Just when you thought you’d never put on a short-sleeved shirt again you look up and there are signs that the winter freeze is loosing its grip. The average temperature creeps up the thermometer. There seems to be a flicker of hope in people’s eyes. And young men in uniforms start stretching, throwing and swinging bats. That’s right, spring training begins tomorrow and there are plenty of stories unfolding for the Cubs and the Sox. Eight Forty-Eight’s sports contributor Cheryl Raye Stout has some of the stories from spring training.

Music Button: John Coltrane, “Wheelin’” from the Box Set Interplay, (Prestige)