Barney an early arrival at Cubs camp

MESA, Ariz. -- Darwin Barney was one of the early-bird position players at the Cubs' spring complex on Thursday. At the Cubs Convention in January, the second baseman said there was no reason the Cubs couldn't do what the Red Sox did and go from a last-place finish to first.

"Baseball's a funny game, we all know that," Barney said. "We'll just see how it goes. We're working hard and making some adjustments as a team. We have some fresh faces at the helm, and I think that will help as well."

In years past, Barney has spent the offseason trying to gain weight and eating as much as he could. This winter was different.

"This year, maybe I'm getting a little older and I had to watch my carbs, per se," he said. "I tried to get back to the weight I was at a few years ago and maybe be a little more agile on defense."

Barney said he's never been as big as he was last year, joking, "I was like [Anthony] Rizzo's size."