Sveum gets feedback from veteran players
"I wanted to evaluate the season and evaluate how we as a staff have done things, and if there's anything we need to change, stuff like that," said Sveum, who is wrapping up his first season at the helm.
On Tuesday at Wrigley Field, Sveum will meet one-on-one with each player. On Saturday, he had a full team meeting to deliver his end-of-the-year message.
"It was just common stuff about preparation and understanding it's a full-time job and random stuff like that," Sveum said.
His closed-door session with the veterans extended beyond getting feedback.
"It's something I wanted to talk to those guys about, and tell them how much I appreciated their professionalism through tough times and their work ethic," Sveum said. "All the veterans have pretty good work ethics and go about their business the right way, and come to Spring Training ready to go. A lot of it was that, too."
Players in his office included David DeJesus, Jeff Samardzija, James Russell, Darwin Barney, Alfonso Soriano, Starlin Castro, Bryan LaHair, Joe Mather, Carlos Marmol and Matt Garza.
Soriano said it was a good session, and also complimented Sveum for the job he's done.
"Sometimes when you have a losing season like this, they blame somebody," Soriano said, "but I think he's the wrong guy to blame. He did the best he can. He talked to the young guys, he talked to the veteran guys. We don't have anything negative to say.
"He's a great manager so far in his first year," Soriano said. "He's smart enough and he knows what he has to do. It's not his fault. [Our record] is because we have a young team and not a very good team, but it's not his fault."