

Grifol knows it has to be more than just talk.

“When I put myself in the eyes of the fans, we’ve got to prove it on the field,” he said. “I can stand here today and say, ‘We’re going to do this or do that.’ That’s not what this is about. This is about us preparing ourselves to play and prove to our fans — they had a difficult year last year — that we’re going to come out and play a different style of baseball.”

Grifol said he’s most excited about getting to spring training “because the energy we have, that our players are showing, the energy that our front office and coaching staff is showing. We have five new coaches on our staff. And plus what we did last year. We’re motivated, we’re excited to come back and prove to this league that we’re capable of doing some good things. I just feel it, there is a good vibe.”

Grifol likes the moves the team has made this offseason and anticipates a lot of competition at camp.

“Last year we went into spring training probably six or seven starters deep, this year you’re probably looking at 15-16 starters,” he said. “Some of these guys are young, some ended the year in Double A, some in Triple A. Just to look at our depth compared to where we were at this time last year is really encouraging for us.”

One of those experienced starters could be Dylan Cease, who has been mentioned in trade speculation throughout the offseason. Grifol said Cease has been “unfazed” by the chatter.

“I talked to him yesterday, it was a great conversation and we talked about him (pitching) opening day,” Grifol said. “And he’s preparing himself for that and he feels great. He’s throwing pens, he doesn’t have any soreness, he’s excited about this club. He’s excited about the guys we’ve acquired, excited about our catching. Brian Bannister is part of the organization (as senior adviser to pitching), he’s excited to get to work with him and (pitching coach) Ethan (Katz).

“He’s unfazed by all these trade talks and all this stuff. If it happens, he understands the business. But like I told him and he told me, right now he’s our opening-day starter and get ready to do that.”

()

By MICHAEL TACKETT (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his power in the face of dramatic convulsions in the Republican Party for almost two decades, will step down from that position in November.

McConnell, who turned 82 last week, announced his decision Wednesday in the well of the Senate, a place where he looked in awe from its back benches in 1985 when he arrived and where he grew increasingly comfortable in the front row seat afforded the party leaders.

“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”

His decision punctuates a powerful ideological transition underway in the Republican Party, from Ronald Reagan’s brand of traditional conservatism and strong international alliances, to the fiery, often isolationist populism of former President Donald Trump.

McConnell said he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, “albeit from a different seat in the chamber.” Aides said McConnell’s announcement about the leadership post was unrelated to his health. The Kentucky senator had a concussion from a fall last year and two public episodes where his face briefly froze while he was speaking.

“As I have been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate, I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work,” McConnell said. “A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.”

The senator had been under increasing pressure from the restive, and at times hostile wing of his party that has aligned firmly with Trump. The two have been estranged since December 2020, when McConnell refused to abide Trump’s lie that the election of Democrat Joe Biden as president was the product of fraud.

But while McConnell’s critics within the GOP conference had grown louder, their numbers had not grown appreciably larger, a marker of McConnell’s strategic and tactical skill and his ability to understand the needs of his fellow Republican senators.

McConnell gave no specific reason for the timing of his decision, which he has been contemplating for months, but he cited the recent death of his wife’s youngest sister as a moment that prompted introspection. “The end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer,” McConnell said.

But his remarks were also light at times as he talked about the arc of his Senate career.

He noted that when he arrived in the Senate, “I was just happy if anybody remembered my name.” During his campaign in 1984, when Reagan was visiting Kentucky, the president called him “Mitch O’Donnell.”

McConnell endorsed Reagan’s view of America’s role in the world and the senator has persisted in face of opposition, including from Trump, that Congress should include a foreign assistance package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine.

“I am unconflicted about the good within our country and the irreplaceable role we play as the leader of the free world,” McConnell said.

Against long odds he managed to secure 22 Republican votes for the package now being considered by the House.

“Believe me, I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time. I have many faults. Misunderstanding politics is not one of them,” McConnell said. “That said, I believe more strongly than ever that America’s global leadership is essential to preserving the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan discussed. For as long as I am drawing breath on this earth I will defend American exceptionalism.”

Trump has pulled the party hard to the ideological right, questioning longtime military alliances such as NATO, international trade agreements and pushing for a severe crackdown on immigration, all the while clinging to the falsehood that the election was stolen from him in 2020.

McConnell and Trump had worked together in Trump’s first term, remaking the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary in a far more conservative image, and on tax legislation. But there was also friction from the start, with Trump frequently sniping at the senator.

Their relationship has essentially been over since Trump refused to accept the results of the Electoral College. But the rupture deepened dramatically after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. McConnell assigned blame and responsibility to Trump and said that he should be held to account through the criminal justice system for his actions.

McConnell’s critics insist he could have done more, including voting to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial. McConnell did not, arguing that since Trump was no longer in office, he could not be subject to impeachment.

Rather than fade from prominence after the Capitol riot, Trump continued to assert his control over the party, and finds himself on a clear glidepath to the Republican nomination. Other members of the Republican Senate leadership have endorsed Trump. McConnell has not, and that has drawn criticism from other Republican senators.

McConnell’s path to power was hardly linear, but from the day he walked onto the Senate floor in 1985 and took his seat as the most junior Republican senator, he set his sights on being the party leader. What set him apart was that so many other Senate leaders wanted to run for president. McConnell wanted to run the Senate. He lost races for lower party positions before steadily ascending, and finally became party leader in 2006 and has won nine straight elections.

He most recently beat back a challenge led by Sen. Rick Scott of Florida last November.

McConnell built his power base by a combination of care and nurturing of his members, including understanding their political imperatives. After seeing the potential peril of a rising Tea Party, he also established a super political action committee, The Senate Leadership Fund, which has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Republican candidates.

Despite the concerns about his health, colleagues have said in recent months that they believe he has recovered. McConnell was not impaired cognitively, but did have some additional physical limitations.

“I love the Senate,” he said. “It has been my life. There may be more distinguished members of this body throughout our history, but I doubt there are any with more admiration for it.”

But, he added, “Father Time remains undefeated. I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name. It is time for the next generation of leadership.”

There would be a time to reminisce, he said, but not today.

“I still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm which they have become accustomed.”

Paul Janish described his first few months as Chicago White Sox director of player development as a hectic and exciting time.

The former big-league infielder took on the role in November after working on Rice University’s baseball staff since August 2017, including the last two seasons as the associate head coach.

He’s digging in to his responsibilities with the Sox.

“I’m glad to finally be on site (in Arizona) with a bunch of people in the same room because up to this point it’s been a lot of virtual stuff,” Janish said during a video conference last week. “With spring training right around the corner, just hitting the ground and getting in the trenches a little bit with both staff and players and becoming more familiar with everybody.”

Janish provided updates on the top three prospects in the organization, according to MLB.com — shortstop Colson Montgomery, pitcher Noah Schultz and catcher Edgar Quero — as spring training gets closer.

No. 1 prospect: Colson Montgomery

The team’s first-round pick in 2021 spent time at three levels — the Arizona Complex League White Sox, Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham — after a midback strain delayed his start to the 2023 season.

The 21-year-old slashed .287/.456/.484 with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 64 games. He also had three homers and 20 RBIs in 20 games during the Arizona Fall League and was the MVP of the Fall Stars Game.

“Colson’s got a bright future, there’s no question about it,” Janish said. “With regards to where he’s starting (the season), some of that’s to be determined. At the end of the day, the goal is for him to be a really good major-league player, and I think that’s going to happen.”

When it comes to Montgomery’s timeline to the majors, Janish said it’s hard to predict.

“He’s going to choose his own path with regards to production, and there’s going to have to be some decisions made on just evaluating when he’s ready to go up to stay,” Janish said. “Because with that kind of player, you really want him to get to the major leagues at a time in which he’s ready to contribute and produce and stay there for good.

“So some of that stuff is to be determined. What I do know is he’s a really good kid, and he’s excited about coming to major-league camp.”

No. 2 prospect: Noah Schultz

The Sox selected the left-hander with the No. 26 pick in the 2022 draft. Schultz, 20, went 1-2 with a 1.33 ERA during 10 starts for Class A Kannapolis last year after dealing with a forearm strain. He went on the injured list in late August with shoulder impingement.

“First of all, he’s huge,” Janish said with a laugh about the 6-foot-9 Schultz. “I had the opportunity to meet him here recently in Arizona, and from a health standpoint, I think he’s in a good place going into the season.

“There’s a strength element that’s going to continue to develop over the course of time that will help him be more consistent. But we’re really excited. He’s got all the talent in the world, and it’s just going to come down to being really intentional with his development program and making sure as he progresses that we’re not giving him too much before he’s ready for it.”

Schultz, who went to Oswego East High School, had 38 strikeouts in 27 innings in 2023 for the Cannon Ballers.

“(Noah is) a really good kid, really talented kid and he really wants to be good,” Janish said.

No. 3 prospect: Edgar Quero

The Sox acquired the switch-hitting catcher along with pitcher Ky Bush — ranked the team’s No. 9 prospect — in the July 26 trade that sent pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Los Angeles Angels.

Quero, 20, slashed .277/.366/.393 with four doubles, three home runs and 22 RBIs in 31 games with Birmingham after the trade.

Janish said Quero goes about his work “pretty intentionally.”

“The work ethic is something he’s got in him,” Janish said, “and he’s currently developing a little bit of a routine on a day-to-day basis to maintain throughout the course of a season, which we can all sympathize with.

“That position requires a lot both mentally and physically. At the end of the day, he really needs to play. He’s in a really good spot for his age, and his ability is going to give him the opportunity to play in the major leagues.

“We just want him to be at a point where he’s ready to be consistent at that level, which, at that position in particular, we all know is going to be asking a lot.”

()

“Patients should never be the forgotten piece in a contract negotiation between healthcare entities. They should be the central focus.”

CityViews are readers’ opinions, not those of City Limits. Add your voice today!

A huge number of New York City medical patients currently face the terrifying possibility of losing their in-network healthcare coverage. United Healthcare (UHC), the largest health insurance company in the country, and Mount Sinai Health System, New York City’s second-largest hospital system, are disputing a contract renewal that would keep Mount Sinai’s hospitals within the insurer’s network.

Should UHC and Mount Sinai fail to come to an agreement before March 1, 1.3 million New Yorkers enrolled in one of the insurer’s health plans, including Oxford Health Plans, could find their existing healthcare facilities out-of-network across Mount Sinai’s hospital system. As of Jan. 1, several of Mount Sinai’s hospitals have already been designated out-of-network by UHC, due to the ongoing issues. If an agreement is not reached by March 22, all Mount Sinai hospitals and physicians would go out-of-network for those insured by UHC.

Where do patients fit into this dispute? In short, they are being left behind, with their medical uncertainty the byproduct of a contract negotiation. As these March deadlines approach, I urge both parties to find a resolution so that patients don’t bear the real harm caused by this corporate disagreement. Patients should never be the forgotten piece in a contract negotiation between healthcare entities. They should be the central focus.

When thinking about the most vulnerable victims of healthcare business disputes like these, it’s crucial to consider patients with chronic conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Approximately 1 in 100 Americans suffer from these diseases, requiring lifelong care and specialist healthcare providers. Finding the right gastroenterologist can often take years of consultations. Renowned academic medical centers like Mount Sinai offer expert teams of doctors, experienced in researching and treating complex conditions, which may not be available at other healthcare facilities. 

To suddenly find that their preferred physicians are no longer covered by insurance is a scary prospect for patients. It may change or halt their established treatment plans, jeopardizing progress toward remission and potentially leading to dangerous health complications. For IBD patients, stress is a possible contributing factor to disease flares, compounding their suffering during an already tense time.

As the CEO of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, I frequently hear stories of fear and anxiety from IBD patients regarding possible disruptions in their access to healthcare. Recently, a 29-year-old Crohn’s disease patient with Oxford Health Plans, a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare, shared her concerns with me about losing access to her doctor, a renowned GI specialist at Mount Sinai.

This doctor is an integral part of her trusted care team, which took years to establish. Diagnosed at 13 years old, this patient has a complex 16-year medical history. As she puts it, “When you have a chronic illness, finding doctors who you truly trust and who understand your journey is really difficult and takes time to build. I’m very sad and frustrated about having to potentially leave my GI doctor and surgeon, with whom I took years to build relationships and trust.”

This patient’s experience demonstrates the toll on those forced to transition to new healthcare providers, and her story isn’t unique. Time and time again, patients get stuck in out-of-network limbo as insurers and hospitals feud over contracts. Disputes like these have only increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. For parents of pediatric patients, this predicament can be especially difficult, since pediatric medical specialists with expertise in diseases like IBD can be hard to find.

UHC and Mount Sinai have the power to make these patients’ situations easier, by coming to an agreement that ensures continued in-network access. Chronic disease patients should not have to fight for what they need to be healthy, whether it’s regular consultations, medications, or procedures.

As the patient I spoke to says, “Really the uncertainty has been the worst part.” While on her honeymoon abroad, the patient called both Oxford and Mount Sinai, only to learn that “everyone is equally confused and cannot give me a firm answer for whether my doctors or procedures will be covered after March 1.” For patients with chronic and incurable diseases like IBD, such uncertainty isn’t just physically and emotionally taxing—it’s financially taxing, too, as patients wait to find out if their care will stay in their insurer’s network.

Our country, as well as our city, need a patient-centered approach in healthcare contract negotiations. I hope for a swift agreement, similar to those UHC has previously reached with major healthcare providers, between UHC and Mount Sinai to alleviate the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands of patients in New York City. UHC and Mount Sinai must now listen to the people they serve, find empathy, and come together to provide continuity of care to support individuals on their journey toward healing. A patient-centric approach to this dispute, and others like it, is the only way forward.

Michael Osso is the president CEO at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation